Warsash to Ashlett - Sunday March 23rd.

Or "This must be safe to land on, here come the security guards to look after us!"

For the first trip of the "season" we couldn't have asked for much better weather. Not quite clear blue skies but lots of spring sunshine. The forecast was ok - E/SE 2 to 3 veering S/SW 3 to 4, possibly 5 later depending on the source of the forecast. "Later" is a great weather prediction, just how late is "later"?

Undeterred 15 hearty souls negotiated the packed car parks, abandoned their vehicles around Warsash and trekked back to the slipway. This was the first time I'd seen the car parks this full but will be aware of it next time! Sorry for the walk everyone.

We managed to launch almost on time, which is pretty good for this early on in the year. Just how did I pack the boat last time I went out? The plan was simple, so simple it needed to be changed - up the east bank, cross over, down the west bank, lunch at Ashlett, pop over to Calshott and home.

We paddled and chatted up the east coast of Southampton Water to the Royal Victoria Park, which was where I'd originally planned to cross. It was a lovely day and we'd made good progress "Let's go on for another 20 minutes." (The change of plan). Not as terrible as Capt Oates' last quote but for some later on it may have felt like it! A quick bite to eat in the boats and we were ready to cross over to the west bank.
The first instructions given to me on crossing this stretch of very busy water were " Look left, look right, look left again and paddle like "£$%^&!!" Which is pretty much what we did, the group settled into 2 groups, dodged the sailboats and gin palaces to make it safely across.

Part 2 of the simple plan, turn south and have lunch at Ashlett. Those who know Southampton Water (and especially those on this trip) may have realised that a S/SE 3/4 will blow right on your nose as you head towards lunch. Being Southampton Water, it also defies some of the laws of physics and the tide does not always do what it should when it should.

Now we are a group of 15 heading into the wind against the tide and waiting for lunch to arrive. The extra 20 minutes going up were becoming an extra 40 minutes coming down. At least the sun was still shining! Ashlett is a pretty little creek in this industrial area, sitting just off the main channel and south of the Fawley refinery. It was clear that, as a lunch spot Ashlett was going to be just too far and a decision was made. A nice little beach could be seen about 1k ahead and that was lunch.
Yes, it was next to the oil refinery, probably private but we needed to stop before anyone got too tired or hungry. It isn't easy to blend 15 coloured kayaks into the background and even harder to miss the fluorescent jackets of the Security guard coming in our direction. With the Gulf conflict, Fawley was on an Orange State of Emergency and as potential terrorists they were duty bound to investigate us. I apologised and explained why we had landed there to the first guard and then to the 3 others that joined him. They were very good about it and let us stay there until we had finished lunch although one did stay until we had all re-launched. Perhaps that was because, when they said that powerboats were the real worry, I pointed out that with a capacity of 150lts, each kayak could carry a lot of Semtex and had he ever heard of the 'Cockleshell Heroes'?
To keep warm, some of the group (who shall remain nameless, Raquel) put on hats and jackets that made them look like terrorists! They say things come in 3's and as this was our second run in with security staff (see Dorset 2002) be careful if you come on our next trip!!

Refreshed and raring to go (?) we set off again. Paddling past the refinery and tankers, you cannot call this a beautiful part of our coast, but it has something. The images of industry carry their own art and texture - they have a visual attractiveness about them that I find hard to describe. Have you ever looked at ruined castles or early mine workings and wondered at the people who built them, earnt their livings there or even died there? The Fawley refinery is our historic legacy and one day people may gaze on it and wonder...

The plan was redrawn over lunch. Calshott was too far and with the threat of the wind increasing, we didn't want to be out too late. Ashlett is a pleasant oasis, hidden away from the refinery and we set this as our afternoon stop. There is also a pub there that helps! Leaving the gantries behind us, we soon found the reed beds that are the margins of this part of the channel and threaded our way into Ashlett.
The pub was open and the less disciplined were seen to be testing the local brew whilst most settled for a warming coffee. Sheltered from the breeze, it was a lovely place to sit, chat and rest a while. I think it was good to actually reach one of our objectives after the hard work of getting here.

Refreshed (again) and home was calling. Once clear of the creek, it was becoming clear that instead of increasing, the wind was falling. The run back to Warsash was nice and easy. A light wind on the tail and the occasional wash from passing ships to hurry us on our way, we were home in no time. By the time we had all landed, the wind had died completely. Changed and with the boats loaded, it was time for a pint and a chat sitting on the harbour wall watching the sun set. A perfect end to a really good day on the water.

My thanks to all those who came along - new and old friends, I look forward to meeting you all again soon.

Nigel Williams