By Jeff Dray

     The New Season

     Here is England we have had a short and late winter but as I write the sailing weather is back. Why do we waste the first good sailing weather each year? When I should be out there getting wet I am in the back yard with the sander and a tin of paint getting the boat ready for next weekend when, according to tradition, the boat will be ready but the wind and weather will turn for the worse and the new paint will serve it's time keeping the rain out.
     Three Fridays ago I broke the mould, instead of spending time preparing and titivating I just went sailing. The wind was very light and the harbour's surface was like glass. The sun was filtered through a fine haze, giving an almost mystical light on the harbour and the water was so clear you could see the bottom. On such a day and in such a place it is hard to believe that the world is such a dreadful place. It would be hard to fight a war or commit a murder after a few hours experiencing what I experienced that morning, it was almost a religious feeling.
     There was just enough wind to fill the sail but I have to confess that the main motive power was the electric outboard that I bought last year and had yet to try out. Since that time I have used the motor several times to get the club’s dinghy out to the patrol launch moorings, we paddled or rowed before and most users agree that the motor is a very civilised alternative.
     Can I recommend anyone who has wondered about electric trolling motors to get one and try it out. I slipped along silently, the only sound was the hint of a vibration coming from the far end of the motor shaft. The one I have is a Yahama E Drive which is sold in various sizes, priced very competitively against petrol outboards and is a real joy to use. A standard compact car battery kept me going for over three hours and costs next to nothing to re-charge. You don't get planing speeds but then us sailing folk don't go in for that sort of thing do we?
      It's great for getting clear of moorings and a crowded slip. The slip that I use is not far from my front door, is shingle and leads into a small dock used by Poole's commercial fishermen. It has many hazards, the moored craft are very close together, there are strings of mooring buoys and it can very difficult to row through. My boat is too small to scull over the stern so this was a great improvement.
     I powered out of the dock to the open water, tossed the small grapnel anchor over the side then set about rigging the spritsail and stowing everything for a good day's sailing. I covered quite a few miles before catching sight of a threatening bank of clouds. I returned to my back yard and the rain obligingly rinsed the salt water off the boat gear, thus saving me a job!
     Poole Harbour is the world's second largest natural harbour, has an internal coastline of approximately 120 miles and has more than enough scope for the many thousands of boat users and visitors who come here every year. There are areas set aside for water skiing, Jet skis (or personal water craft as they are sometimes called) and away from these are numerous wildlife reserves and designated quiet areas.
     It would really be perfect cruising ground for a Weekender. At the east end of the harbour is the world famous Brownsea Island, where the worlds first scouting camp was held. Along the north-eastern side is Poole town, where I live, further along west is Hamworthy, home to the Royal Marines and the Special Boat Squadron, the elite waterborne assault force, the nearest equivalent to which would be the US Navy SEALS.
     At the west end of the harbour is the town of Wareham, founded in Saxon times as the principal port of the area but fell into decline as the west end of the harbour silted up. 751 years ago Poole became the main port and continues to this day.
     The Poole unit of the Maritime Volunteer Service spent a lot of the Easter Weekend patrolling the harbour on behalf of the Harbour Master, who has generously supported the unit in many ways. In return we try to help whenever possible. On Good Friday, after a terrible start, we patrolled the water skiing area as a safety backup.
     Nobody was there at all. It might have been because of the strong winds and heavy swell but it gave us the opportunity to explore some of the secluded areas and see a lot of migrant seabirds. In this picture you can see the world famous Brownsea Island to the east as we proceed westwards to our patrol area. This picture is unashamed self indulgence, and clearly show the kind of performance you can achieve in an 8 foot pram dinghy with a sprit sail. More seriously it shows the kind of beauty the Harbour has to offer, even in the cold winter months. I did arrive home with a very stiff white beard and a burnt face, but that it what salt spray does to a face that has barely seem the light of day for five months. This sort of sky scape is what I see everyday, my only regret is that I have to drive five miles away from it and spend a dull 8 hours in an air conditioned office explaining the finer points of computers to dullards calling a technical support helpdesk. Computers should be used for writing about sailing and boatbuilding and for transmitting pictures of boats and the sea to people far away. They should not, in my opinion, be used for business, even when they are built by me. End of anti-establishment ramble, back to the sea!
     Along the coast are the great ports of Southampton, the port of embarkation for many emigrants to the New world and Portsmouth, the home of the Royal Navy, one of my ex-employers. Nelson's famous flagship HMS Victory is there, the World's oldest naval warship still in commission. She is the flagship of the Commander in Chief, Naval Home Command and still has a ship's complement.
     When I was a kid my Grandfather often referred to his time serving on HMS Victory which we used to dismiss as aged ramblings, even we knew that he wasn’t THAT old. After his death in 1974 we found his Navy discharge certificate, his time on the ship was confirmed. Later research revealed that she was afloat in Portsmouth Harbour until the late 1920s. She was used as a depot ship until she came into Dry dock number 4 where she rests to this day. If ever you come to England don't bother with Windsor or Stratford upon Avon, use the time to explore the historic dockyard and take the tour around this fascinating relic and the superb Royal Naval Museum next to it.
     On her quarter deck is a plaque on a raised mahogany plinth inscribed "Here Nelson Fell" The joke with the tour guides is that they too have often tripped over it many times.
     The cockpit is the nearest thing to a shrine that you will see on a ship, A portrait of Admiral Lord Nelson dying is displayed there and the ship is the centre of the RN’s Trafalgar day celebrations every year in October. Near to this is a specially constructed building housing the remains of an even older ship, HenryVIII's Mary Rose, which sank off Spithead in the 15^th century and was excavated and raised again in 1981. It is a fascinating cross section of a Tudor war ship and came up along with many hundreds of artefacts which give a fascinating insight into naval life 450 years ago. Further along the dock and still afloat is HMS Warrior, a nineteenth century Royal Navy ship which claims to be the world's first iron clad, having not only the normal square rig but Steam engines as well.
     More to come soon from Poole, we should be well into the sailing season soon and I will have lots tell you about my explorations in the harbour. Although we are thousands of miles apart living in different time zones there is always a feeling when I sail of belonging to a fraternity, those of us who sail in boats we have built ourselves quite literally in our back yards, which while they may not be perfect in construction or finish still represent a huge sense of satisfaction and personal achievement.

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