NAB and Back | Racing a Cornish Crabber 26 in the Eastern Solent

Welcome back to Meandering Molly! Today’s video is a shorter one, but packed with action, as we take part in an inter-club race aboard our Cornish Crabber 26, a gaff rigged cutter with true character. This coastal sailing adventure takes us from Portsmouth Harbour all the way out to the iconic NAB Tower — and back again — covering around 25 nautical miles on a sunny, breezy day on the water.

The course would take us from the shoreline, past No Man’s Land Fort, out to the NAB Tower, then around the Winner Buoy off Langstone Harbour, and finally back upwind to the No Man's Land Fort again and then to the finish where we began.

We made a "conservative" start in the chop off Haslar, taking two reefs in the mainsail and flying both foresails — a wise choice in the fresh breeze. With a strong flood tide and plenty of shipping traffic in the Eastern Solent, this was a course made us think carefully about our sail handling and navigation skills.

One of the highlights was rounding the NAB Tower, a fascinating WWI-era structure that marks the deep-water entry to the Solent. As we gybed around it, we caught sight of another Cornish Crabber — a Pilot Cutter — cruising downwind under headsail alone.

The return leg brought us into the shipping lanes where things got interesting. A massive container ship leaving Southampton meant we had to delay our crossing and make tactical tacks along the channel edge. Just as we were setting up for our final approach, two more cargo vessels approached from the opposite direction. With a narrow gap and careful timing, we put in a well-judged tack between them.

From there, it was a beat past the historic Palmerston forts — including Horse Sand Fort — back towards the finish line. After four hours and around 25 miles over the ground, we crossed the line tired but happy.

To cap it all off, we returned through Portsmouth Harbour, where we passed Steam Pinnace 199, a beautifully restored vessel built in 1909 and part of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Thanks for sailing along with us! If you enjoyed this coastal race aboard our traditional gaff rigged cutter, give the video a like and subscribe to Meandering Molly for more Cornish Crabber adventures, classic boat handling, and life under sail.

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