Andrew at the Grinning Rat, Ipswich
Cowes Weekend, Cowes, Isle of Wight - 7th August 2004
Nosher heads down to catch a bit of Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight, seeing as how Sean is crewing for old school chum Ray on his Contessa 32, "Confusion". First, there's a bit of time to kill waiting for the ferry in Lymington, which is just enough to swing round to see Hamish. Then, once on the island, Nosher and Sean crash for the night on another boat - Drifter - and then there's a day of sailing, watching baffling swarms of boats compete in races around various bits of the Solent whilst listening in to radio commentary on Cowes FM.
next album: A Brome Swan Trip to Calais and the Battery Todt, Cap Gris Nez, France - 11th August 2004
previous album: The BSCC in Debenham, and Bill's Housewarming Barbie, Yaxley, Suffolk - 31st July 2004
Boats on the river at Lymington
Lymington Quay and river
Looking up the river
Swans float about
It's holiday season on Quay Street
Quay Hill, Lymington
Jignesh and Hamish hang around, post barbeque
Bruce climbs all over the sofa
Sunset on the river at Lymington
The Royal Lymington Yacht Club
Heading up the river on the Lymington Ferry
The sun goes down over the Solent
Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, is heaving
Revellers are out on the street
Ray and some of his crew
Ray and Sean
Ray and Crew, with Sean gurning on the right
Striding around Cowes
We get the river taxi out to the moorings
Sean uses the nearest, er, facility
Sean kicks back on the yacht Drifter
Nosher
The next morning at around 7am
A view up the pontoon
Sean roams around
Sean in the cockpit of Drifter
It's time to brush teeth
Back on the river taxi
Sean looks out
Breakfast in the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
The crew discusses the day's racing
Heading out of the RCYC
Starting guns are prepared for the day
Ray's crew on a pontoon, waiting for a RIB
Looking back at the Island Sailing Club
Other crews gets ready
Sponsors tents get ready for the day
A million boats on the Solent
The crowds build up
Some racing occurs
People line the waterfront
Smoke from a starting gun drifts over the water
A mixture of Squibs and Redwings
Pennants are unfurled
Another starting-gun moment
Meanwhile, a band performs
Queen's Road in Cowes
Some sort of mini carnival passes by
More carnival costumes
The Fountain, on High Street
More High Street action
Down at the Yacht Haven
Ray chats to Malcolm Ford, ex Brock College
The post-race hangout
Nosher visits The Needles on the way back
Colourful cliffs at Alum Bay
The famous multi-coloured sands of Alum Bay
A pontoon, and the Needles light house
The Moonscape of Alum Bay
The bottom of the cable car, on the beach
There's a very quiet amusement park on the clifftop
The long pier at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Fishermen do their thing
There's a nice car in the car park
Looking up Market Square
The old Customs House in Yarmouth
The slipway outside Yarmouth Yacht Club
A selfie, by Yarmouth Yacht Club
A possibly-1950s sign, featuring Charabanc tours
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Andrew at the Grinning Rat, Ipswich
Andrew at the Grinning Rat, Ipswich
Boats on the river at Lymington
Lymington Quay and river
Looking up the river
Swans float about
It's holiday season on Quay Street
Quay Hill, Lymington
Jignesh and Hamish hang around, post barbeque
Bruce climbs all over the sofa
Sunset on the river at Lymington
The Royal Lymington Yacht Club
Heading up the river on the Lymington Ferry
The sun goes down over the Solent
Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, is heaving
Revellers are out on the street
Ray and some of his crew
Ray and Sean
Ray and Crew, with Sean gurning on the right
Striding around Cowes
We get the river taxi out to the moorings
Sean uses the nearest, er, facility
Sean kicks back on the yacht Drifter
Nosher
The next morning at around 7am
A view up the pontoon
Sean roams around
Sean in the cockpit of Drifter
It's time to brush teeth
Back on the river taxi
Sean looks out
Breakfast in the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club
The crew discusses the day's racing
Heading out of the RCYC
Starting guns are prepared for the day
Ray's crew on a pontoon, waiting for a RIB
Looking back at the Island Sailing Club
Other crews gets ready
Sponsors tents get ready for the day
A million boats on the Solent
The crowds build up
Some racing occurs
People line the waterfront
Smoke from a starting gun drifts over the water
A mixture of Squibs and Redwings
Pennants are unfurled
Another starting-gun moment
Meanwhile, a band performs
Queen's Road in Cowes
Some sort of mini carnival passes by
More carnival costumes
The Fountain, on High Street
More High Street action
Down at the Yacht Haven
Ray chats to Malcolm Ford, ex Brock College
The post-race hangout
Nosher visits The Needles on the way back
Colourful cliffs at Alum Bay
The famous multi-coloured sands of Alum Bay
A pontoon, and the Needles light house
The Moonscape of Alum Bay
The bottom of the cable car, on the beach
There's a very quiet amusement park on the clifftop
The long pier at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Fishermen do their thing
There's a nice car in the car park
Looking up Market Square
The old Customs House in Yarmouth
The slipway outside Yarmouth Yacht Club
A selfie, by Yarmouth Yacht Club
A possibly-1950s sign, featuring Charabanc tours