Last October we were able to charter Lutine from Lloyd’s Yacht Club for an out of season four day weekend which proved to be quite eventful due to the weather. Working through the weather windows we managed to get to Weymouth via Poole from Gosport.

The trip was enjoyed by all and so early in 2021 I booked Lutine again with the plan of getting to the Chanel Islands. Due to Covid it was decided that the Chanel Islands wouldn’t work and Dartmouth would be our destination.

With the weather closing in and the forecast looking grim we departed Gosport and had an uneventful sail down to Yarmouth.

05:30 Saturday 2nd of October. After a lovely meal in Yarmouth involving hot rocks and raw meat we were up before day break in order to reach Weymouth before 12:00 at which point 55kn gusts were predicted.

Safety tethers were issued to the crew partly because of night sailing but also because of the poor forecast.

Five hours and 38 miles later after a very wet, windy and bumpy sail into 30kn of wind we arrived in Weymouth around 11:00. With two reefs in the main Lutine managed the conditions with ease and reached speeds upto 12kn. Special mentions go to Bill who had prepared Marmalade rolls for breakfast and also to Peter who navigated us safely around the live firing range in Lulworth Cove.

Weymouth wasn’t very busy so managed to secure C2 berth which is located right in front of the Harbour office and facilities. The afternoon was spent catching up on sleep and drying out our gear.

After a lazy afternoon and several pints in local hostileries we had an excellent dinner in Ming Wha, although 9 hungry sailors in a Chinese restaurant is always a recipe for confusion as you can imagine.

We have been using the Splitwiseapp app to divi up the bill between us, if only we could work it out.

After a tot of navy 100% proof rum we headed to our bunks for a good rest.

Next morning we woke to the smell of bacon and sizzling sausages being prepared by Kevin R who gets a special mention as odly enough he doesn’t eat meat.

We departed at 11:00 and set sail downwind for Lymington in what promised to be another fast sail in strong winds.

We were not disappointed, sailing under a reefed jib alone we reached speeds of 15 knots surfing down building seas in severe gales that gusted 45 knots.

Back in Lymington we strugled to find a restaurant open late on Sunday until eventually striking lucky with an excellent Sunday roast at the Ship Inn

After more heavy rain overnight we set sail East back to Gosport making the most of the persistent 27kn winds blowing in from the West.