A heartfelt thank you to Charlie Butterworth and her husband Paul for organising a fantastic Solent Summer Rally from 19th to 25th July. 13 boats were scheduled to participate whilst some members chose to drive to the mainland based events. We were especially delighted to see Simon & Louise Ludgate representing HMS Conway, as well as Chris Stott (Hon Sec to the OP Society) on his yacht Takira with OP Society Chair Rory Copinger-Symes.

The whole week worked extremely well and we think justified the overall strategy of being 'inclusive' to the wider Pangbourne community, offering land and island based events to encourage members from all age groups to attend those individual events that suited them best, and to dip in and out or participate in the whole weekly programme by whatever means of transport was most appropriate to their current circumstances. OP Paul Tarantino proved particularly adept at switching from one boat to another! Most skippers had a spare berth. Paul joined Andy Roy's boat Troubadour at his home berth at The Elephant Boatyard on the Hamble for the run to Hornet, reappearing a couple of days later on Dolce Vita for the RYS Dinner before taking on the chef's duties at Lymington for the BBQ there. That's the way to meet people. 

The Rally started at Hornet in Portsmouth where members gathered and some watched the international GP Racing taking place over the weekend just off Portsmouth Beach; next stop Bembridge on the Isle of Wight for a BBQ in their quayside tent; thence to Cowes where we thoroughly enjoyed a beautifully organised Rally Dinner at The Royal Yacht Squadron, with 12 boats berthed in the Squadron's “Haven”; then back to Lymington on the mainland for a truly outdoor BBQ; and finally to Bucklers Hard up the beautiful Beaulieu River for a final rally dinner at the Master Builders pub. The weather was generally very kind to us with a few savage thundery squalls thrown in for good measure but otherwise lovely, making for an unforgettable few days on the water.

Thank you again to all who took part — and especially to Charlie Butterworth for making it happen!