17:41 – Just as we hit Cowes, it just so happened, the 300 metre long Arcadia Cruise ship was heading out from Southampton water. Not one to miss a photo opportunity I asked James to position our boat close to the turning point so we could snap Ross as he headed out of Cowes. By this point I don’t think Ross was particularly interested in hanging about to score the perfect shot, especially as the wind was nuking down the Solent combined with an almighty chop from the tide racing out back up towards the Needles. We just happened to be lucky the tides had worked in our favour, as the currents, eddy’s and hazards in the Solent are so notorious they could have thwarted the mission completely.
Ross – “Cowes was really windy, super choppy and horribly rough. It was wind against tide at this stage and though the tide was with me, this was the worst stretch. I did not want to stop because I thought I might give up once I lost the momentum. I just had to get it done. It was much flatter around this side but there were still some cool little areas, I sailed past Osborne House the former home of Queen Victoria, passed all the Wightlink and Red Funnel car ferries and blasted right by the infamous Royal yacht squadron on Cowes seafront”