TRAFALGAR 200 & THE FLEET REVIEW

  
June 28th 2005 saw the biggest gathering of Naval craft in British waters for 27 years. Hundreds of vessels (including more than 30 Tall Ships) occupied the middle of the Solent from Cowes to the Eastern end of the Isle of Wight, and with the added spectacle of an Air Display, a mock Battle of Trafalgar, and a huge Firework Display, we decided that this was not an occasion to be missed.

By 10:30 Russ, Mark, Dick and I were motoring out of Portsmouth Harbour in our 16 past the new Spinnaker Tower which is due to open later this year. It’s a stunning piece of civil engineering, but at 33 million quid I suppose it should be! We were in our best sailing bib and tucker, and once clear of the harbour entrance, set off westward down a narrow boat channel close to the Gosport shoreline in search of Lizzy and the corgis. Unusually, the wind was from the East and as it was a brisk force 4, and we were all too busy rubber-necking at the boats to want to worry about gybing, we just hoisted the jib and set off in relaxed style with lagers in the ‘cooler’ over the transom.

There was a 200 yard exclusion zone around the naval fleet marked by buoys and patrolled by RYA marshalls so it wasn’t possible to get a close look at the boats, but they were an impressive sight nonetheless. As the day progressed the sky turned greyer and you could see why naval ships are painted the colour they are!

We only strayed inside the restricted zone once (navigational error, nothing to do with the lagers … honest!).A friendly RYA boat soon shepherded us out again, which was a bit of a disappointment as we were hoping for a shot across the bows and a bit of a 007-style chase with the SAS.

It got a bit choppy over Bramble Bank off Cowes, but it wasn’t long before we were beating back up the Isle of Wight side of the fleet. The fact that we were the smallest boat on the water and seemed to be going the opposite way to everyone else made for some interesting close-quarter manoevres. Nelson would have been proud.
Lunch was had at the the yacht club in Wootton Creek on the IOW. A lovely spot, with a jetty and a lawn down to the river. Suitably refreshed, we continued Eastwards towards Portsmouth again, but it wasn’t long before 2 yachts hailed us advising of a severe weather warning – squalls due in 30 mins. We headed for Ryde, dropped sail, and motored along close inshore so we could beach if it got bad. As it happens the squall was practically windless …. just 15 minutes of torrential rain which turned the sea into a white haze of splashes. The weather then brightened just in time for the Red Arrows air display which took place directly over our heads on our approach to Portsmouth Harbour……incredible!
Back on dry land we joined the crowds to watch the Tall Ships re-enact Trafalgar, complete with blazing guns and Robert Hardy doing the commentary. Then, for a grand finale, one of the biggest firework displays this country has seen. It was a synchronised display from a line of offshore barges and was awe-inspiring for the sheer quantity of fireworks that were in the air at any one time.

All in all, a fantastic, and very memorable day – the sort the L16 is perfect for.

Pete M.