Bembridge BBQ & Karting Rally Report

The amazingly perfect forecast for our Bembridge rally showed nothing but fine, sunny and friendly breezes well into the future, to continue the run of the most settled summer weather we can ever recall. 

When the weather is like this we truly live in a most ‘green and pleasant land’. 

With 15 vessels booked to attend, your authors sighed relief with the relaunch of  Deep Blu the Tuesday before. The last major item of her refit / upgrade was completed, being the underwater antifouling and associated stuff. 

We sailed with the tide on Wednesday to settle in before the Armada arrived, mostly on Friday. 

David (Vigo) unfortunately had to turn back due to overheating issues. Mark and Julie (King Hi) made the trip in the dark having been unfortunately delayed and then having ‘missed the tide’, anchored off the harbour entrance and sand bar. When eventually a decent depth reading was achieved, they tiptoed in but caught a bit of unmarked ground on the prop and safely moored up at 23:35. Both should be heartily congratulated indeed on making the entry in the dark, into what must be the most difficult night navigation harbour entrance on the planet. Only the two cans marking the run in are lit, with all the rest (which move position every season as the sand bar shifts) being dark and almost unseeable. Great team work guys. 

The daylight mooring of the day award must go to Bob, who single handedly squeezed Kite Runner into a mooring that had but a cigarette papers spare room  bow and stern!  Phew. 

Friday night saw the (oh so slow) BBQ’s lit, with a fine atmosphere developing, as folks ate, drank and chatted together in the well dressed ‘Grand Marquee’. Much dancing and singing soon followed as we were brilliantly entertained by Jimi, whose two sets encompassed many great songs from the 50’s to the present day.  His rendition of various Meat Loaf hits (with which he tours the world) was the highlight of a great evening, rounded our nicely by our yacht club anthem ‘Sweet Caroline’ . 

Saturday dawned as another perfect day. The drivers and spectators arrived at the Wight Karting track a little after 13:00 and prepped themselves for the driver briefing that followed.  Unfortunately Alonzo was very unexpectedly not allowed inside the driver centre (unlike last year) and so Julie kept him company while we raced. Chris (Highland Lady) was carrying an injury so could not compete, but Bob (Kite Runner) gamely stepped into his seat. 

Truly great fun for all, including the spectators, followed through to the prize giving with Angela (Pompey Lass) winning the Ladies bottle of bubbly. An outstanding set of drives saw Mark (King Hi) awarded the men’s bottle of bubbly and indeed getting onto the fastest drivers of the week board. Congrats to both winners, and well done to Khaleel and George with second and third placements. 

Saturday night saw a surprise birthday party organised by Mark for Julie.  A splendid evening as Mark graciously bought fabulous pizzas all round and many many drinks for about 25 of us. The scrummy candle lit birthday cake was presented then shared around to a fine Port Solent Yacht Club rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You’ .  A wonderful evening for all, which went on well into the night. Thank you from us all Mark. T’was fab. 

Sunday, and yet another perfect day.  Those booked onto the Sunday Luncheon at the iconic Bembridge Sailing Club venue made their way by water taxi to gather ‘on terrace’, to slowly imbibe and take in the magnificent view. 

Food arrived, the sun shone and conversation flowed. Then on to The Point Beach to lounge in the deck chairs and bean bags, and where your authors took a well deserved swim from the shingle beach that overlooks the great view of Portsmouth and surrounds, with the odd passing cruise liner thrown in. What’s not to like? 

Mondays’ departures in fine weather on the rising tide brought to a close a wonderful and very inclusive rally. 

Sarah and I would like to thank you all for making our rally such fun for us to run. 

Our Boaterists were, Moonlight Shadow, Counterpoise, Amelie, Kite Runner, Pompey Lass, Blitz, Moonshine, Highland Lady, King Hi, Sea Clipse, Thomas Hardy, Jango, Aeolus, Deep Blu and the most excellent McIntosh’s. 

John and Sarah 

Deep Blu

Staycation Weekend Review 10 – 12 July 2026

The weather gods smiled on us for our 2026 “Staycation” weekend. The club enjoyed glorious weather from Friday evening in The Harvester, through Saturday evening’s Woodstock-themed party and on into Sunday brunch at the wonderful Koh Thai restaurant.

It was good to see some new faces along with very welcome familiar friends on Friday evening. The recently refurbished upstairs area of the Harvester is a perfect place for the monthly get together, although I noticed that most of us clustered around the open balcony doors to get a little much-needed breeze in the heatwave warmth.

There were some amazing 1960’s hippie outfits on display for Saturday evening’s Portstock event. The PSYC buskers provided some appropriate live music, very ably aided on the spare microphone by some outstanding additional singers, joined later by a mystery guest guitar hero, and with “groovy” dancing all night.

The delicious Caribbean food provided by "At Your Service Dining" (formerly Susan’s Cruisin’ Cuisine) was perfect for the party atmosphere and in the heat of the summer evening. Susan and her team have been catering for PSYC’s Staycations for a few years now, and while they are always excellent, I think they might have outdone themselves this year with the best food yet.

The evening wrapped a little earlier than planned, as there was apparently a football match on that many people wanted to watch… I like to think that it was the club’s rousing rendition of “Sweet Caroline” that inspired England to their success over Norway on Saturday night.

The team at Koh Thai put on a magnificent brunch for us on Sunday morning, with so much in the way of shared starters that many of us opted for a “doggy bag” option on main courses so that we could enjoy the delicious food on offer without feeling stuffed. Numbers coming for brunch were lower than expected, which was a shame as Jez and his team are keen to forge links with the club and had opened early for us. I suspect the Saturday football result meant that a number of people were feeling a little “tired and emotional”. Those of us who made it for brunch had a wonderful meal, and we are looking forward to many more meals at Koh Thai.

Beaulieu  Feature Rally Review
3rd - 6th July 2026