The Fleet heads out along Southampton Water on Friday 11th July 2008.

On Thursday 10th July 2008, the first Shetland Owners Association cruise commenced in what were at times quite testing conditions. In total 7 boats took part in the whole event with an 8th boat joining us for Saturday and Sunday.

In mixed weather the event was a great success and, this was down to the wonderful atmosphere created by everyone involved.

Literally hundreds of photos were taken and at the time of preparing this piece, they are still being collated. This is very much a first draft and alterations and extensions, as well as links to other photographs and videos will follow over the next few weeks.

I hope however this gives a taste of what was an excellent boating weekend.

John Evans.

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Part 1 - The People and their boats

Barry and Fiona Andrew - Shetland 535 Banyan

Barry and Fiona joined us on Saturday afternoon having cruised solo from Hythe and explored the Medina River.

Barry bought Banyan about 9 months ago as a sunken “wreck“. He has spent many hours on loving and painstaking restoration and whilst the boat looks fabulous, he insists that there is many more hours work involved before his project is complete. Banyan is powered by an Evinrude 50hp engine.

John, Sara and Mark Evans - Starcraft 1700 Sport - Ebony

This is my wife Sara, younger son Mark and me. Based in Seaford in East Sussex, we bought Ebony a year ago, trading in our Family Four as we decided that a sports day boat better suited our needs at this time.
She is driven by a 3lt, 135hp Mercruiser stern drive engine.

Nick & Gary - Shetland 4 Plus 2 - Maisie

Nick bought Maisie in 2007. He travelled down from Leicestershire with Gary . Nick lead the fleet on the Solent crossings on Saturday and Sunday. Maisie is fitted with a Honda 50hp Outboard.

Keith and Sue Morgan - Shetland Saxon - Willow

Keith and Sue came down from Burton-On-Trent with their Shetland Saxon, Willow. Powered with a 20hp Honda Outboard, Willow performed immaculately throughout the cruise and had no problems in the sea conditions. Keith first contacted me upon reading the MBM article and is now a member of the SOA.

Richard & Lindsay Pegler - Shetland Family Four - Spellbinder

Richard and Lindsay joined us from Ashby De La Zouch in Leicestershire, travelling down with Nick and Gary on Wednesday, they launched on the Hamble River. Spellbinder is a 2007 Family Four, equipped with a Honda 30hp engine.

Paul and Tanya Solomons - Bayliner 2052LS - Frayed Knot

Paul and Tanya travelled across from Haywards Heath in West Sussex. They recently traded in their Shetland Blackhawk for Frayed Knot. She is equipped with a Mercruiser 3lt, 135hp stern drive engine.

Martin and Dee Waterton - Shetland 535 - Golden Days

Martin and Dee joined us from Welshpool on Wednesday. They bought Golden Days about 3 months ago and have again been working hard to get the boat prepared for the Flotilla. She is fitted with a Mariner 50hp engine.

Roger and Sue Wright - Shetland 570 - Two Can

Based on the Hamble River, Sue and Roger headed the fleet and were of great assistance to others in many ways. Their 570 Two Can is powered by an Evinrude 70hp outboard.

Part 2 - The Cruise

The boats moored in Hythe Marina overnight on Thursday 10th July

Thursday 10th July 2008
The group gathered at Hythe Marina on Thursday afternoon, with me being the last to arrive, having got stuck in terrible traffic due to an accident on the M27. Roger and Sue, Nick and Gary and Richard and Lindsay sailed across from the Hamble River, the rest of us arriving by car and launching from Hythe Slipway.

In view of the time and the weather, no further sailing took place that day and we duly retired to the bar.

Hythe Marina Village, situated on the West bank of Southampton Water was the first such development in the Country and has very good, modern facilities. It is entered via a lock. The slipway is directly into Southampton Water so if you are launching your boat, you then have to enter the marina via the lock. On recovery, we contacted the Marina (VHF Channel 80) and moored up on the holding pontoon at the South side of the entrance to the lock. We were then able to get the trailers and take the boats round to the slip without entering the marina.

Some of the group elected to eat in the bar, “The Salts”, whilst the rest of us went to the Italian restaurant next door. Everyone enjoyed their meal and the bar served good real ale, of which I for one enjoyed a few..

Friday 11th July 2008

The fleet leaving Hythe Marina through the lock into Southampton Water - Friday 11th July

The weather for Friday was not promising and was forecast to deteriorate. We decided to leave Hythe and cruise along Southampton Water, making a decision on our final destination when we reached the Solent.

The boats head down Southampton Water on Friday Morning

Spellbinder	Maisie
Golden days	Frayed Knot
Two Can	Willow
Ebony

On reaching the Solent, we decided to try for Lymington with the fall back of Beaulieu River as a bolt hole if the weather deteriorated . The sea was a bit lumpy rounding Calshot Castle at the mouth of Southampton Water but it settled a bit for a while before rising again as we passed Lepe Spit. The boats were all performing well but we entered Beaulieu River and rafted up for a short break.

Rounding the Southern Cardinal at Lepe Spit

and heading into Beaulieu River

The boats rafted up in Beaulieu River

Having been reprimanded by the harbour Master for exerting to much weight on the mooring buoys, we headed back out of the river and on towards Lymington.

OOPS! - This was when the only minor mishap of the cruise occurred. We strayed a bit to far in and due to the rough seas, a number of the boats touched the bottom in the wave troughs. A few prop. blades were dinked but otherwise everything was OK. Shortly after this however the attempt to reach Lymington was aborted and we returned to Beaulieu River and found berths at Bucklers Hard

The boats returning to Beaulieu River

In the tranquillity of the river, we approach Bucklers Hard

The boats moored up in Bucklers Hard Marina

Having moored the boats, we headed for the Yachtsmen’s Bar at The Master Builders pub and Hotel for some well earned drinks and food.

Buckler’s Hard is on the West bank of the Beaulieu River about 2 miles South of Beaulieu. It is part of the Beaulieu estate owned by Lord Motagu. For centuries it was a major shipbuilding yard with 3 ships in Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar being built here. The present village was built in the 18th Century by the 2nd Lord Montagu who intended to import produce from his estates in the West Indies. The plan never came to fruition as the islands were taken over by the French.

The village at Buckler’s Hard

Saturday 12th July
Saturday saw the fleet finally make it to the Isle of Wight. We left Bucklers Hard in the morning, and cruised back down Beaulieu River and out into the Solent.

The weather was a lot better than Friday but despite the wind having dropped, the sea was far from flat. Despite the better conditions a number of the group found this the most worrying trip. This was because as we turned to head East into Cowes, we had a following sea. The motion as the boats stalled on the back of a wave only to be accelerated forward by the following one was quite disconcerting for the uninitiated.

Arriving safely and without mishap at the Mouth of the Medina River, we slipped the boats into their moorings at The South Basin of Cowes Yacht Haven.

The boats moored in the South Basin at Cowes Yacht Haven

The afternoon was relaxed with everyone going off to do their own thing in the town and a few drinks were had on the balcony of The Waterfront overlooking the Solent and Medina.

The balcony of the Waterfront Bar in Cowes

Mark catches a crab

During the afternoon Barry and Fiona arrived in Banyan and we all met up again at The Anchor before heading for Toninos and the Flotilla Dinner.

Sunday 13th July
On Sunday the weather and sea state were greatly improved and the fleet set off back across the Solent in bright sunshine and almost mirror like seas.

At Southampton Water, the fleet split with Two Can, Maisie and Spellbinder returning up the Hamble River whilst Ebony, Golden Days, Willow and Frayed Knot returned to Hythe where we recovered the boats from the water and headed for home.

Golden Days, Frayed Knot and finally Willow come out of the water at Hythe.

Part 3 - The conclusion.

Despite the uncertainty of the weather, I think it is fair to say that all 17 of us who took part had a great time with very good, albeit not always easy, sailing and great socialising. All 8 boats performed immaculately and were a credit to their owners (apart from mine that for most of the trip a total mess inside!)

The success of the event and the desire from everyone who went to return for more, will hopefully ensure further events in the future and it would be great to see these taking place regularly around the whole Country, or possibly even further a field!!

In the meantime, please keep sending in your own cruising experiences for inclusion in the Cruising Gallery.

Finally a big thank you to everyone who came along and to those who made such a big effort to join us, only to be thwarted at the last hurdle.

Here’s to the next time!!!!

John Evans