Coordinators: David & Jennifer Shepperd

It was probably a bit ambitious of us to volunteer to coordinate a Safari Supper for our first rally but with more than a little help from our friends and advice from MOA members who had hosted this event in the past, all appeared to go remarkably smoothly.

Although we take no credit for the weather, thankfully it turned out to be a weekend of glorious sunshine. Eight out of the total of twelve boats booked on the rally arrived Friday afternoon including Moidart from Poole on their first Moody rally. We and several other boats attempted to sail to East Cowes but quickly brought sails in and motored due to light winds, although Moody Blue reported a lovely sail from Gosport later in the afternoon.

Sheena had booked a table for dinner at The Lifeboat for us all, good food, great company and an excellent start to the weekend.
Galatea was the first to arrive on Saturday morning followed by Solar Eclipse and Ossian with Dulcibella arriving in the afternoon. The Waitrose store in East Cowes proved popular with a number of people who took the short walk to the store for ingredients for their supper course. Others visited various attractions in West Cowes via the chain ferry.

The pontoon party later in the afternoon saw everyone gathering for complimentary Sangria and nibbles.

Then it was back to our boats to complete final preparations for the supper. Safari suppers are a great way to meet new people or to get to know people better. Anyone who has arranged a Safari Supper before will know that planning who hosts what course and who goes where can be a logistical nightmare. Trying to complete arrangements from a cottage in a fairly remote village in France presents its own problems, poor internet access for one! Enormous thanks to Neil and Elaine (Sea’scape) for putting up with us as well as for their considerable help and use of their internet.

The evening came to a conclusion with everyone going to one of two boats for cheese and biscuits (courtesy of MOA Solent Branch). We thank Trevor and Heather on Osian and Liz and Allan on Halyards for hosting this and providing coffee and chocolates. Keen rugby fans will know that on Saturday evening England played Wales in the Rugby World Cup, sadly, the result did disappoint all but one of the attendees!

Most boats departed on Sunday morning in a strong easterly wind and bright sunshine. Halyards and Stolen Moments waited until the tide turned in the afternoon to head east to Chichester and Moidart stayed an extra night before heading back to Poole.

Thanks to all the chefs for preparing the meals, to everybody for entering into the spirit of things and from feedback on Sunday morning it seems that everyone enjoyed the Safari as much as we did.