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Another short passage completed in snappy time due to strong tides. As seems to be my thing now, I passed the next headland, St Albans Head, close in to avoid the rough water further out as the tide slings past it. So I got the best of both worlds as I'm sure I got 4 knots of tide in smooth water for quite a while. Combine this with a decent breeze meant that I was touching 10 knots at times. Game on.
I needed to leave early in order to cross the Lulworth firing range before 9:30am. I reckon the MOD were going to be quite light fingered on the old triggers as they'd had a month off and were due to start firing out to sea that morning. So no doubt they were going to start with a bang, so to speak. I was past their sites before 9am so all well, though I heard them on the radio lamenting the fact that there were many boats still in the area which had to clear out. Clearly these people had not attended to the MOD schedule. Serves 'em right if they get a bit of incoming, though I'm sure the MOD won't be that harsh.
I whizzed past St Albans Head and turned to windward to make for Studland bay which is just outside Poole harbour. Very popular anchorage, Studland bay. Not surprising as it's rather nice with views of white chalk stacks and cliffs to the South, lovely beach with countryside beyond to the West and Poole harbour to the North.
Since the bay is huge I picked a fairly random spot (there were only a few boats around), dropped my sails and slung the anchor out without recourse to the engine. It was 10am so I had the rest of the day to relax in. I decided to stay on the boat and enjoy the sunny weather. The radio informed me that the sunniest/hottest place in Britain this day was Bournemouth. Which happened to be where I was. Good times.
By the evening at least another dozen boats came and anchored here. It was fun watching all the summery activities going on. Loads of people on the beach opposite, motor boats towing banana floats with screaming kids on them, jet skis and other boats going hither and thither. It's a far cry from the days and weeks I spent on the East and North coast without a sole in sight.
I also went for a swim. Indeed. I donned swimming trunks and gingerly stepped down the ladder at the back of the boat and immersed myself. For about 10 seconds, at least, before I could bear the cold no longer and got back on board. At least I can now say my venture included a swim in the sea. To warm up I busied myself scrubbing super clean the whole cockpit area of the boat so it now looks all shiny and new.
Summary
Super fast passage of 19 miles in less than 3 hours with good winds and fast tides (it was Springs). Arrived in Studland bay by 10am and spent the day enjoying the sights and sounds from the boat.
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