Page 18 - Yachter Autumn 2020

18 CRUISING REPORTS
HOW WE CAME TO BE MEMBERS OF RSYC
In 1991, on a visit to Southampton, a client invited me to lunch at the Ocean Village clubhouse.
I was impressed by the quality of the food, friendly staff service and the impressive clubhouse. Sulis was berthed in Hythe Marina, half-way between Southampton and Gins - so it was obvious, we had to join.
The client was a senior member and immediately co-opted me onto the House Committee. His intent soon became clear - to redraft the rules! As a Committee member and then Commodore and Guardian,
I spent many hours driving up
and down the M3 as we lived in Camberley and my office was even further north.
Over the years, Laurie and I have enjoyed innumerable events both on and off the water. Now living
in Hythe Marina, we are looking forward to more cruising nights aboard as we make the best of these challenging times.
other boats. On arrival in port, I was asked
if I had seen an unmarked rock or some other navigational hazard but had to admit that the crew had insisted that we tack to accommodate a necessary visit to the loo, on the appropriate side of the boat!
After several years of enjoyable Corsair sailing, we aspired to a slightly bigger
boat and began a search for an Oceanlord. However, at the 1996 Southampton Boat Show we chanced across the used Oyster stand and my, by now quite bored young son, was keen to accept an invitation to be bussed to Saxon Wharf to view their used boats. Having protested that we could not possibly afford even a preowned Oyster, we were shown a lovely 406, the exact same length as the Oceanlord.We took a test sail and made a silly offer which,to our surprise, was accepted.
I thought we would end our sailing days with Sulis but after 16 years I was tempted by a different challenge. June 2012 found us in La Rochelle taking delivery of Copycat, a 36-foot Fontaine Pajot Mahe catamaran that, although four and a half feet shorter but with a beam of 20 feet, still provided 50% more accommodation than the Oyster.
There were large double cabins aft in each hull and two enormous shower and loo
compartments in the bows.An inner saloon and galley and large outer covered cockpit gave us a huge amount of comfortable living space.With the two engines we could even motor at eight knots! En passage and on autopilot we could lunch comfortably at the cockpit table while keeping watch through the large forward cabin windows. She sailed fast and on an even keel particularly when the wind was on the beam or the quarter, but was not quite so good into wind.
We had some wonderful sailing
with Copycat but its rather exposed driving position, erratic British weather and our advancing age suggested it was time to bite the bullet and move to power.
We now have a Broom 39KL that more than satisfies.We now do not have to get up inYarmouth at an ungodly hour to take the last of the tide to the Needles, and Guernsey is now just four and a half hours away.We can thus have a civilised breakfast and still be in St Peter Port in time for lunch!
So, do we miss our sailing days? Yes, we do, but only when the sun is shining, and the wind is on the beam!
So, will Slipaway be my last boat? My wife says yes, but...
Words and photos: Anton Bates