No place like home

For the past 13 years home for me has been the village of Warsash at the mouth of the River Hamble as it enters Southampton Water and the Solent. About 10,000 people live in the community.

Taken from the Harbour Master's pontoon this evening, the pictures show the village foreshore and the view out of the river. There are thousands of craft moored up river where it has been a great privilege to be able to live and learn to sail. Although I guess we may sail through the Solent on our voyage around Britain, visiting the Hamble would be a bit of a diversion.
www3.hants.gov.uk/hambleharbour.htm

When I'm away I'll be keeping track of my wife's progress in racing the RS200 dinghy on Wednesday evenings from the sailing club. Warsash Sailing Club is the white building on the right hand of the photograph. www.warsashsc.org.uk

Each summer I have been able to host a special celebration service on the promenade in the picture by the village D-Day memorial; landing craft left from this point in 1944. We do this on the Mission to Seafarers 'Sea Sunday' when, accompanied by Warsash Band, about 500 people gather to celebrate the life of the river and sea for this community. We sing hymns and remember the many seafarers who have sailed from here and the commandos who were not to return.

Off to the right of the picture is Warsash Maritime Academy where many merchant seafarers from around the world are trained. The last pontoon on the left looking out of the river, raised up with orange ship lifeboats, belongs to the academy.
www.warsashacademy.co.uk

I hope that the PLB arrives tomorrow, but as we think of there being 'no place like home' perhaps for whatever community anyone is in or wherever seafarers are in ships, PLB this evening could be: People Like Belonging.