I'm sitting in my "office" on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon asking myself that question. Misty was lifted out last week for her annual scrub and re-antifoul (see next post) and I'm waiting for a few dry days to get on with the work.
I am conscious of the fact that I haven't posted anything since July and more than one concerned reader has asked about my well-being, so what did happen to the Summer? Well, a debilitating muscular problem slowed me down for a few weeks but thanks to the magic of steroids I'm back in the cockpit and although the extended cruise didn't happen I did manage a few days revisiting the old haunts on the Solent.
So here are a few photos in more or less chronological order.
Close hauled beating up towards Portsmouth in a Force 4. Misty now seems to be set up right and really sails very well.
An attractive but unknown traditional ketch from the USA.
Poking my nose into Wooton Creek at low tide
This is the Fishbourne ferry dock with a WightLink vessel unloading.
What it says on the side!
D34 HMS Daring, first of the RN's new Daring Class destroyers.
Yet another commercial vessel heading up to Southampton. But what's that on the after deck?
Look more closely...
SAL is heavy lift shipping company based near Hamburg and this is either a motorised Chinese Junk or Arab Dhow. I e-mailed SAL for more information but no answer. Maybe it was full of illegal immigrants.
This time it's a quick look into Newtown River, owned by the National Trust, again at low tide.
This is the view to port on entering. The river here opens into a lake with a number of visitors' moorings.
Looking upstream into the main river. The narrow channel lies to startboard of the anchored yachts.
An old friend still going strong in commercial use. The paddle steamer Waverley.
Less attractive but equally functional. Yet more containers bound for Southampton.
Starboard tack again but reefed down in a Force 5.
Quick look into Osborne Bay.
Looking back towards the East Cowes headland
And all the way back towards Calshot. Looks a long way.
Another Tall Ships Challenger reefed down in the same Force 5. Note the red high visibility storm jib in use.
Calshot Tower again, so what's changed?
After many years of just carrying the Southampton VTS radar antennae the tower is now manned again as a lookout by the volunteers of the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI), see http://www.nci.org.uk/
They are all dedicated enough to climb the 82 steps up to the observation platform every time they go on watch.
Southampton Harbourmaster at speed.
Proceeding more slowly, a local trawler hauling in her nets.
The buoy at Lepe Spit, just before the entrance to Beaulieu River.
Lepe Country Park
Old Coastguard Cottages at the river entrance.
Posts marking the starboatd side of the river entrance and small but prominent lighthouse
Platform marking the port side of the eriver entrance.
Slow down Misty.
A short dash across to the opposite side of the Solent is Thorness Bay.
All very quite now that the season is over.
Running back acros the bay towards Gurnard Point and West Cowes.
Another commercial vessel about to round the West Bramble marker. The 'sharp' end is on the right!
