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Gins Farm, Beaulieu Rally 11th - 13th September, 2024

Published 14:20 on 20 Sep 2024

Wednesday 11th September

In the morning we had sunshine, which was a delight after a number of cloudy and showery days. Misty Moon left Haslar at 9am and encountered a moderate sea and winds gusting above 24 knots just after Gilkicker. We had decided it was too gusty to sail and ended up motoring the whole way. By the time we were opposite Osborne Bay, the tide had turned and the sea had flattened considerably. We motored up the Beaulieu river to find that Minalto was already moored up. We negotiated around a fairly large trimaran and moored up with the help of Michael and Anne.

Ocean Spirit arrived and moored behind us after the trimaran had been moved to one end of the pontoon.

Nemo arrived and rafted up to us and then we all shuffled along to make room on the pontoon for Seatangle.

Kiwi arrived a bit later, and then Mo arrived by car to join us.

We were all present and correct in time for the pontoon party.

As it was quite blustery, we all gathered on Misty Moon until it was time to head up to the clubhouse for our evening meal. We had a choice from a barbecue menu.

The staff were very helpful and our barbecue maestro produced wonderfully cooked steak, burger or monkfish to order with buns, chips cooked in dripping and a 'help yourself' salad. Everyone agreed that the food was excellent and most people were too full for desert, but the pistachio tiramisu was delicious.

Thursday 12th September
The morning dawned bright and sunny and we were all wondering what to do with a whole day in this beautiful, but 'off the beaten track' place.

It had been suggested at the clubhouse that there was a pub 'about 30 minutes walk' away.

The weather was set to be dry all day, so 10 of us set off. We passed an old, very large flint walled building that no longer had a roof. Later we spied an alpaca in a field and encountered several New Forest ponies. It turned out to be an hour and a half to the East End Arms (about 2/3 of the way to Lymington)! The pub is owned by John Illsley, former member of Dire Straits. We were all in need of liquid refreshment, and a light lunch for some.

During our stop, the heavens opened for a sharp shower, but fortunately it did not rain again until the evening. We thought about getting taxis back to Gins Farm, but none were available, so we had to walk all the way back. Some of us had walked 20,000 steps by the end of the day! We gathered again on Misty Moon for a second 'pontoon party'.

Afterwards, we went to the clubhouse for our pre-booked meal. Everyone again enjoyed the food, which was delicious.

Friday 13th September
Another glorious morning, bright and clear and very chilly, so boat heaters were busy.
Some boats were going on to the Folly rally, but with one night between the two, we all scattered; some were returning to Haslar, some to Cowes and some to Newtown Creek or Yarmouth.

Some people had not been to Gins Farm before, but thought that it was a beautiful place on the Beaulieu river with outstanding catering at the clubhouse, so a return in the future would be great. Our thanks go to Michael and Anne on Minalto for organising a lovely few days.

Hilary Masters