May The Forts Be With You

By Doh Williams

Freeflow at Chichester Marina was scheduled to end at 08.45 and it was a beautiful morning with not a cloud in the sky. The forecast was for a north-westerly 3 or 4 and Layla (with Keith & Angela Sinden plus a daughter and partner) and Pelagian (with Betty and Daphne) were all set to lock out at around 09.30 and looking forward to a sail out into Bracklesham Bay and beyond with nowhere particular to go other than where the wind dictated. That was Plan A.

The crews arrived in good time and we were monitoring the VHF on Channel 80 which had been very quiet until around 08.20, when all those boats who had been planning to leave at the tail end of freeflow began to realise that, due to the high pressure, there was no freeflow and they would have to lock out instead. Pandemonium! However, we leapt into action and did indeed manage to lock out in the second lock at exactly 09.30.

As we progressed down the harbour it became evident that the wind was somewhere from the south. How often do we slog down to Portsmouth, Cowes, or Yarmouth with the wind on the nose? And here we were on a day when we could have gone anywhere and the best sail was going to be down to Portsmouth or Cowes! Never mind, Plan B was ready and, once past the West Pole, the wind was on the beam and we were creaming along. As we were approaching the Forts Layla called up to say that they were going to drop in to Portsmouth for lunch. Pelagian’s crew were having too good a time to stop so we sailed on through the forts, making for Osborne Bay (we were going to get one of those rusty old anchors off the foredeck and give it a chance to show us what it could do).

Another call from Layla: they were approaching the harbour entrance and their engine wouldn’t start so they were turning around and sailing out again to get some space to see what was the matter and whether they could start it. We slammed on the anchors (no, not the ones on the foredeck) and hung around to wait and see if we could render assistance. We watched Layla approach us and then turn eastwards so we fell in behind (our usual station) and followed them back through the forts. After a while and a call to Seastart they decided to sail back to Chichester where Seastart would meet and assist them. Our services not being required, we tacked and resumed our course for Osborne Bay, passing between the forts once more. However, Osborne Bay was still a long way off and it was now early afternoon. We were ready for our lunch; so we decided to make our way back towards Bembridge and heave to for lunch. This we did, this time passing the forts on the landward side of No Man’s Land Fort.

Now, perhaps we didn’t go far enough and perhaps our attempt at heaving-to left something to be desired, but as we ate our lunch we gradually drifted back past No Man’s Land Fort and back into the Solent! By the time lunch was over we decided we had better get a wiggle on if we wanted to get back to Chichester in reasonable time, so we sorted out the sails and made our way eastwards, back through the forts on our way home.

I think passing the forts six times in the space of three hours must be a record – unless, of course, you know differently?

Editorial nautical observation – when sailing down the Solent from Portsmouth to Yarmouth with the wind on the nose how come, on the next day when returning in the opposite direction, the wind is still on the nose! Does the wind know about weekends?