The Occasion
With my wife’s birthday fast approaching, I was looking for an extra special way of celebrating the event. I happened to see a Clarity advert for a short break, and decided to book and take our good friends (and neighbours) along to help make the weekend a real celebration. While not having been on a boat of this size before, we have an interest in water-based activities such as jet skiing and love the water. We had always wanted to save up and try to buy a motor yacht sometime – but as with many people, you save up for ages and never seem to have enough to buy the boat you really want! We’re pleased to have discovered the benefits of chartering - having great days or weekends out on the water at a fraction of the cost of owning our own boat and with none of the hassle!
Arrival Aboard
We arrived at Chichester marina around 9.30am on the Saturday and met the Clarity crew at the pontoon where the boat was moored. After helping us get our luggage onboard (and we had plenty, including two cool boxes of seafood!) the skipper took us through a safety briefing and we were shown around our home for the weekend. For a boat of around 35’ it was amazing how much space it had – both cabin space down below and the cockpit – great for entertaining! After an hour or so we were ready to leave, the crew slipped the berth and were soon heading out of the marina and into the harbour.
Sightseeing
Chichester harbour is an area of outstanding natural beauty, and you could easily spend all day exploring the various channels. However, we decided that we wanted to get out to The Solent as soon as possible to see the sights of Portsmouth and get to our destination – Cowes. While it took three-quarters of an hour motoring at 8 knots to get to the harbour entrance, the scenery was fabulous and this gentle passage allows any landlubbers to get used to being on a sea-going motor yacht! Leaving Chichester harbour was like beginning an adventure of discovery – with the vast open seascape of the English Channel ahead and around us. Once we had cleared the harbour limit, the skipper opened up the engines to whoops of delight from everyone! Cruising along at anywhere between 20 and 25 knots was fantastic, and it took no time to get to the eastern Solent.
We passed the forts that you see out in the centre of the Solent and had always wondered what they were - the crew were very knowledgeable and filled us in on their history. Between 1865 and 1880 these huge forts were constructed in The Solent between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Spit Sand Fort, No Man's Land Fort and Horse Sand Fort were built as a defence against a threatened invasion from the French, which never came. After passing close to one to get a closer look at its iron-clad stone construction, we headed into Portsmouth harbour to see the sights and have some lunch. Portsmouth is somewhere that anyone with a boating or naval interest could spend hours or even days! The Historic Dockyard is home to HMS Victory, the Mary Rose and HMS Warrior (the first iron-clad steam-driven warship). Several navy ships were docked, ranging from small patrol craft, minesweepers, frigates, destroyers to aircraft carriers.
We arrived at Gosport marina and headed over the river on the ferry towards the new Gunwharf Quays complex – a shopping, drinking, eating and entertainment paradise. The centrepiece is the awe-inspiring 170-metre (560 feet) high Spinnaker Tower, which is now open for those with a head for heights. We decided to avoid the shoppers and turned left out of the ferry terminal to find a more traditional pub for lunch – we certainly found one and mingled with the locals. We’re still not sure how they took our high spirits.
By mid-afternoon we returned to the boat and were ready to head off to East Cowes marina – our home for the evening. The Solent is a great place for ship and boat spotting – we saw everything from sailing yachts and motor boats, ferries, passenger ships to huge cargo ships and tankers heading to or from Southampton. For those never having been to the Isle of Wight or the home of yachting - Cowes - arriving by private motor yacht is a thrilling experience. The busy harbour is a challenge for the boat’s skipper, but provides plenty of sights for the guests! After passing by the floating bridge that connects East Cowes to the town centre, we headed for the marina and found our berth.
The Evening
After having made the boat secure and sorted out the formalities with the marina, the crew made sure we knew how everything on the boat worked (like the oven!) and left us a key so that we could have the place to ourselves for the night. We had Clarity’s 24-hour helpline number as well as the crew’s mobile numbers in the event of needing any assistance during the night. Fortunately these weren’t required!
When the crew had left we poured ourselves a glass of champagne to celebrate my wife’s birthday, and to toast the end of a wonderful day. We had planned to cater for ourselves for this charter, and fed on a variety of seafood – scallops, langoustines, sea bass and red snapper. It tasted all the better for cooking it ourselves and eating it in the cockpit of our own motor yacht for the evening. We whiled away the evening enjoying the company of our good friends and neighbours and imagining the boat as our own! All too soon it was time to turn in for the night – and we had one of the best night’s sleep we’d had for ages. Perhaps it was the cosy cabins, or perhaps the gentle – almost imperceptible rocking of the boat had helped us sleep so soundly.
Next Morning
We chose to have a relaxed start to Sunday, and asked the crew to arrive around 10-10.30. On their arrival they prepared breakfast for us, which we had requested as an extra. The morning had dawned bright and clear, and having breakfast in the cockpit feeling the warmth of the sunshine was blissful. A bevy of swans came swimming around the stern of the boat and quickly snapped up the slices of toast and bread that we had left. After having fed them, they soon showed their true nature by hissing and trying to bite our feet as we tried to step off the bathing platform onto the pontoon! By about 11am we were ready to depart Cowes and after discussing the various options for the day with the skipper, we requested a trip down to The Needles.
After leaving Cowes harbour, we turned to port (we have been learning the nautical terms!) and headed west towards the western Solent and The Needles. After a few minutes we reached the shelter of Thorness Bay, where the skipper invited us all to helm the boat in turn. This was a real treat – being in charge of such a boat with 340 HP at hand, albeit a little daunting at first! The skipper gave each of us tips on how to helm the boat, how much power to use, what speed was appropriate for the circumstances and basics of navigation at sea! This was over all too quickly, but certainly made us all want to come back and repeat the experience again.
The passage down to The Needles was fantastic. The day was calm and sunny (a welcome relief to the cloud and occasional rain of the previous day) and we made it to the western end of the Isle of Wight very quickly. The Needles rocks and lighthouse looked fabulous in the autumn sunshine, and the skipper took us close enough to get some great photos and video footage. We also saw Alum Bay (where the famous Isle of Wight coloured sand comes from) and Hurst Castle (a fort built by Henry VIII in 1544) before heading into Newtown Creek. We weren’t yet ready for lunch, so decided to take the opportunity to relax at anchor in the Creek for a couple of hours while reading the Sunday papers that the crew had brought on board that morning. Newtown is a wonderful location – a National Trust nature reserve, great for bird watchers and those simply seeking peace, quiet and fantastic scenery.
Back to the Marina
We decided to head back to Chichester to have a late lunch prior to disembarking. The 25 nautical miles back seemed to take no time, and soon we were anchored off the popular East Head in Chichester harbour. We then cooked the rest of the seafood and in fact had so much that the crew had to help us eat it! All too soon the clock was ticking down and time was running out, and we were ready for the final leg. Half an hour later we were at the waiting pontoon outside Chichester marina and unfortunately our weekend had come to an end. We gathered our things together and reluctantly got off the boat ready for our journey home. After saying goodbye and thanking the crew for a truly memorable weekend, we loaded up the car and headed off – our heads buzzing with memories of the two days and already thinking about what we’d do and where we’d go with Clarity next year!
