Getting ready for sailing on the Solent

Stokes Bay Sailing Club on the Solent on a busy Sunday morning. Choosing a shot at this time was very challenging as it was around 1.00pm when the sun was overhead. This was the best I could do.

After a leisurely start to the day we went for a short stroll to the beach before lunch. The beach is peebly hereabouts, but very popular on a hot day such as today. A beach cafe was doing a roaring trade and there were many people on the beach, in the water and promenading along the shore.

But the vast number of boats on the Solent was a eye catching sight. Flotillas of small sailing craft were racing around a course, boats launching and landing from the slipway, sails and halyards flapping and tapping in the wind. Inshore were people playing around on sit on top kayaks. Off shore were larger sailing boats interspersed with ferries and other ships all with th Isle of Wight forming a backdrop. It is a wonderful place to sail and made me quite envious as I did a lot of sailing when young and have not been in a boat for over 30 years. Maybe we'll return to it soon?

Leisurely seems to be the key to today as we had that kind of lunch which stretched on into the late afternoon before we departed back to Maidstone and had a very uneventful trip (which is unusual) on the M25 to end a very good weekend.