A rerun of my first cruise from back in January, Itchenor to East head. The forecast was looking good light and sunny in the morning with wind building in the afternoon.

Three DCA members on the slip as I arrived, one already afloat and headed off soon after my arrival. This put be in my usual rigging panic but l’m becoming better at observing this and relaxing, this wasn’t a technical sail so no need to stress. Catching the tide for an overnighter on the island and it would have been different.

Anyway I was last to launch but nice to be afloat in the light breeze and autumn equinox sun. It was as beat and I weaved my way through the moorings in the slack water. Cobner point was busy with more DCA members coming out of the Bosham channel, a large group race training and other cruising boats. These were a Cody Sailing club group it was later confirmed.

A bit later as a passed a racing mark the instructor shouted that this was the race boats down wind mark. Ahead another mark and twenty odd Swallows on a close reach storming towards it. I kept tacking to avoid spoiling their race but close enough to see these majestic craft. At over twice the length of my Gull they don’t look like they have any more freeboard and long gracefully overhangs.

Once clear astern a white Mirror was giving chase and gave me a wave, it was sailing well and I instantly knew who was holding the tiller. The wind had become a little soft now and rubber band between us would stretch and shrink as we tried to make progress. There was the bright red hull and red jib of our host on the beach at East head but not getting any closer very quickly. The Mirror tacked off to the right and I carried on, I was lucky and found an area of pressure in the updraft of a cloud and tacked to make the most of it. I have never consciously done that in a race, the relaxed nature of cruising makes me a better sailor.

Eventually making it to the beach the pick was down and we chatted as more boats arrived before going up to the dunes for lunch out of the wind. It was a glorious day now with a good turn out of nine boats and one on foot. I think we would have stayed there all afternoon but eventually someone mentioned sailing and we started to move.

It was going to be fast down wind sail will a wall of racing boats between us and home. I realised at that point that I had left my boat hook in the car, I use this for goose-winging. I have little hooks on the shrouds that can hold the jib sheets so I could experiment with those. I was very keen to try my temporary aft thwart which I hope would make the Gull much more stable down wind.

Goose winged, sitting well back I rocketed down wind. To use the hooks I needed to go forward and soon stopped using them in favour of just sheeting the jib a little tighter.

I was sitting on the temporary aft thwart, facing forward, tiller extension to lee and steering behind my back. This wasn’t exactly comfortable but was stable. I was in the same place where I first observed the difference between the Gull and Mirror sailing in a breeze dead down wind. There hadn’t been enough time for waves to build but for once I was grateful for motor boats throwing up a confused sea.

Comparing the Mirror and Gull I was pleased how stable the Gull had become. Now nothing is for free and I did three gybes while sitting aft. They did not go well, my position and awkwardness of the tiller extension had me very badly rounding up after the gybe. Though the Gull was polite enough not to dip her gunwale I wouldn’t always be so lucky. Work needed.

Approaching Cobner at 15.00 the sun was out and breeze up, too early to go home. I saw the red Mirror heading for Bosham and did the same. Racing down wind through the moored boats I spied a couple Francis 26, diamonds in the otherwise uninspiring mass of Yachts.

Approaching Bosham there was another gem, a 30 foot pencil thin double ender was raising sail. Down to Bosham and returning it was a full hiking mode beating back through the moorings. Behind the 30 footer was thundering along, heeling in the breeze. On the tiller an old salt skill fully threaded his passage through the moorings, a masterclass of control. All too soon we reached the main channel and back to Itchenor, a cracking day.

More chats about boats on the hard we slowly drifted off some saying see you in two weeks.

(NOTE: this is my first report of a DCA rally to respect the other DCA members. It is therefore just a personal account of my cruise and other boats only mentioned lightly where they relevant to the storyline)