Sailing along the South Coast of England may not sound as glamorous as a summer cruise in the Mediterranean, but with our ever-warmer climate and increasingly settled weather, its charms are becoming more irresistible every year. This year, for my birthday treat, we decided to venture beyond our usual Solent waters and make a short but memorable hop across to the enchanting Brownsea Island.

My connection to Brownsea stretches back decades. I first visited in 2001 with my best friend of 61 years, Edward. Back then, our mode of transport was far humbler — not by yacht, but by kayak. We paddled through Poole Harbour, nosed our way up the River Frome to Wareham, camped on the riverbank beneath a moonlit sky, and shared a simple lunch on Brownsea’s quiet shoreline. Those were magical days, filled with the kind of youthful adventure that becomes the foundation of a lifetime of friendship.

Twenty-four years later, I returned — no longer the wide-eyed explorer in a kayak, but a Yachtmaster Instructor at the helm of my beautiful yacht, Seraphim. Brownsea Island itself has changed very little; it remains wonderfully timeless, its forested paths, sheltered anchorages, and curious wildlife — including its famous peacocks — just as captivating as ever. But the dining arrangements certainly had improved. This time, lunch wasn’t a pierogi perched on the shingle, but a relaxed afternoon in Shell Bay Restaurant, gazing out across the water to Seraphim resting serenely on one of their mooring buoys.

Passage Planning and The Run to Poole

The passage from the Solent to Poole is straightforward but still rewards a bit of careful planning. The key is the tide: catch the west-going stream early enough out of the Needles and it will carry you swiftly and smoothly all the way to Poole entrance.

We chose to exit via the Needles Channel, not only to take advantage of the wind but also to revel in the spectacular views of Alum Bay‘s vibrant cliffs and the iconic Needles themselves standing guard at the western tip of the Isle of Wight.

Once clear of the Solent, the course to Poole is direct, with few hazards except one crucial and often misunderstood feature: the Sandbanks Chain Ferry. It has priority, and its heavy chain rises during transit, so vigilance is essential. The ferry signals its imminent movement with a flashing white light, but an even earlier clue is to watch when the crew stop loading cars and buses — usually a subtle but reliable hint that she’s about to make her crossing.

Entering Poole Harbour and Approaching Brownsea

Poole Harbour, one of the largest natural harbours in the world, is a sailor’s delight. Its sheltered waters, winding channels, and rich wildlife make it a coastal treasure. But with shallow patches scattered liberally throughout, timing your entry is important.

Seraphim draws just 0.5 metres with the keel lifted, which gives us enviable flexibility, but even so we just scraped through the narrow, shallow approach to Brownsea for our planned overnight anchorage. Once settled, we enjoyed a quiet dinner aboard and drifted into a peaceful sleep in one of the most tranquil anchorages on the south coast.

Exploring Brownsea and A Perfect Birthday Lunch

The next morning, we set off to explore. Brownsea never disappoints: tranquil woodland, untouched natural beauty, red squirrels darting through the treetops, and of course the unmistakable calls of peacocks echoing through the trees. Wandering the island felt wonderfully nostalgic — a blend of old memories and new discoveries.

After our walk, we returned to Seraphim and motored round to our reserved mooring buoy outside Shell Bay Restaurant. A short tender ride delivered us ashore for what turned into a memorable afternoon of fine food and even finer views. The restaurant offers spectacular vistas across the harbour entrance, perfectly framing Seraphim at her mooring. Oysters, fresh seafood, crisp wines, and warm company made it a birthday lunch to remember — a fitting celebration set against one of the South Coast’s most beautiful backdrops.

As the sun slipped behind the low Dorset hills and the first stars shimmered to life above Poole Harbour, I felt that familiar, quiet contentment that only a day on the water can bring. Returning to Brownsea after more than two decades — now at the helm of Seraphim rather than a humble kayak — reminded me that adventure isn’t always found in far-flung cruising grounds. Sometimes it lies just beyond the headlands we think we already know. With warm tides, gentle winds, good food, and the best of company, the South Coast revealed its magic all over again. And as Seraphim rocked softly at her mooring beneath a sky full of stars, I realised that moments like these are the real gifts: simple, peaceful, and unforgettable.

When I last visited Bembridge with Jacque and few weeks ago, he was so taken by the beauty that he told his wife, Stella. And so a trip was arranged, for all three of us the visit again.

Jacques and Stella arrive promptly at 1030, on the morning of the 2nd of June, and after a cup of tea, we slipped lines and headed up the Hamble and into Southampton Water.

We set our sails and managed to tack our way over towards the Isle of Wight. Approaching Osbourne Bay, Jacque suggested that we anchor for lunch in the bay. As the time was approaching 1400 and we were rather peckish, we all agreed.

We anchored, under sail, in 4 meters of water, 2 cables off shore and 2 cables south of Norris, red lateral mark. The Spade anchor set immediately and it was fun doing it under sail and remembering the techniques required. Lunch was provided by Stella, a wonderful home made chicken pasta, with pesto.

We weighed anchor at 1400 and with the lack of wind motored to our destination for the evening, Bembridge Harbour. We approached St. Helen’s fort at 1630, which was 2 hours of high water and made our way to our finger pontoon.

Having moored up, we had a few light refreshments and then made our way to The Brading Haven Yacht Club, where I had booked a table for us so days ago. We had a wonderful outside table, with fantastic views of the entire harbour and even a dinghy race at at club. The meal was good, and made better by the company and the fine weather.

After our meal, and with the sun setting we walked back to Seraphim, via the beach overlooking the entrance and with Portsmouth on the horizon. The ambiance was amplified by driftwood fires, used as heating, lighting and bbqs, by what we presumed to be locals taking their families out. A fantastic end to a wonderful day.

It’s time to test out the true potential and one of the main reasons I bought Seraphim. With a lifting keel and the ability to lower the draft from 2.2 metre to 0.7 m, I decided on a trip to Ryde, accompanied by my friend Jacque.

The day before departure, I called Ryde a harbour, to check out accessibility and draw on local knowledge, always an invaluable asset. This was readily given by Shaun, the harbour master at Ryde. The main problem was the slitting on the right of the entrance, and the other advice was to not necessary stick to the buoyed channel. The buoyed channel, is primarily used to avoid the hovercraft and not for depth. I was advised to make my way from the end of Ryde Pier, and head straight for the entrance, which is what we did.

We slipped lines at 0923 and causally entered the River Hamble and the raised sails and headed to our destination.

We arrived at Ryde Pier at 1230, two hours before high water Ryde, and gingerly made our way towards the entrance. Depth dropped to 1.1m and we made notes of times and height of tide, to aide our departure, the next day.

True to Shaun’s word, the entrance was indeed silted up and we had to stick as closely as possible to the green mark when entering, to avoid the build up of sand on our port side.

Once in the harbour, we reversed into our space on the visitors pontoon, and put Seraphim to rest in her new temporary home.

I happened to have friends , Monika and Marcin, who sailed to Bembridge the same day and we arranged to meet for a drink and lunch in a delightful pub called the Boathouse, in Puckpool, not far from Seaview. Needless to say they joined us for drinks on Seraphim after lunch.

The following day we have to wait for the tide to permit our exit, so we took the opportunity to take a walk through Ryde.

It wasn’t until 1330, that we had enough water to venture out. The wind was a Force 6, which aided our turn out of our berth, but we had to be pretty careful manoeuvring through the exit of the harbour, especially as we had both the keel and rudder raised. We managed it without issue and had a cracking sail back to Southampton in squalls and F7 winds. Seraphim handled beautifully and the sail was exhilarating and a perfect finish to a perfect weekend.

Another early start, as I promised Warren a hand with the re launch of his yacht, Honolee. I left home at 0540 and with a stop for fuel and breakfast arrived at Keyhaven just before 0800, for an 0830 launch, we were to be the first launch of the day. Needless to say, West Solent Boat Builders, were working to their schedule and not that of their customers. They had a small lifting keel yacht in their sling, trying to free a jammed keel with a sledge hammer. So we had a coffee and Keyhaven Sailing Club.

We were eventually launched at 0940and after the usual engine check and re fitting of lazy jacks were on our way and winding our way through the small, unmarked channel and towards the Solent.

I was very kindly invited by my friend Paul, to join him for a couple of days on Izzy Wizzy.

I arrived at Gosport marina at 0830 and explored the marina and surroundings before meeting up with Paul. Our two Aircraft Carriers were in port and looked magnificent against the scenic and historic background of Portsmouth. It’s an amazing, magical city, steeped with history. The Historic Dockyards are a must if you visit. https://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/

Paul, wanted to brush of the cobwebs, and we decided to sail to the Nab Tower, neither of us had been before. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nab_Tower

We slipped lines at 0940 and couldn’t resist a sail pass by our carriers, which were both leaving for duties and exercises. The Queen Elizabeth to the South China Seas and the prince of Wales to Scotland.

We then motored out of Portsmouth, which is always filled with much emotions. One cant help thinking about the centuries of activity in this extremely important Naval base. Glimpses of memories flooded back to me of my first visit in 1969, when I was only 9, on a school trip, “Little Ealing Junior School”

We had a mixture of sailing and motoring to the Nab Tower, passing the Solent Napoleonic Forts. https://welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/solent_forts.html

We returned back to Gosport at 1545 and relaxed with a walk to Clarence Marina for a pint and snack, before returning to Izzy Wizzy, for a relaxing evening with a wonderful meal presented by Paul.

After being in Portsmouth for a few days and seeing both the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales, I had a notion to see them departing Portsmouth harbour. After checking the Portsmouth VTS website, I discovered that the departure of the Queen Elizabeth was schedules for the 1st of May at 1550.

The evening of the 30th of April, I texted some new friends, ” Monika and Marcin” and asked them if they were interested. They immediately agreed, now the decision was on which boat??

Their yacht, “Spellbound of Narnia”, is based in Southsea, which has a cill gate, and restricted access times, whereas, Seraphim, at Universal is only minimally limited at extreme low water during spring tides. And so, it was decided to go on Seraphim.

I drove down to Universal at 0600, stopping en route to get provisions for or trip. I later found out that Monika had made a chicken cassoulet. So we had plenty of options.

Monika and Marcin promptly arrived at 1000, and after showing them around Seraphim, doing a safety brief and having some coffee and cake, we slipped lines at 1105.  We gently made our way into the Hamble river and upstream into Southampton Water.

Surprisingly, the wind picked up and as we entered Southampton Water we raised Seraphim’s sails and entered the peaceful world of wind and waves.

As we crossed the Solent and neared the Isle of Wight, we noticed the ferries entering and leaving Wootton Creek. I reminisced the last time I had been here, several years ago in Yaga. I suggested we change our plan and go into Wootton Creek for lunch. The reasoning was that waiting for the Queen Elizabeth would mean we would come back close to low water and that’s without any delays.

So we started our entry into Wootton Creek by approaching the North Cardinal mark and then following the buoyed channel. We made it just before the ferry started to make here way into the channel. We moored up at the end of the visitors pontoon at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club.

The club was open, indeed this was their first day of serving lunches outside. We decided to forgo our onboard delights and refreshments and partake in a helping of Fish n Chips on the terraces of the club. Such beautiful views and peacefulness, and people milling around, almost made one forget the Covid crisis.

After lunch, we slipped lines at 1526 and made our way back, predominantly under sail, to Universal marina. Arriving back at 1840 we reversed Seraphim into her berth. Marcin stepping of the stern, attached our stern line to the dock cleat, whilst I powered forward and brought Seraphim gently into her pontoon.

Having settled Seraphim in, it was time for some light refreshments of beer and wine and discussions about our trip and sailing adventures in general.

A most pleasant day and it just goes to show that changing plans can be rewarding, and exciting, an in many way better than the original one.

Today is brighter and warmer than the previous day. Indeed, it’s tee-shirt weather. Our plan was to take a trip up stream, on the river Medina, and to the capital of the Isle of Wight, Newport.

But, all plans change and Ed decided to stay on for another day and we both decided to return to Beaulieu. We were going to have another attempt sailing towards the village as I was disappointed that I backed out on the first attempt.

We booked our lock exit for 1130 and had to be ready by 1115 for instruction from the marina. Promptly, at 1115, the marina radioed us. We were instructed to slip lines and make our way towards the lock. This time it wasn’t free flow. We entered the lock and were thrown bow an stern lines, by the marina staff. Once locked in, the water emptied and we dropped some 2 metres to the level,of the welcoming river Medina.

We motored downstream crossed the Solent and to Beaulieu. Passing Bucklers Hard, we continued upstream, for our second attempt at reaching Beaulieu village. This time I was braver and more determined. Passing the point we had reached the day before, the depth kept decreasing and the river narrowing. However, this time my resolve prevailed and after a few more bends we reached the village and could see traffic crossing the small road bridge, that prevented any further progress, well that and the fact that we were running out of depth.

Goal achieved, we headed back downstream, and to Bucklers Hard. This time we had a very private berth on C9. Another meal and refreshments at “The Master Builder” beaconed.?⛵️