Sailing Adventures: Part 4

Firstly, we sailed up the river to Southampton, making a base at Town Quay. This is right next to the Red Funnel ferry terminal with its hourly passenger and vehicle ferries to Cowes. A busy place!

Heading further up river, we then spent two nights at Marchwood Yacht Club on their visitors’ pontoon. This had basic facilities, but the advantages of being cheaper than a marina and close to a bus route to Tesco!

The pontoon was directly opposite the container port and it was fascinating to watch the containers being loaded and unloaded. We were even lucky enough to see one leaving. It was huge, with probably about 4000 containers on board. It needed three tugs to turn it around.

When crossing the Solent, it is important to follow the charts and recommended routes. Checking the red and green buoys to make sure that you are on track and watching out for cardinals marking the shallow sand banks.

We also needed to watch out for freight and ferries which are less manoeuvrable than us and the many sailing boats, especially those that were racing.

Other hazards to navigate past are the Palmerston Forts.

These fortifications were built between 1865 and 1880 to protect the dockyard at Portsmouth from attack by enemy forces.

There are four forts: Spitbank, No Man’s Land, Horse Sand and St Helen’s. They are all now privately owned, with Spitbank and No Man’s Land having been converted into luxury hotels/restaurants. Unfortunately, due to the current situation, they are no longer taking bookings. They are up for sale at just over £4,000,000 each. Or, if they are a little pricey, Horse Sand can be yours for a mere £750,000 and some serious TLC. Check out RightMove!!