Leo Noah

I've written before about the ubiquity of RIBs locally and the almost complete absence of other types of small open motorboats. So I was curious to know more about this semi derelict boat pulled up on the slipway at Warsash.

Length is around 18 feet and the hull lines show a clean sharp entry and quite pronounced chines which should deflect spray.

Construction is ply on frame and the hull appeared to be in not too bad condition with just a few patches of paint missing. The absent engine cover and broken stainless rails perhaps speak of a sinking or storm damage.

It's a shame as a boat like this would make a lot of sense for nipping around the protected waters of the Solent.

If anyone has any knowledge of the design please comment.

Lady Belle

I couldn't find much information about Lady Belle other than she was designed and built by Harley Mead as a gaff yawl, built as a yacht based on Falmouth Quay Punt lines.

She looks really great freshly painted and varnished and ready for the season.

Her Quay Punt influence is very clear and counters the popular misconception that a yawl  is defined by the  mizzen being situated behind the rudder, which was discussed in a number of early posts on this very blog.

Jolie Brise

Jolie Brise looking very jolly and ready for the season.

Looking good at 106 years old.

Brighton

We decided on a school holiday day out to Brighton, which is just over an hour's drive along the coast but for some reason I've only ever visited on business and never to the tourist areas.

Brighton is perhaps the quintessential English seaside town, the day was fine but the sea mist hung around for most of the morning.

The attractions of the east pier beckoned and a couple of quids worth of copper coins rolled down those old moving slot machines, the ones that that potentially push the money over the edge, but never do. Of course a trip to the pier wouldn't be complete without a visit to the haunted hotel.

Looking slightly more haunted the remains of the west pier in the morning mist.

Gradually the day brightened up, we did all the usual tourist sights, the Pavillion and the old cobbled streets called the lanes, where we found a terrific Italian place for lunch, but the lure of the promenade and some especially tasty ice cream drew us back to the sea.

Great place for a day out.

Freedon of Norwich

Rowing past Mercury marina I spotted an unusual craft, which turned out to be the Derek Kelsall designed trimaran Freedom of Norwich.

From what I've read she was home built by a doctor  some 35 years ago and certainly  for a while was based in Chichester harbour.

Interesting detail on the struts which link the hulls, there are two  circular section struts forming a triangulation covered a separate deck section above the upper member. It's looks very strong and after 35 odd tears seems to be holding up well given the significant forces which apply there.

Great to see a unique piece of our recent sailing history up close, I'd love to go for a sail.

Caption Competition

I hadn't really noticed the traffic cone when I took the picture from Warsash hard, but it begs a caption.

Bring on your best

Hamble View

It's 15 years since I took the header photo for Bursledon Blog from the viewing point above Hacketts Marsh.

Not much has changed, a few different boats on the river.

Getting ready for the season

Hamble River SC had a work party day to get all the boats prepared for the season. Joseph and I joined what was a really good turn out of volunteers down at the dinghy park.

It was mostly a case of getting everything out of winter storage, rigging all the boats, marking up with new stickers and noting down what was missing - bungs, sail battens and a few main sheets.

Richard as always dis a great job of organising everything including a complete revamp of the storage racks.

The club have purchased 6 RS Terra dinghies secondhand over winter, together with 6 paddle boards, which expands the fleet and certainly the Terras offer a good step up from Optimists for those kids who don't have the weight and size for a Pico.

Site of historic significance

To mark it's centenary I've been digging into the history of our house, which was built for the local strawberry trade, but long after the trade's peak in the late 19th century, which really started with the coming of the railway. Locally the station at Swanwick was specifically built to transport the "Strawberry Coast" summer crops to London before the advent of refrigeration.

We have a covenant on the property which forbids "the sale or serving of alcohol to agricultural workers".  It seems a bit hash since anyone else it seems is welcome to come around and get thoroughly legless, which just goes to show the value of the strawberry crop.

After sufficient research I decided to erect a plaque.