This was a holiday to Poole harbour and onto swanage, it was fantastic 2 days south of brownsea, but swanage and a storm overnight was worrying enough to cut the westerly trips short, and we came home in a rough F5, always a test of nerve over the Christchurch ledge and the run in heavy seas. I hadnt secured the domestic earth very well, so on the return, we had engine but no instruments or autopilot, just a loose bolt caused this.

We arrived in dark south of blood alley, and the chartpltting laptop o had connected to the GPS put us anchoring in a narrow always floating part of the harbour 100 yards away from anyone else - well done Garmin!

me and son spent 2 days living aboard, playing pirates and snorkelling and fishing the abundant crabs - 2 days without any commercial distractions or dry land.We were woken every morning about 7am by the plates crashing to the ground, as the Furzey island ferry doing 20 knots illegally, forced its tsunami bow wave 500 metres up our channel !

Next time we will anchor West of Furzey!

After 2 days, i stupidly decided to adventure onto Lulworth and Birdham pool, but the weather was getting windy so we slipped into Swanage on rolling waves. The local fishermen and harbour master refused to tell us about which of the 80% unoccupied buuys were for visitors, so we had to anchor, and after a dousing visiting restaurant in inflatable submarine both ways, we found one fisherman had anchored across our bow, so i had to lift our anchor back 20 metres to avoid his stern taking out our bow in the now force 7.

after drying off and setting GPS anchor slip alarm, we tried to sleep being pitched continuously, but i heard dragging of chains about 1am in then force 8, and the beeping of GPS, i woke like a shot, and in underpants and t-shirt opened hatch to find us about 5 minutes away from a beaching!. it was nearly pitch black and horizontal rain. luckily i managed to start engine quickly, but she could not motor forward with chain, so i luckily realised one minute from grounding, to reverse her back to depth, and it worked. i had my son hold to wind while i pulled up the failed anchor (pebbles not mud is the problem there - the fishermen knew but are sods) and we took a buoy near the harbour wall, safe at last, and i swore in future i would ignore fishermen and take a safew mooring in future.

Well just as well, because a huge electrical squall broke through for an hour, whistling and shaking the now sheltered boat, wed have been on the beach for sure. SD23 with a lifting keel is not helpful because the wind was from the West, the waves from the South, and if you lowered the keel to stop the rolling, the board clanged like beg ben !

sort of heaven then hell, brownsea then Swanage.

No photos of Swanage or return leg, since it was such a horrid place, we left in a rush after storms and unprotected moorings, weather was degenerating anyway.

11th August and the elusive British Summer - had GONE!

great trip, learned much, if im honest, too much lol

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