Cruisers Solent Saunter Rally 2024

Sunday 23rd June to Thursday 27th June 2024

The Solent Saunter cruise was the idea of Tim Applewhite, who then manoeuvred me into leading it. We had a good turnout of a fleet of seven boats, it would have been eight but Moody Moon's gear box was not repaired in time. The boats attending were

• Mandalay
• Fairwind
• Osprey
• Roussillon
• Piquant
• Firebird
• Jacob Faithful

Although the weather was not as warm as forecast we had good winds and no rain which made for a pleasant few days of good sailing and enjoyable company. We had a rough plan for the Solent Saunter which went to Cowes, Lymington, Marchwood, Port Solent and back to Dell Quay. See below:

Sunday 23rd June:

Mandalay left its mooring at 13.00 hrs and headed for Cowes Yacht Haven Marina in a F4 with the tide down the Solent sailing between the forts, arriving at 17.45 to meet up with the other boats for a social and be ready for our meal at The Garden a short walk along Cowes High Street at 19.00 hrs. (Note the Island Sailing Club being my first choice is closed on a Sunday evening). The Garden served us well after we moved from the upstairs room which was a squeeze for 14 people, to the garden at the back of the restaurant.

Monday 24th June:

The Fleet left Cowes Yacht Haven Marina late morning for Lymington Town Quay, Mandalay left at 13.00hrs and tacked down the western Solent in a F4 with plenty of tide which provided a lovely sail, making sure we did not over tack the entrance to Lymington and arriving at 15.30 hrs. Although it is not possible to book a rally on Lymington Town Quay, individuals can book independently asking to be put with other boats, as a result we were all together on finger pontoons and enjoyed one of the best locations in the Solent. In the evening we ate at the Royal Lymington Yacht Club which had a Chef's choice due to it being a dinghy race night. The Royal Lymington has fantastic view of the entrance to Lymington. It was another splendid evening in good company.

Tuesday 25th June:

The fleet left the Lymington Town Quay at 10.00hrs for Marchwood Sailing Club at the top of Southampton Water in F4/5 using the tide and avoiding the commercial shipping. The fleet had to keep to the side of the commercial channel whilst going up Southampton Water. Mandalay passage time was 4 hours. Marchwood Sailing Club had supplied sailing instructions for the approach, to keep just inside the port hand channel buoys until we could see the club's pontoons. Fortunately we all arrived and moored up before a large container ship arrived using Tug Boats to manoeuvre the ship to its dock. We watched in amazement to see such a large container ship being manoeuvred is a small space and hoped that it did not get too close to our tiny boats. Marchwood Sailing Club is a very active members club and is on the site of the Royal Navy's gunpowder store which was used from the late 1700's to the late 1800's and was decommissioned after the second world war. The building used by the sailing club are historic and have a lovely atmosphere which amplifies the friendly nature of the sailing club. On Tuesday the club provides food, hence we ate in the club at a large table. Another excellent evening.

Wednesday 26th June:

Our fleet split up with some boats returning to Dell Quay or their home moorings which left Roussillon and Mandalay. Following a discussion Roussillon sailed to Bembridge and Mandalay to Yarmouth, hence no cruisers went to Port Solent in Portsmouth Harbour.

In conclusion, the Solent Saunter was successful due to the places visited that some people had not been to before. Couple that with interesting places to eat and fine company the saunter was a great success.

Martin Greenhalgh
Mandalay
July 2024