Port Solent Yacht Club Rally to Beaulieu River
25-28th July 2025
A great turnout of boats attended the Beaulieu River Rally at Buckler’s Hard. A good mixture of motor boats and yachts although sadly, our own boat ‘Legato’ did not make it due to delays with standing rigging replacement! Perhaps a first for the rally leaders to run a rally without a boat?
Friday night involved a ‘pontoon party’ held in the events area decorated with Port Solent bunting and attended by everyone. The pop-up restaurant provided a wide range of food options which were very tasty. We even had an unexpected low-level fly past by the Red Arrows!
On Saturday morning we had the option of two walks. One walk was led by Warren and Judy to Beaulieu Village. The other walk was to the Turfcutter’s Arms in East Boldre who were hosting a Beer, Cider and Music Festival. Nineteen of us enjoyed the walk there and were rewarded with excellent food and live music.
That evening we had a Port Solent themed marquee area for a cook you own BBQ. Plenty of conversation mingled with delightful cooking smells and…… more live music.
More fun was had on Sunday with a tender rally down the river to the Gins Farm pontoon. Gins Farm (the Royal Southampton Yacht Club clubhouse) is a delightful spot on the river with views out over the Solent. An excellent Sunday lunch was laid on for us and again we were treated to live music, this time a rather good saxophonist.
We had fantastic weather throughout, a great mix of people, some of whom were new to PSYC rallies, and all went to plan.
Thanks to the crews of Old Possum, Merlin, Pleasure, Brilliant, Ventus, Ismana, Sea Air, Pure Spirit, Sea Dream, King Hi, Falaise, Reef Knot, Moon Shadow, Moonshine, Lucca, Thomas Hardy, Quirky Lady, Paxi Moon, No Faffing, Saskia, Aeolus, Déjà Vu and Amalfi for joining in with everything and making the rally such a success.
Our personal thanks also go to Julie and Richard for hosting us on Paxi Moon and the committee members for their support.
Sarah and Peter O’Donnell