Wednesday afternoon finds Forward Starboard sailing on a broad reach with a F5 in brilliant sunshine and sparkling seas; perfect weather for lazing around on the bowsprit and very different to yesterday evening's sail to Weymouth Bay.
Yesterday gave us all a chance to do some proper sailing and whilst the weather was initially set for a gentle journey towards Weymouth, the wind soon began to pick up into the evening and we enjoyed eating our guinness stew at what felt like a 45 degree angle! With the wind set to sweep us along back to Southampton before the night was through, we braved the cold at around 11pm to take the sails down again, ready to anchor in the shelter of Weymouth Bay.
Having been met with the beautiful sight of the Russian tall ship, Mir, coming through the mist during our earlier watch, this time we were greeted with the more formidable figure of HMS Illustrious the naval aircraft carrier, heading down channel and into the sunset.
This morning we successfully sailed off anchor and now, after a perfect Mexican-style lunch, we are all set for a lovely, ambling sail to Swanage.