RIB Cruising To The West Country – Part 1

I’m definitely biased, but I think that here in the Solent we’re blessed not only with some great cruising areas in their own right – the area has some pretty special harbours, coastline and estuaries to explore season after season – but for those wishing to push on a little and with nothing more than a long weekend to kill, us Solent boaters are within a couple of hours of some jewels in the crown of the British coastline in the shape of South Devon and Cornwall.

Once you’ve had a season or two of wakeboarding in Langstone Harbour, tucked into plenty of early evening BBQs at East Head, dropped in to Gunwharf for a little retail therapy or pottered up the River Medina for a glass or two of something at The Folly Inn, most RIB owners will no doubt feel the urge to explore a little further afield. With a little preparation, the right kit/training and confidence plus some help from the weather, leaving the comfort of the Solent should be within the grasp of most RIBers.

I may incur the wrath of East Sussex boaters, but I’ve never found too much worth stopping off for east of Chichester until you hit the Kent coastline and the fun and games of the TSS. Even then, the beauty has a barren feel to it and I must confess I’m not a fan of this coastline.  Pointing the nose of your RIB west however, and pressing on for a couple of hours reaps plenty of rewards. What follows now is perhaps my perfect long weekend on the RIB – granted it’s a weekend that begins on a Thursday night and ends on a Tuesday morning but it’s well worth taking a day or two of annual leave or pulling a sickie for a couple of days to do!