It couldn’t last.

Hejira was safe and snug in Hythe Marina, so I took the train back to Sunningdale to catch up with domesticities and other stuff.  My wife, Paula and I then returned to the embrace of Hejira and old friends, John and Birgit who have a house and mooring in Hythe. We go back to when we both had Parker 31 yachts and our children were young and friendly. I had spotted his Parker in St. Helier, Jersey, when cruising in my little 23 foot Dufour, 40 years ago and left a note so we could discuss the Parker which I had in my sights as my next yacht. We have stayed in touch since and it was good to catch up while our ‘wakes crossed’.

Our intention was to have a very leisurely ‘bimble’ home to our berth in Northney Marina, trying to avoid the yachting crowds in the Solent.

We chose to transit past the hubbub of East and West Cowes into the quieter upper reaches of the Medina river. The peaceful sanctuary of Newport town quay, in the heart of the Isle of Wight, was sublime in that we left the throng behind. We took advice from the affable Harbour Master and positioned ourselves to lie comfortably flat when the tide receded, we could now relax, one of very few visiting yachts on the quay.

Having moored, we embarked on what was a very pleasant walk back along the river to the Island Harbour Marina and the bar we had enjoyed on previous occasions. Unfortunately, the bar was closed down and we had to retrace our steps, over 4 miles, all the way back to the town but, thankfully, there was a welcome at the Bargeman’s Rest!

Enough said about Newport other than, if you can ‘take the ground’ as we can in a swing keel Southerly yacht such as Hejira, it is a very welcome sanctuary. The town is very convenient and we used our ‘old buggers’ bus passes to visit the Roman Villa, the Bembridge Windmill and take in some very pleasant walks.

This is where the idyllic sailing story takes a less euphoric turn.

In order to leave Newport with depth but then carry a flood east towards Chichester, it is necessary to have a pause for the tides to change. We chose to spend a night on a mid-stream pontoon opposite the Folly Inn and we decided not to venture ashore to the pub and we ate on board.

In the morning, the domestic batteries were showing a discharge to 11.5 volts, although apparently at 85% capacity and the generator wouldn’t start for lack of starter battery power. On reflection, this was the first time we had not been connected to shore power and battery charging since being anchored off Southend Pier back in June when we experienced similar problems.

Thankfully, the engine started and we motored east with our tail between our legs in the knowledge that there were some serious issues to tackle.