Leaving Southampton: Shamrock Quay to Beaulieu River

Wednesday 12th May: our official leaving day. We started the day with our last high pressured shower for a while - Shamrock Quay showers really were a treat. We aimed to leave Shamrock Quay at slack high water which was around midday. The nerves were building throughout the morning we meant for an anxious departure however all went well. 

We decided that we would start the trip slowly by venturing to one of our favourite local spots on the Beaulieu River. We are familiar with the passage and although it technically took us West, we felt it was a good starting point to begin our passage East. It gave us a chance to test the boat away from the dockside before making a longer passage. 

The entrance into Beaulieu River brings you unnervingly close to shore however the channel has plenty of depth as is well marked by buoys. The first 10 mooring buoys are only £10 a night and we think they offer a bit more peace and quiet. You are quite a distance from shore so I I would only really recommend these if you are happy to sit quietly at night listening to the tweeting of the nature reserve.

Getting the dinghy ready to take Freddy to shore. We've recently downsized our dinghy and outboard to make it more manageable for us to take on/off the boat. We now have a 2.6 metre Wave Eco (SIB) and a 5hp two stroke Mercury outboard which are both much easier to us to manage - although unfortunately not as fast as our previous 15hp! 

Thermals, hats and waterproofs have been essential on this trip so far as we experience a far wetter and colder May than previous years. 

You can view an overview of our voyage below from SailTies - a great way to capture our adventure on the water and keep track of the amount of nautical miles we have travelled.