Sailing Trip on the Solent of the English Channel

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June 13-14, 2009

The adventure started with a live auction at the AWC's yearly fund raiser called Founders Day in February. The sailing trip was donated by Sylvia, a member of the club and her husband Roger. It was advertised as a two day, overnight sailing weekend. I initially did not bid on the package and it went to another member of the club. I was sitting next to Susan Bolton-Pappas, a friend of mine from the hiking group and we started talking how much her husband Ryan and my partner Carlyn would have loved that trip. We turned around to the woman who "won" the package and ask if she would like to sell it to us and she said yes!

Fast forward three months. Sylvia, Susan and I had collaborated on a suitable date that we could all agree on, and an alternate in case of bad weather. The weather looked dodgy for the weekend even as we decided to go ahead with the trip on Friday morning.

Look for my handwriting to see our destinations!

Carlyn takes the wheel

We headed over to the Isle of Wight where we viewed Osborne House the former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat.

Many boats mored at Buckler's Hard for the night

One of many Yacht clubs at Cowes on the Isle of Wight

We stopped for another fabulous meal of Cornish Pasties, sweet mash and beans, washed down with cold beer. About this time the wind picked up and we were able to get a couple of hours of proper sailing in before heading back to the boat slip.

We came upon the Spirit of Fairbridge, a 92' Sail Training Schoone that supports young people aged 13-25 who are not in education or employment. They work on their personal goals and ensure that valuable learning is carried beyond their week on Spirit.

We sailed around the Isle of Wight, a small island just south of South Hampton and around the Solent of the English Channel, up the River Wootten

Happy Hour at our night time anchor spot in the Beaulieu River. Roger cooked an amazing beef joint with roasted vegetables followed by the cheese course and the fruit course, all with wine and port of course, and chocolate as a finish. We all fell to bed very full, a little buzzed and very pleased with the lovely day.

We anticipated a rainy and cool day for Sunday but got warm, sunny and wonderful! After a fantastic breakfast we headed up river to Bucklers hard, an 18th century village where warships for Nelson�s army were built

The best host and hostess, aka crew ever. Sylvia and Roger were amazing hosts. We were never hungry, or thirsty, or bored! Great trip and an amazing experience we can add to our many experiences we have had here in the UK.