swans

 A pair of black swans have joined the winter visitors to the river

 

Waiting for the crane

A find day boat waiting to be craned out, just presumed it is coming ashore for winter, but maybe just launched, either way looking really nice

At first glance I thought it was an XOD, but looking at the photos it has two sets of spreaders and those intermediate stays to the top spreaders which I'm pretty sure aren't part if thestandard XOD.

 

Winchester Christmas Market

Winchester Christmas market and the town were lit up for Christmas on Saturday and looking rather wonderful. 

 

Perhaps as reaction to the doom and gloom and financial catastrophe we constantly hear on the news or may be it was just a nice thing to do on an early Saturday evening but people were out in crowds. 

 

The Christmas market was absolutely jam packed

Even some of the side streets were decorated.

I can never decide if this shop is upmarket goth but it certainly has a Dickensian Christmas feel. 

The cathedral was spectacular, the colours changing constantly,  red was by far the most dramatic and I almost lost my place in the queue waiting for it to come around for the photo.

Looking up in the high street.

SCOWs in the West Solent

 SCOWs  from Hurst Castle SC making progress with the light airs in Keyhaven 

 

 

 

Miquette

 Google's AI seems to think that Miquette is a 1934 12 meter sloop built by Fife at Fairlie in Scotland, and is probably right respite the home port of Cowes on the stern.

There is more information on the 12 meter class official site. She certainly has all the Fife attributes,  quality of varnishing on the mast is excellent and presumably whatever other works are being carried out are of similar standards.

Hopefully get to see her out on the water next season.

 

Hurley 22

Some would say dated but when Ian Anderson designed a new small cruiser for George Hurley in the early 1960's he achieved a very competent and attractive yacht that's hard to criticise. The Hurley 22 is of it's time for sure, but it's difficult to point to a bad line or awkward angle on on the entire boat.

 With an impressive 40% ballast ratio this is a yacht that is good at sea when it gets rough, something to which multiple trans-Atlantic crossings have paid testament.

While the interior suffers like so many British boats from too many berth syndrome, it would make a comfy weekender for a couple. 

What's not to like, these days cheap as chips, very solidly built, small enough to get into crowded moorings, easy to keep and if you wanted to go off for a single handed jaunt across Biscay or the Atlantic plenty of folk have gone before you.

Nice Yawl

Rather nice and very well kept yawl ashore presumably for the winter

Would like to see it on the water and under sail