Page 26 - Yachter Spring 2024

26 AXE ONE DESIGN
‘full house’ recovery breakfast. Cooked aboard our support ship, the hosts somehow managed to rustle up sufficient plates and cutlery for the whole fleet!
With the crews revived, it seemed sensible to head up River with the tide and return on the ebb. Having reached Bucklers Hard, a stop off was called for – ice creams from the local Marina Shop. Being high water, the fleet of seven boats (having additionally acquired RYSC’s Rear Commodore Facilities in her Scow), landed on the foreshore below the Masters Builders. Having purchased our ice creams we were politely informed that we were illegally drawn up on the foreshore – we should have known better - the intricacies of privately owned rivers!
With little wind amongst the sheltered tree lined upper reaches, the decision was taken
to head back downstream to open water. As we neared Gins, the south easterly filled in nicely, allowing us to have a pleasant afternoon sail. This involved a spot of creek crawling – investigating a tidal channel that once led out to The Solent via Needs Ore, now a shallow deserted creek running parallel to the outer Solent shoreline – abandoned to the water fowl.
On Saturday evening, we were royally entertained at the RSYC for Dinner, with the attendance of a number of Commodores and Rear Commodores (RSYC, ASC &
AYC), a quieter evening followed, but none the less very enjoyable, in very comfortable surroundings, with excellent food, wine and of course, the company!
Sunday dawned with a distinct change
in the air – overnight electrical storms had rumbled around fore-telling a breakdown in the lovely weather. Sure-enough by mid- morning we were battened down below, sheltering from torrential rain and 30 knots gusting in from the east. The forecast had it passing through fairly quickly, confirmed by tracking it on the rain radar app – the wonders of modern technology. Following a late Brunch, the sun came out and the wind eased sufficiently allowing us a final sail in fresh conditions. Sailing down River under reefed main, it was good to see another Beaulieu based yacht flying the Axe burgee. Bits is
a 28ft Twister, owned by Will Ackerman,
who still maintains his longstanding family link with the Axe. In fact, we are indebted to Will for taking the photo from the comfort of his cockpit as we passed by on that breezy afternoon...
A weekend never seems long enough
when just messing about in boats, but time soon passed, boats were packed away, trailers hooked up and the ‘passage’ to Axmouth
was soon made. Fortunately, sufficient time allowed for a swift de-brief in the Ship, providing time to reflect on another successful trip to the Beaulieu River. The success was very much down to the generosity of the RSYC, who we sincerely thank, for once again accommodating our small fleet of AODs!
Nigel Daniel Commodore Axe Yacht Club