About us
Events
Ashdown Log
Members boats
Find out more
Links
Back
Home
By Land By Nigel Barraclough and John Moore
From Southsea Common, and in the hazy sunshine, we couldn't see the majority of the fleet - that was mostly around the corner in Spithead and up towards Lee-on-Solent but it was so big you would never have seen the whole lot anyway. We expressed some sympathies for the QE2, the pride of the British merchant fleet, anchored off Bembridge rather than in the middle of the festival.
There were times when not much happened, but it was a special day, full of small incidents too numerous to mention. There was the right sized crowd, packed yet not too crowded. Everyone talked to everyone else and when it rained we just got wet - but so what - nobody seemed to mind, it was all part of the fun.
The Red Arrows did their usual full display and we were "beam-on" to the heart drawn in the sky by two aircraft and being pierced by a third. They, like the helicopters, flew at seemingly "nought" feet. The weather had held off just long enough for them to finish. A few minutes later the heavens opened and 4 of us (including Jane and Dave Norris) were sheltering under 2 brollies trying to avoid the rain. Jane, thoughtfully, left us one umbrella when they moved on to another place.
After the skies cleared we were treated to an aerobatics display which, if you can imagine what happens to the pea in a referees whistle when it gets blown by the power of a Force 10 gale, then that is what this plane was doing. What it would have taken to make the pilot seasick I hate to think!
When the ferries left Portsmouth they left almost at full power to the sound of military music blaring away and the crowds cheering, the sort of send off they will never get again!
Some bright spark of a planner who will forever be lost to the "Diplomatic Service" thoughtfully parked a British submarine just within short torpedo range of the French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle". Its name? HMS Trafalgar! Needless to say they made an enjoyable sight with HMS Illustrious and USS Carl Vinson nearby, the US carrier dwarfing the French ship and the British the smallest of the three. It was as if they had been organised by size: large, medium and small!
The battle and the fireworks? We won't bother trying to describe them because we can't - but anything else you will have seen, millennium celebrations included, will not have been as good!
Finally the trip home proved that being able to navigate on land without the aid of GPS etc was just as important as being able to do it at sea. The roads were solid. I drove, John pulled the photocopy of the A-Z out of his back pocket and we headed through the back streets. Where we went I haven't a clue, when my navigator said "turn left" I turned left and when he said "go straight on" I did. At least one person tried to follow us and we lost them within minutes - including when we took a short cut around some broken traffic lights by driving through a car dealership. Put it this way- by the time we were alongside, tied up and fast asleep in our home berths some people were still trying to find a way out of Portsmouth!
By Sea by Jean and Ian Sandell
We arrived at Gosport Monday evening, where we meet Brian and Lindsey, who were leaving White Horse II on her mooring and joining us on Sea Holly for the Fleet Review. The Solent was already busy with anchored boats so we decided on an early start the next morning. Bright and early the next day we motored out of the inner swashway to the anchorage that spread from Gilkicker to Hill Head, anchoring on the eastern edge at 0800.
We passed the morning watching the comings and goings, identifying some of the warships in view and listening to the VHF traffic. More and more boats arrived and it got quite crowded but most managed to anchor without undue problems. Police and Marines were out in some force in ribs and other boats, but the whole atmosphere was good humoured. HMS Invincible was within view and at 1400 we heard and saw her 21 gun salute. Shortly after HMS Endurance with the Royal Party on board came between the Fleet and us. The anchorage erupted in a cacophony of foghorns, which continued until Endurance had passed.
40 minutes later HMS Endurance returned on the far side, between the Fleet and the Ryde anchorage. Boats started to move off and we weighed anchor to do our own review. Our anchor was now almost under a yacht that had arrived after us and we got quite close but Jean kept Sea Holly moving forward under control while Ian hauled up the cable.
By now, boats of all sorts were moving up and down the edge of the anchorage, with RYA marshals keeping the boats within the permitted area. We turned just short of Hill Head and motored back in the Inner Swashway while the flypast of aeroplanes and helicopters flew overhead. We arrived back at our mooring just as the rain came. Fortunately it did not last long and we had a good view of first the Red Arrows, then a Spitfire, followed by other aeroplanes and helicopters. Brian and Lindsey went back to White Horse II and left shortly after.
Jean and I planned to stay for the fireworks but wanted to get away soon after so rather than stay in Gosport we planned to watch from Portsdown Hill behind Portsmouth. Unfortunately, all the car parks were full and police were chasing away anyone who parked on the road. Just as we wondered what we should do, we passed a site run by the company that I work for and saw lots of people in the grounds. I had my pass with me so joined other families at the Fleet Review Family picnic. We could not see much of the re-enactment but followed the action listening to the excellent Radio Solent commentary. The following firework display was awesome and well worth the wait.
We got held up in some traffic coming off the Hill but soon joined the A3 and arrived back in Epsom about 0030. A moment of panic set in as Ian's car was not in the drive. We then realised that it was at work, in Farnborough, as we had intended to collect it on the way home. All in all, a very memorable and enjoyable day.