Atom meets the family! Day sailing from RSrnYC in the Solent 7 & 8 Oct 2023

On Monday 2/10 Judith booked a taxi to Southampton and went back to London to collect the car. This left time for a bit of essential maintenance, a visit to TWY at Hamble Point and completion of the last Customs and registration paperwork. Judith returned with the car on the Tuesday PM. We took off all of our superfluous gear and then finally headed back to London on Wednesday 4/10 afternoon via Sussex to pick up something essential for the coming weekend. Suffice to say, it was very strange being in a static bed after more than a month on board...and a little sad!
But the sadness did not last long. Friday afternoon we were back on board, excitedly preparing the boat for the arrival of Charlie, Sophie and Vicky on the Saturday morning. Saturday dawned bright and sunny, "the kids" were on board by 0830 and after a leisurely breakfast and some exploring of the boat, we set off out into the Solent with around 15kts of wind and enjoyed a beautiful sail down to Newtown and back.
As we passed Gurnard Ledge on our way down to Newtown, Judith took the helm and David went below to collect the item we had brought from Midhurst. This was a small tube of Tom's ashes which we had saved when we interred the rest of his ashes with Doreen at Sun Vale in Haslemere last Easter. It seemed fitting that a small part of my Dad should be set free in the Solent where he and I had spent so many hours and where much of the inspiration for Atom and our intended adventures was born. Cruising as a child and later in life, racing with Tom, Cowes week and racing with Judith and Navy friends, racing with Donald, Julia and Spen... so much of it happened in the Solent to the West of Cowes. So we opened the tube, and after a little ceremony cast Tom's ashes into the wind and waves forever.
We then turned the boat downwind and had lunch while reaching back to Hamble. We completed the day's formalities by raising a glass to Tom on the sunny terrace at RSrnYC. Vicky had to go back to London and Charlie was racing in the Hamble Winter Series on a boat a little lighter than Atom (!), so on Sunday, David, Judith and Sophie popped out into the Solent again for a gentle sail in little wind to take advantage of the beautiful weather. A lovely weekend was had by all.

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