We left Bembridge on Friday and returned to Chichester Harbour for further exploration as promised. Unable to get up to Emsworth on a neap tide (well, we would have got in but wouldn't have got out again!), we returned to Itchenor and picked up a buoy before the anticipated Bank Holiday crowds arrived. As it happened, it wasn't too busy although we were three up on our mooring for Saturday night (they are designed for four, so not a problem).

The weekend was spent exploring parts of Chichester Harbour by foot, first up to Bosham, where the footpath is impassable at high tide and the waterfront properties have their own tidal defences. Legend has it that this was the place where King Canute commanded the tides to go back, his daughter having drowned in a nearby brook.



A rather quaint tidal defence at Bosham

Bosham is famously depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry; it is reputed to be where Harold sailed from to cross the English Channel to meet the Duke of Normandy. Now, it is a charming and much photographed village with a rich sailing heritage.



Bosham - much photographed and for good reason

The following day we walked along the coastal path to West Wittering where, in 1952, 126 residents raised just over £20,000 to purchase the beach, thereby saving it from becoming a Butlins holiday camp.

Our plan had been to leave the harbour on holiday Monday to return for one last time to the Isle of Wight before leaving the Solent behind us. However, the first mate had been suffering from recurrent eye pain and the decision was made to return to Gosport for a visit to the Minor Injuries Unit.

It was a chilly 6 a.m. start to catch the tide over the bar and once outside the shelter of the harbour, wind over tide meant it wasn't overly pleasant. We took the option of a short cut through a gap in the submarine barrier - a series of large concrete blocks about 6 feet below sea level, laid during WW2 as a defence against the German U-Boats. Arriving back at Haslar Marina just after 9 a.m. after a cold and lumpy trip, even we couldn't face the obligatory beer and settled down to a warm cup of tea instead. Rules are, after all, made to be broken!

We were delighted to see in Portsmouth harbour today the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, returned home for the D-Day commemorations next month, in marked contrast to HMS Alliance, the only remaining WW2 era Royal Navy submarine, resident at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum behind us.



HMS Queen Elizabeth ahead



and HMS Alliance astern

Oh, and the medical emergency? Turned out to be nothing more than an ingrowing eyelash all now sorted thanks to the wonderful staff at Gosport War Memorial Hospital.