We had arranged for Jeff & Gerry from Virginia Lady to meet us on board in the morning for an overnight visit to Portsmouth. We quickly locked out of Hythe marina on a fine day and within an hour we were at the buoyed Portsmouth channel. We radioed for clearance from QHM to cross the main channel and enter the harbour, crossing above Ballast buoy as instructed. Despite the rather unpromising comments in the Almanac we phoned Gunwharf Quay and were welcomed onto their extremely wide and well equipped pontoons, where our neighbours were a team from Motor Boat and Yachting reviewing a Pearl 55. Our guests were impressed with the convenience and facilities at Gunwharf which seems to be shunned by many other local boaters, maybe thought to be too difficult to get into, or too expensive?

As well as being next door to an outlet shopping centre, the marina is also handy for Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard and the rest of the day was easily occupied by the many attractions there. The ticket office seem to have recognised that there is too much too do on one day and now offer two year as well as open ended passes. Our day included the the iron clad sailing battleship HMS Warrior as well as HMS Victory, the oldest serving ship in the navy. We also managed to fit in a harbour tour by water and saw the recently returned ships of the modern navy, newly back from active service in Iraq. For the evening we headed to Old Portsmouth's Spice Island, from where Henry VIII saw the demise of the Mary Rose and after drinks overlooking the harbour at the Spice Island Inn, we ate fresh fish at the Lemon Sole restaurant.

The berth at Gunwharf Quay is a lively one due to the nearby ferry movements but was also rather noisy at night due to the 24 hour construction work at the Spinnaker Tower. The huge tower has appeared since we visited last year and consists of two converging concrete towers, easily the highest building in the area. A glass spinnaker will eventually adorn the towers, with observation floors to provide the best possible views of the city and its environs.

There was more to see at the dockyard for the second day of our visit, including the free internet access at the Action Stations Mezzanine Cafe. After a short evening cruise back to Hythe we spent a settled night but there was to be no rest between our social events as we had been in contact with Derek & Pat Owen who we had met aboard P&O's Victoria last winter. Our plan was to cruise to Cowes and spend the afternoon and evening together. We made the short journey across the Solent and into the Medina River avoiding Bramble Bank, which lies under the direct route.

We enjoyed an evening at the New Holmwood Hotel with its commanding views overlooking the Solent. From here we could watch as cruise ships, banana boats and container vessels turned down the Western Approach Channel and headed out to sea.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 54 nm

Total to date: 854 nm

Avg Speed: 12 knots

Duration: 4:45 hours

Mooring
Gunwharf Quay: £34/night
Electricity: £3/night

Cowes: £25.50/night
Electricity: £3/night
Diesel 25p/litre

Shamrock Quay: £34
Electricity:Free

Waypoints

Hythe Marina
50 52.76N 01 23.64W

Esso Terminal
50 50.71N 01 19.99W

North Channel NCM
50 48.57N 01 17.13W

Southsea
50 45.94N 01 05.10W

Portsmouth
50 47.46N 01 06.68W

Charts

SC 5600