Aug 10
12
Summer Update
Well that is another Cowes week over , hopefully all of you who participated enjoyed the atmosphere and hopefully some of you managed to get onto the Podium if you managed to get out of the beer tents!!
Butterfly has been manic and crazy but most of all really enjoyable, we have had some really great charters over the last month or so.
Robin and his crew came out early July – a quiet trip round the south side of the Island was requested and an overnight stop in Berthon was our final destination. At Bembridge Ledge we had a real old “pea-souper”, it was not until we got 6 miles offshore that we even got to see our companions, all worth waiting though as the sun shone brightly and it was not long until we were surrounded by a fantastic pod of Dolphins, nothing better to get everybody in really good mood. Was it 30 or perhaps 60 dolphins I heard the voices saying… it didn’t really matter it was just a wonderful sight.
Peter from ORM and friends came along for a hop over to Poole, once again we went round the south side of the Island, surprisingly the wind increased to F6/7, I had quite forgotten how messy Christchurch Bay can be. The trip back was outstanding and we hit 13 knots passing through the North Channel at Hurst Castle. I remember an old friend of mine reciting “Tide, Tide just follows the Bl…dy tide!”… how right he was.
Mark C followed with his 3rd trip out with us, not so much wind but as ever with Mark’s enthusiasm for the water we had another great day.
Our charter with Scotia Bank hit the jackpot… what do you do to make the day really exciting especially when a few of the guys had flown over from Canada? The answer was nothing, Cowes week and the Solent supplied all the entertainment. We dropped anchor in Osborne and the brave tested the water, whilst lunch was prepared. Our intention was to sample the atmosphere in Cowes, no such luck though as Chris spotted the English and US, America cup boats, I think he would have even tried to swim to get a better view if we had all not agreed to go and have a closer look. Well, it was worth it as it was amazing , two enormously talented crews, the pinnacle of Yacht racing! Words cannot describe the excitement that ran through all of us. Icon Leopard then greeted us with a sail pass, followed by Oman the ex Ellen Macarthur Tri. The open 40′s then battled it out around Gurnard Ledge, who needed entertainment!
Did the fun stop there? Of course not, as after a few well deserved bottles of Champagne Kaylan they spent the rest of the day entertaining us all, I think I will leave it there, apart from saying what a truly memorable day.
On the last Friday of Cowes week I was delighted to receive a late call from Andy, a good friend of mine who like most of us loves getting out on the water, it was not long until I realised that he had obviously sailed to a reasonable standard in the past. Wiggling our way down the Solent into Yarmouth albeit a 30 knot breeze and the odd shower, it certainly finished off a great week.
To all the rest of you who I have not mentioned for various reasons thankyou for your continued support.
As to Butterfly herself, the maintenance has been kept to the highest of standards. Endeavour helped recently with a minor Gel coat repair and secured the gooseneck fitting that I had reason to believe had come a little loose. Sea-Start attended us promptly prior to a charter replacing a cracked fuel filter glass bowl. Apart from that all appears to be in pretty good shape.
Plenty more sailing organised for August / September and right through to December, so we at Butterfly Yacht Charters are really looking forward to meet all of you who have already booked.
Jacqui & Kenny