Back from the Castle Inn for an early night (ha!) on Sunday to see this fantastic view from BB.  The Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth is always impressive, but the big fat moon next to it.  Awesome!

Now all you sailors know that the full moon causes spring tides, and the closer the moon the bigger the tide.  As predicted they were the biggest for ages (40 years if I recall).  Judging by the “Pain” “Pain” calls from the sand banks in the Solent quite a number were caught out.  Then today we had a very visual reminder:  a full 2 hours before low tide in Brighton Marina (dredged to 2 metres by the way) all the red and green lateral channel buoys were high and dry.  That’s why we left early from Portsmouth and put the pedal to the metal to arrive 3 hours before LT.  (BB 2.4 metres draft by the way…)

I wasn't on the Dieppe Dash with Brighton Belle, as I was crewing on Silver Fox - but it gave me the chance to watch her sail by, all graceful and everything... and fast too- second over the line in Dieppe and class winner.

Here's what I saw from the deck of Silver Fox (before the gales and huge waves started, and the camera had to go firmly back into a dry place! Hope you can see these photos.... when I preview I can just see a row of boxes... however, they appear when I click on them!

For our day sail on Brighton Belle, with skipper George and mate Bob, we had 8 crew, several of whom had not met previously. Three were sailing first timers, but we all had an opportunity to steer the 55ft Brighton Belle under sail. After a safety briefing from the skipper we proceeded from the inner berth at Brighton Marina, through the lock, and out into the English Channel. We'd all wrapped up warm as the forecast was for cloud cover and a fresh breeze from the north.

I've sailed out of Brighton Marina a few times but I still enjoy seeing Brighton seafront laid out along the coast in front of me. It's fun seeing all the various squares and hotels and from pier to (remains of) pier in one view. Anyway, we were headed in the other direction, away from Brighton, towards Eastbourne and Beachy Head.

Once the sails were hoisted (a team effort), the engine was cut. This is another favourite moment of mine: when the rumble from the engine finishes, there's only the sound of the wind and waves, and the boat (in this case, the big boat) continues carving a path through the ocean regardless.

I joined BB on the strength of a nice lunch and meeting a lovely group of people, so was really looking forward to actually going out to sea on her. I joined in late January and up to last Sunday my experience of BB has been mostly wandering round looking helpful with a pair of pliers and waving a hose over hatches to check for leaks. However, on Sunday, the gods which rule crane hire and weather (and hard work by members and friends) smiled and she was ready to rules the waves. 

It was a fabulous day... she is such a lady. We had a great mixture of conditions, waves and winds, but the experience was magical, and I can't wait to go out on her again and especially the Ireland trip. 

Brighton Belle was re-masted today and is now proudly wearing shinny new rigging. She looks very smart . Follow this link to see the event. Thanks Ingmar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7wTMV6Igjs