Despite the poor summer weather there were variously good turn outs for events at Keyhaven with fleets from Hurst Castle SC and Keyhaven YC bustling for space
I forget the event but there was a varied fleet ranging from SCOWs and Lasers and upward in size.
Set back slightly from the top of the chalk ridge that is of Portsdown Hill overlooking Portsmouth Harbour is the original Nelson's column.
Built in 1807 to 1808 as a monument to the famous Admiral, his success at the Battle of Trafalgar during which he was mortally wounded by musket fire from an nearby French ship, the column also provided a useful sea mark for navigators.
Designed originally by John Groves the column stands 28.3 meters / 92 feet 10.5 inches high standing on the 300 feet contour line, funding of £3,000 was raised. by the donation of 2 days pay from all who took part in the battle, which considering what they had gone through during the battle seems a little onerous.
the column was rebuilt in 1899 but retains the original bust of Nelson which looks out over the harbour
I confess that despite having lived in the area for over 25 years I didn't know of it's existence until my recent visit.
I've featured Miss Ningi before, she's a Cara 16 a nice open gaff rigged day sailer designed by John Shuttleworth, sadly all too few were built.
Seen over at Birdham Pool it's an ideal boat for pottering around the large natural harbour.
Nice example of a wooden, I think Scandinavian Folk Boat waiting on the pontoon at the Royal Lymington YC.
We hadn't really considered Dieppe as a destination, having last been through there from the Newhaven ferry some 40 years ago, but since we were staying just up the coast we thought we'd take a look around the town.
The ferries stopped running in the. early 2000's and the inner port is now a marina surrounded by cafes, bars and restaurants. At the far end of town stood on a high promontory is the Musee Chateau de Dieppe, well worth a visit and with great views over the town and out across the bay.
Nearby we came across this place, it's not clear if it's a shop or a museum or a mixture since a lot of items were for sale, some really interesting stuff.
The old town is given over to a lot of boutique shops catering to tourists with an eye to high fashion items.
Some old buildings dating back right up to the ramparts of the chateau, in the center I think that's the Church of St Jacques, twelfth century gothic which was a stage for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela - the modern day Camino.
Clearly the local classic boat restoration club has it's work cut out with this one.
Interior of St Jacques are these amazing crarved stone screens to many of the side chapels, which are an indication of the wealth of the port in former years.
Not all working boats are waiting restoration, this local lugger was operating day sailing.
For a variety of reasons I've stopped going out early along the river in the past few years, more or less since the dreaded COVID started, but with a fine start to the day and rain in prospect by mid morning I decided to get out relatively early.
The sun was coming up over the trees on the east shore of the river lighting up all the boats, the river was still and reflected the hulls and masts perfectly.
Alas the weather was coming in sooner than forecast as can be seen in the western sky, shortly after getting home the "heavens opened".
Appropriately named "Storm Chaser"
Arriving early for some meetings I took a short stroll along the Thames Path along the river, the Thames at this part is tidal with strong currents on both the ebb and flow.
Docklands as it's name suggest are the old London docks, the ships are long since gone as are many of the wharves and warehouses, replaced by expensive flats and at the huge mega bank towers.
At low tide layers of history are occasionally revealed, here showing the remains of at least 3 previous wharves and who knows what other debris, some of those rocks would be from a recent demolition or left over from the building of the Tower of London who knowes.
A hundred years ago or less this creek would have been full of small lighters and other craft, dried out on the mud, unloading or loading. It's good to see some of the warehouses still preserved alongside the new flats.
I tried to find out some history of Molines Wharf, but other than the price of flats there wasn't much found by google, this stretch of the river has been docks and wharves since the time of Elizabeth I and Sir Francis Drake so probably some interesting history.
The Grapes, to echo the previous paragraph, has been a pub since 1583.
Finally I took a stroll around Limehouse basin, there's a lock to enter and leave dependent on the tide height out in the main river. Seems like quite a few live-aboard boats and certainly makes for a nice "pad" in London.
This is what you do if you live in a hi-rise but really want a garden with a view of the river, very neat and I imagine very expensive.
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