Martyn made a Sunday dinner yesterday and we watched Top Gear. It was lovely but it took me back to the days of Sunday nights when Monday morning used to loom like a big grey cloud - shivers!!! OK so I don't expect any sympathy from the workers out there, it was a serious reality check for us both though. Thoughts of finding work are now at the forefront of our minds as the money sifts through our fingers. Being at Newport was really nice and we felt a little bit like we belonged there but there is more travelling to be done and things to see before the Bank Manager catches up with us.
It was a 5am start for us this morning, although I have to say I didn't feel like I slept much at all and was wide awake before the alarm went off. It was all a little Monday morningish to be honest and we left Newport with some reluctance. I couldn't complain too much though, I wasn't heading for work just the mainland and the morning was peaceful and calm. We finally found the Boat museum as we passed out of Newport, maybe one day we'll come back and visit it! When you enter a Port or Harbour for the first time it's easy to miss some of the more interesting things around you. You have to concentrate on listening to Harbour / Marina instructions and finding your berth before attempting to moor up. At Newport it was more a case of looking for a gap to squeeze into and watching out in case it looked like anyone was leaving! This is my excuse for not noting the variety of unusual vessels in the area. It has been disappointing to say the least that we have not seen a large variety of boats since we left Hull. It's mainly white GRP, be it sail or motor. Nice enough but we like a bit of character....... Newport certainly has character! Passing Island Harbour marina we saw the ghostly, faded and derelict Ryde paddle steamer on the side of the river. It makes for a very sad sight. Opposite is another abanded boat, a barge and in between is a sunken digger and caravan. Unusual to say the least! We passed The Folly Inn with its visitor moorings, they were surprisingly not full! We had expected to boats rafted together all over the place with it being Cowes week. The thought of no electric for a few days must all be too much for the yachties he he!!
Approaching Cowes we watched the chain ferry pass along in front of us. Care is need when passing this point. The chain ferry moves between East and West Cowes transporting passengers across the water. You have to wait for it to reach it's destination to ensure the chains have sunk to the river floor before you pass over. This is before you try to avoid the Fast Cat and the Red Funnel ferry heading straight for you! We left at this time to avoid the racing and the general madness of Cowes week. It was the right thing to do, ferries and racing boats? No thanks! We passed through the outside of the channel keeping away from the ferries and an enormous container ship. The wash from all three made for interesting water!
There is more than enough water for all at the entrance to Southampton but we still stuck to the shallower water to the east of the Channel. We often watch in amazement as motor boats and yachts pass within what look like inches of these huge fast moving vessels. We just like to keep out of their way...
We were heading towards another special place, not special because of scooter memories or links with music or family. Special just by name - 'The Elephant Boatyard'. As soon as Martyn found out that it existed and was within the area we would be travelling in he decided he had to visit. The Elephant Boatyard is an important place in its own right as Nelsons flagship HMS Elephant used in 1801 during the battle of Copenhagen was built here. It is suggested that it was on this ship that he put his telescope to his blind eye and claimed not to be able to see a signal ordering him to withdraw. I wonder how many people asked him where the name came from......?
We were excited as we entered the Hamble, deemed to be one of the most pleasant cruising areas on the South Coast. I'm sure it is lovely, when you can see it! We love boats, don't get me wrong but this river is overloaded to the point where you can't see anything but. We had decided to stay with Premier Marinas again as they have a Marina right opposite the Boatyard and so far we have been getting discounts on arrival - all good. We found our berth and wandered up to the office to pay our dues. We were happy to be here and looking forward to exploring the area. We were met by a somewhat sombre gentleman who asked me to fill a form in. "We're already on your database" I replied with my best smile (think of the discount....). I knew we were in trouble when he looked up at me over his glasses. "You know I should charge you more, our berths are from 12pm to 12pm" I looked at the clock it was 8am. "So how much will that be?" I asked. He never actually answered me, just prepared the invoice for £39 (certainly no discount on this occasion!) and asked how I would be paying. I left the office feeling cross and humiliated - I didn't like The Hamble anymore! What I don't understand is the fact that we are in tidal waters yet still expected to check in and out of a marina like a hotel - Maybe they should remember 'Time and tide waits for no man'.
Putting all that aside for the time being we set about doing our laundry, certainly not £39 a night value facilities, we are still trying to dry our clothes! Eventually at 3pm we set off to explore. There is another special thing about this particular area 'The Jolly Sailor' pub. This is the place where 'Howards Way' was filmed and a very nice place it is too. It overlooks the Elephant Boatyard so we decided that a drink on the waterfront was in order. It made for a very plea sent end to the day. We had a surprise on returning to the Marina. Two familiar faces from Goole. We had seen the Beverley Transport wagon arrive as we set off for our walk but didn't think too much about it. The boat was Robocat arriving for a three week holiday on the South Coast! Of all the marinas in the south.... who'd a thunk?
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