For the first outing of the year there’s a little more preparatory work to do, but Ivy Green has spent the winter in a state of near readiness. The mainsail is soon bent on, the yankee jib re-furled, jackstays clipped on and that’s about it.

Lunch on board, then we motor down the Hamble. Once out Sofie is fully engaged helping to hoist sails and we get a gentle sail all the way to… Calshot Spit. There the wind dies and we’re left at the mercy of the tide. It’s not warm enough to sit out here all afternoon, so we motor across to Cowes Yacht Haven. They seem to have VHF problems, but respond promptly to phone and we nestle in behind ‘Ursula’. There’s time for a little rummy, then ashore to ‘The Coast’ for pizza all round. ‘Ursula’ has vanished by the time we get back aboard.