Coronation Day!

 A wet day in Cowes (and London) with intermittent showers. We were joined by D and Vic who came on the ferry last night. Not really a vert good day for sailing but we watched to coronation in the dry on a big screen in the Cowes Corintian yacht club, which was certainly more comfortable than being in the crowds in Central London. Later Justin and Diana joined us and we went to Sian and Ants flat in Cowes for a cup of tea. A bit of drama then as we got in the lift to go up to the flat, but it broke down leaving Diana, Ant and myself trapped in the lift between floors.Eventually we managed to attract attention by shouting, and after about half an hour were released by the excellent and very efficient Isle of Wight fire service.

After recovering from this trauma, we joined the Gaffers for a jolly evening meal with music and dancing at the Corinthian. Altogether - apart from the lift episode -  a very successful visit to Cowes thanks to the excellent organisation by Sue Pennison and her team. 

Sadly after many days of northerly or easterly winds the prospect for the next few days does not look so good but we hope to be on the move in the morning.

Gathering gaffers

Lots of gaffers of all sorts, shapes and sizes have arrived in Cowes today testing the patience and resourcefulness of the marina staff used to more modern boats. There is a fine display of assorted flags with many boats dressed overall in the bright sunshine.

Some boats put up assorted flags at random which is fine. In theory there is a proper procedure for dressing a ship overall with code flags though it's hard to see that it matters much. In flags etiquette I try to follow the guidance laid down in Miranda Delmar-Morgans little Maritime Flag Handbook. Miranda spent her childhood on a gaffer- the Morecambe Bay prawner 'Laura' - and so is an authority to be respected.

The Cowes Part Port celebrations have been ably organised by Sue Pennison and we had a fine supper at the Island Sailing Club.

Cowes....

Bonita spent another day in Cowes, and several other Gaffers arrived today. We now have the Dutch boats Helen and Recipe together with Cygnet, Louisa May, Lahloo and Agapanthus. Enough for a jolly evening in the pub. We went to the Duke of York; very likely named long before the current Duke took up any official duties.

There are lots of flags for Saturdays coronation all over Cowes - no sign of any republican dissent here.

The picture shows a local gaffer sailing in the Medina river. She is the pretty little Vivid: built in 2008 to a Victorian (1886) design.

Cowes

Except when she is in a gathering of gaffers, Bonita always looks strikingly different to todays modern boats. The above picture wasn't taken by a drone, but by Justin from the upper deck of the Red Funnel ferry which passes alarmingly close to the marina on its frequent trips to the mainland.  Every time the ferry leaves we hear the recorded message over the ships loudspeakers telling the passengers to stay calm and what they should do in the unlikely event of an emergency. Justin has had to go home for a couple of days and as it is blowing quite hard from the east, Bonita is staying put while I get on with a few jobs and general sorting out. While going to the supermarket I had a look at the excellent (and free)  Max Aitken museum in the High Street which has lots of fascinating nautical items. Aitken had a remarkable life and was the son of Lord Beaverbrook, the enormously rich owner of the Daily Express: not all children of high- achieving parents succeed so well themselves. I was the only visitor to the museum  and there were two staff on duty so it makes you wonder about their business model. Certainly worth a visit.

Cowes!

After leaving Ramsgate at 4am we thought it best to carry on and by 11pm we were off Beachy Head motoring against a light head wind. Part of the reason we carried on all night was because the forecast promised an easterly breeze. It was a bit late in coming but off Brighton we got a nice NE wind which shifted round to the east and blew all day. We got to Gosport by high water, 10.30 am. But we decided not to stay as Justin needed to go home for a couple of days. So we had a fine sail to Cowes and Bonita is now berthed at Shepards wharf where the Gaffers are gathering later in the week. 

As always Cowes is full of interesting people, shops and boats even though the sailing season hasn't really got going yet.

There are some pretty extreme boats to be seen as in the picture. What are the chances someone will still be keeping her in sailing condition in a hundred years time?