Olympics Opening Ceremony

Being Londoners we’re obviously very interested in the London 2012 Olympics and this weekend it’s the opening ceremony. Having seen the torch arrive at Hyde Park, we are down at the coast for the opening ceremony on Friday. I phone the Rising Sun pub in Warsash to see if they are showing on there television. The owner confirms they will have the Olympics on although I have to prompt him as to the day and time of the opening ceremony. 

We duly arrive for our booked table expecting the pub to be full of people watching it. How very wrong we are! Only two other tables in a big pub and the rest are drinking with no interest. Oh well – we enjoy it all and the very kind owner leaves us sitting in an empty Rising Sun at 1am seeing the fabulous cauldron being lit! 

Saturday is a slow start and we get out trying to get to grips with cruising sails and the problems of an inner forestay and a large overlapping genoa. Going up Southampton water we stick to using the staysail for short tacking. It’s a bit of a relevation. Not only is a lot easier but much to our surprise we can still hold a speed of 6kts. That’s that sorted – any situations involving several tacks and we’re using the staysail or no.3 as I like to call it!

But life is never easy – out attempts to heave-to aren’t as successful and we can’t get the boat to stop in the water. Need to work on that one. 

Sunday we’re joined by Stephen Keenor an old friend of Susies. Two years back we enjoyed a week of fun sailing from Spain to Portugal with Steve and its really great to have him onboard. 

A few wiggles of wires and I’ve got the troubled magnetic compass working again. It went on strike just as I’d convinced the depth finder to finally work. Turns out they are definitely not friends as no sooner do I now have electronic headings, than the depth finder starts to yo-yo readings up and down!! So annoying and really can’t work out the connection. 

We tack up to Hurst Castle with a fair tide and deciding to anchor for lunch (I think the depth finder is co-operating). Then the engine decides it won’t hold. Starts fine and after a few minutes dies. Now this is an engine on a boat hardly used and in mint condition. And particulary odd as Susie checked the fuel level in the morning. A switch in fuel tanks and it works. Oh the joys of owning a boat. 

And you know it’s going to be one of those days when I hoist the anchor ball and the top of it snaps leaving a halyard floating around midair! I know I have a reputation of over tensioning things but this is ridiculous.

In the afternoon we enjoy a downwind sail with tide behind us. The wind picks up to above 25kts gusting 35kts at times. We indulge in the usual game of a Susie reefed genoa and Tom slowly unfurling it all when Susie is not looking. Some good surf and Adinas speed record is soon in trouble. And much to my joy a new record of 9.9kts is set!

Time to put the sails away and previously mentioned halyard has wrapped itself around the top of the forestay prevented us furling the genoa!

Some brain storming and while Susie helms I have the boat hook and Stephen holds onto me as I try to hook it. A bit like being at a fairground. Several attempts later said troublesome halyard is recovered. 

Coming up the river I’m think what next?! But no more dramas and we pack the boat away given next weekend we’ll be at the Olympics. Fun having Steve onboard again and we’re soon coaxing him to joining us in the Med. Good man he’s dead keen and that’s got to be a trip to look forward to.