Sailing Again - Hilary Lister

Unbelievably, we are still in Lymington. The wind has not dropped below a force 5 for less than a tantalising couple of hours. The frustration is immense, not least for Toby, me, Mike and the "Ribbies", but also for the ground crew who are constantly told that we might be leaving and then everything is cancelled at the last minute after they have prepared suitable meals and got everything ready.

It does finally look as if we might just get a few days of good weather at the end of the weekend, though, so everyone is keeping their fingers crossed. Much as last year, the jet stream has moved South and it bringing one low pressure front in after another. Berthon Marina have been fantastic - each time we visit the office with the news the response we get is "We know, we've looked at the weather too - it's no problem. Don't worry". Life must not have been easy for them as it's peak season and they have kept our berth empty for us. Also, Melvyn visits most days and cheers everyone up for a while. Since we are stuck here for now, food is more important than ever, so today he brought us icecreams, which was always going to be a winner!

We continue to meet incredible people who quickly become friends. Ben Merritt, a professional skipper, turned up on Sunday and invited us to supper. Since everyone else had found better things to do with their weekend off than babysit Arty, Toby and I checked rather nervously whether he was inviting the whole of the crew. "There are seven of us". He didn't even flinch before saying, "No problem". On Wednesday his wife Charlotte and two children Flora and Primrose, along with his sister-in-law Millie, not only fed us great chilli followed by amazing deserts, but actually gave us the remains of said deserts to take back for the following day. I know that it was tough for Ben as he admitted looking in the fridge for the Rasberry cheesecake and wondering where it had gone. I'm sure that it was tougher on the girls as they gave up half a chocolate cake that had to be tasted to be believed.

Jacqi, certainly, was in heaven, and Helen and I weren't far behind! Millie, in a vulnerable moment, offered me the use of her bathroom and I jumped at the chance, so today Ben drove us up and back to her house. A bath is a real luxury for me as it's the only time I get to take the pressure off my spine. It's a rare moment when I am relatively pain-free, so I seldom turn down an offer.

Last night Jacqi faced her phobia and cooked for the whole crew. To her surprise (but no one else's), it was delicious and almost everyone had seconds (apart from Toby and Mike who had at least thirds, possibly fourths!). Now she has proved that she can do it, we are all wondering how long it will be before we can persuade her to cook again.

On Saturday Martin Forster is due to rejoin the crew after four weeks off with an injured arm. Whilst we had hoped that we would be further round the country than Lymington, we are all looking forward to seeing him immensely. Martin is a big personality whose disappearance, due to a T-boarding accident (land-based), left a hole in the team and stretched us to our thinnest operating capability. It will be a huge boost to have the whole crew back together again. 

- Hilary Lister  11 July 2008

12 July 2008

What a day! The weather still looks good for tomorrow, and then this morning I had a phone call from out of the blue asking me if I would like to go and fly in the Gypsy Moth aeroplane which famously flew in over Francis Chichester on his return from his epic voyage around the world.

I first met Nigel Reid, whose father was the owner and pilot that day, at the re-dedication of Gypsy Moth IV. Within seconds of being introduced, he had abandoned his father and his wife and family, and pushed me straight over to the aeroplane! "We'll get you in there - no problem (I had my doubts, but kept them to myself), when would you like to come?" I nearly bit the poor man's arm off! We have stayed in touch ever since, but I hadn't realised how close he was to Lymington.

I had a wonderful flight over our planned route tomorrow - it is a long way, but at least I now have a mental picture of where I'm going. Helen also got a ride, and loved it - at least she got out of the plane bouncing...

The best news of the day is that Toby put the electronics back together after their latest soaking and they behaved impeccably during our test sail this afternoon. It means that tomorrow we are off! Much as we have loved enjoyed Lymington and its surroundings and been supported tremedously by people like Simon and Rebeca Rogers, Melvyn, Pete and Ben (and, in some cases, their extended families!) we are all desperate to move on.

We may only stay one night in Portland, depending on how long the sail takes - and whether anything gets broken :-) - so that we can crack on to Brixham and possibly beyond. We have a 6am leaving time, but even so Melvyn, Ben and Darren and their families have all promised to be there to see us off. It's a reflection of the sort of friends we have made.

13 July 2008
Sailed out of Lymington bound for Portland! Arrived safely in Portland.

14 July 2008
In Portland.

15 July 2008
Still in Portland, RIB needed some repairs. Plan to set off at about 7 tomorrow morning.