The Solent is home to a plethora of vibrant sailing towns and villages and the Hamble River is sometimes referred to as the sailing mecca of UK, the River Hamble is home to no less than seven marinas.
We were invited to sail in Colin's boat, Jast, moored in Swanwick Marina.
Swanwick is located as far upriver as most sailors are able to go, thanks to the nearby road bridge. This means you need to motor or motorsail for roughly 30 minutes, past attractive scenery, before you are at the mouth of the Hamble - though, as Colin pointed out, coming off the motorway, getting into your boat and motoring to the mouth of the river can still be quicker than sitting in your car in the traffic on the way to Hamble itself.
We sailed in fabulously sunny, windy weather to the Beaulieu River. A beautiful place. We moored close to the Ginn's for lunch where the monks of Beaulieu Abbey kept their fishing boats and which is now home to one of Royal Southampton Yacht Club's clubhouses.
A (very short) history..... The river was originally granted to the monks of Beaulieu Abbey by King John in 1204. With it were the rights and responsibilities of caring for the Beaulieu River and this was later passed to the Montagu family.
And a little smuggling story........Contraband, smuggled from France, was landed in many places along the thickly-wooded banks. All the farms along the river were more or less concerned in the traffic including Ginn's Farm. Buckler's Hard on the river was a major landfall for the contraband trade: the cottage that is now a chapel was a centre of operations. In Beaulieu itself Palace House made a convenient warehouse, since it was frequently unoccupied. To discourage unnecessary interest, and ensure that the premises remained vacant, smugglers laid on a variety of stage ghost effects - clanking chains, hair-raising screams in the night and mysterious apparitions.
Thank you Colin and Tina for an excellent day out.
