10-12 August – Lynda and Ian sail with us

Friday: We have known Lynda and Ian (and their children) for a very long time so it was really nice that they could come and join us on Idun for the weekend.  They arrived at 8pm after a long car journey, and after showing (off!) our boat home to them we settled down to supper, a bit of wine and lots and lots of talk.

Saturday: After breakfast on deck we set off from Portsmouth towards Chichester.  Lynda had done a day’s sailing at Cowes only a few days earlier, so she was all geared up to winch and pull ropes.  She soon found out that sailing on our boat is an awful lot more relaxed!  Ian has not really sailed before but was keen to learn.   Lynda and Ian took turns in helming with Dominic teaching them what to do and what to look out for along the way.

We had a nice and calm sail with the wind mostly behind us all the way into Chichester harbour, coming over Chichester Bar just after high tide with 6m depth, so no problem at all.  As we had enjoyed our anchoring spot by Pilsey Island so much on our earlier visit, we had decided we would go there again.  This time we didn’t see the same sort of birdlife though, not a single oystercatcher, which was a shame.   The weather was grey and quite windy, but not bad enough to stop us taking a trip in the rib.  We hadn’t had four adults in it before, but it worked out really well. Though Ian, sitting at the front, got really rather wet!  We set off for Itchenor, as it seemed not too long a ride, about 20 minutes.  We found a pontoon with an empty cleat, so tied up and walked ashore.  We noticed that the gate could be locked but thought that surely this won’t be a problem.  After a little walk along a pathway we came into the village and found a well frequented pub: The Ship Inn.  We found a spot on a table covered from the rain and sat down with our drinks.

We chatted about the world and his father, and at one point we were talking about comedians, and how we all enjoyed Jack Whitehall and Lynda said we must watch the tv program with him travelling around Asia with his Dad.  And suddenly Lynda exclaims ‘there’s Jack Whitehall’!  We all turned around and saw a familiar sight walking by on the road.  Lynda rushed after him just to confirm that she’s not gone mad, and no, it was definitely him.  How weird was that!  We talk about this strange coincidence a bit, and then walk back towards the rib.  Only to find that the gate to the pontoon was very much locked with a padlock!  Luckily the tide was out and there were some very handy stepping stones in the mud around the extended gate.  So we were clearly not the only people having made this mistake!

The evening was spent eating Dominic’s tasty curry and playing the ‘Sort it Out’ board game, which caused great hilarity!  Ian won convincingly, and the rest of us gave up on trying to get second place at half 12 and headed for bed in our cosy cabins.

Sunday: Grey but warm, so we enjoyed another breakfast on deck, this time watching dinghies sailing around our breakfast table at high speed!  The Skipper had had a lie in this morning, so we set off just after 12.  Ian did a fantastic job helming almost the whole way with Dominic as support.  It was really nice for Dominic to have male company on the boat.  Lynda and I chatted while sitting in the lee under the sprayhood!  It was raining back and forth, with a good wind, so Ian had to hold on tight to the wheel at times when Idun bucked up and down in the waves, sustained 9-10 knots, 10.6 knots top speed.  Good going!

We went to Gosport Marina this time (had a free night to use!) and got a berth on the outer side of the hammerhead.  After a successful mooring, Lynda and Ian helped Dominic tidy up after the sail and I cooked us all a late lunch.  And after that it was time to walk them back to their car and say our goodbyes.  Thanks for coming Lynda and Ian, it was so nice to have you!