I arrive on thursday morning at Heathrow from San Francisco went home for a quick nap and then jumped in the car and drove with Myles and Dad down to Hamble. We threw things on and off the boat before heading out for a 110 mile delivery doublehanded with fish and chips in hand. I was still in my plane cloths as we motored down the river at 8pm at very low water. Not a good sign as you leave the Hamble as that means you will be fighting tide leaving the solent heading west. I went below off watch at 10pm as the horizon lit up with fireworks as it was a clear night they were very visble.

At midnight I came on watch and the jet lag was in my favor as it was only 4pm in San Francisco – life wasn’t all bad. At the end of my watch we only just left the Needles Fairway behind an incredible 6 and half hours to exit the Solent our SOG was only 2 knots with the revs on full. At least we didn’t have a 25 knot headwind. Two race boats went storming past at over 7 knots of boat speed without steaming lights – they would be in the west country well ahead of us…

At 1am I went through Hurst Narrows guided by the Hurst Point Lighthouse that has been there since 1786. At the base of the lighthouse is Hurst Castle built by Henry VIII as one of a chain of coastal fortresses was completed in 1544. Charles I was imprisoned here in 1648 before being taken to London to his trial and execution. During World War II, Hurst was manned with coastal gun batteries and searchlights.

The shippng forcast came on Radio 4 and I knew I was in the UK – cold, about to rain, fish and chips and the shippng forecast! Until I did the Round Britain and Ireland race I had always wondered where Rockall and Malin were. There is something quaint and a feeling of being home when you here the distinctive beep, beep, beep this is the shipping forecast etc… The forecast is the last broadcast of the evening for Radio 4 so afterwards they play God Save the Queen. Before switching to the BBC World Service.

The rest of my watch went quickly and just as Myles came up it started to drizzle – I was way to awake for him at 3am! I told him all about the radio programs I had listened to – Lyme Regis scallop fishing was banned, there was lots of knife crimes by teenagers in Birmingham and an odd play about a women who had a chicken she treated like a dog who lived in the house!

On my morning watch around 7:30am we just beat the tide around Portland Bill which is a major tidal gate if you don’t get round in time there are 4 knot currents against and it is not fun. We were moving at over 8 knots over the ground. Portland Bill is very distinctive and it is a tidal gate that will make or break you on the Fastnet Race. If you don’t get around and other people in your class do with the tide you are out of the race. The lighthouse on the promentry is painted red and white and helps navigate you around the tidal race and shallow reef the first one was erected in 1716. This is where portland stone is quarried and it is part of the World Heritage Coast of Dorset and Devon.

Myles tried to wake me for my midday watch and I declined to come on deck as jet lagged had fully kicked in so he was a gentleman and stayed on deck for another 2 hours with the radio blaring and eating pork pies, pringles etc. He was proudly flying his blue undefaced British Ensign which Dad got him for graduation present – it does look smart on the boat. Although not really in plae as we have US sail numbers and San Francisco as the home port on the transom. After 1864, the plain blue ensign is permitted to be worn, instead of the Red Ensign, by two categories of civilian vessel:- British merchant vessels whose officers and crew include a certain number of retired Royal Navy personnel or Royal Navy reservists, or are commanded by an officer of the Royal Navy Reserve in possession of a Government warrant. Or yachts belonging to members of certain long-established British yacht clubs, for example the Royal Southern Yacht Club. Permission for yachts to wear the blue ensign (and other special yachting ensigns) was suspended during both World War I and World War II. As Myles is a member of Royal Southern (est in 1837) he is allowed to fly it and he is also in the Navy reserves.

The engine died just as I was finally coming on watch 10 miles from Brixham – we had run out of fuel apparently it wasn’t completely full when we left. Also the capacity had decreased after we had found a leak in the tank and had to put a new bottom in. The shape of the tank means the last few gallons is useless particulary in a seaway. We hoisted the main and number 3 and luckily were able to fetch Brixham by going upwind. I figured out that when trimmed correctly I could jam the tiller extension in place and create a poor mans autohelm.

We had to sail onto the dock at Brixham which Myles did a good job of. All in all not a bad delivery and we ended up in the beautiful hilly fishing town of Brixham. The first town was established here in the 6th century by the Saxons so there is a lot of history.

On monday I delivered a customers boat from Tinsley Island StFYC island in the delta. It is a unique island which has the Southampton Shoal lighthouse that was brought up from the bay and is now used for accomodation on the island. The island is surrounded by a ring with some small breaks allowing the boats to be tied up on docks hidden away from the main river. Most people would motor on by without a second glance unless a large sailboat was up there with it’s mast showing above the trees of the outer ring. The island has watersports equipment, a small stage, swimming pool, bar and large eating area, many BBQ pits etc. It is a great place to get away to if you are a StFYC member or cruise up there on the one weekend a year that they allow members of other clubs.

I pulled out of the dock at 5am it was still dark and I felt bad as the sound of the engine starting up sounded very loud – I am sure I woke some people up. I snuck out of the enterance and heading off down river with a slight tide against me. The sun came up around 6:15am and my SOG was 4.6 as I still fought the flood. It wasn’t until 8:30 when I was off Antioch that the tide turned with me. The whole delivery the wind would follow me as I twisted and turned always dead on the nose. Last year I was able to put up a main at least but not this year. The forcast was for 30 knots on the nose. Not sure it was blowing 30 but it was a horrible wet ride through Suisun Bay as it was wind against an almost full spring tide. The ghost fleet of Navy boats seems to have increased from last year see http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1997/09/15/MN39732.DTL for a story about this fleet. My boat speed was a miserable 4.1 knots as large powerboats sped by at least with the tide I was going 6.3 over the ground. I imagined the dollars being spent on fuel on the powerboats and felt better!

At 11 I had an early lunch that was kindly made by my customers and left in the fridge. Beautifully cooked tri tip steak and a salad with potatoes and asparagus. I was lucky to make it through the Carquinex Straights on slack tide and after Vallejo when the tide turned against me I hugged the shore. My VMG was a miserable 2.5 at the worst as it was dead upwind with waves coming over the bow. Where is the dodger to hide behind! At least I have autopilot so I ducked under the hatch when the worst waves hit.

It was a long delivery 11 3/4 hours by the time I docked the boat in Richmond. Time to clean up and head on home in time for reading my nephew a bed time story.