The Jurassic Coast
After a gap of a few weeks we returned to Teteli on a very warm day in what is turning out to be a very warm summer! Everything was fine and it was good to be back. After a day stocking the boat up and planning our route we left Weymouth Harbour on the "first bridge" at 8am and headed out into the bay.
The coastline around here is spectacular with fossil rich dramatic cliffs and home to such natural phenomenon as the Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. Of more interest to us however was the fact that it is also home to one of the most active military coastal firing ranges in the country where on a daily basis (except August) military personnel spend their days firing various munitions into the sea - on a good day Naval vessels join in as well firing from ships in the bay!! On this particular morning the VHF broadcast announced that they would be firing from 9:30 am at a range of about 3 miles - the firing range begins just to the east of the entrance to Lulworth Cove and finishes just west of St Albans Head and is patrolled constantly by fast pilot boats whose job is to shoo unwary mariners out of the danger area. The pilot books all state that there is no legal requirement for mariners to stay out of the area and we are perfectly within our rights to sail into the firing area and the military have a duty not to fire at you - but I wasn't going to put that to the test! Neither did I fancy arguing with one of the fast patrol boats - so we plotted a course 3-4 miles off the coast.
After rounding St Albans Head the wind moved into the perfect direction for us to rig the big downwind sail and we made fantastic progress along the coast towards Poole. It was a glorious day and we could see the distant outline of the Isle of Wight crowned with fluffy white clouds - so different from the rain and howling winds we had experienced at the same time last year!
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| Passing under Weymouth Town Bridge |
The coastline around here is spectacular with fossil rich dramatic cliffs and home to such natural phenomenon as the Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. Of more interest to us however was the fact that it is also home to one of the most active military coastal firing ranges in the country where on a daily basis (except August) military personnel spend their days firing various munitions into the sea - on a good day Naval vessels join in as well firing from ships in the bay!! On this particular morning the VHF broadcast announced that they would be firing from 9:30 am at a range of about 3 miles - the firing range begins just to the east of the entrance to Lulworth Cove and finishes just west of St Albans Head and is patrolled constantly by fast pilot boats whose job is to shoo unwary mariners out of the danger area. The pilot books all state that there is no legal requirement for mariners to stay out of the area and we are perfectly within our rights to sail into the firing area and the military have a duty not to fire at you - but I wasn't going to put that to the test! Neither did I fancy arguing with one of the fast patrol boats - so we plotted a course 3-4 miles off the coast.
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| The Jurassic Coast. |
Our plan was to spend the night at anchor in Studland Bay and then move on to Poole the following day where we were planning to meet up with some old friends before our daughter joined us for a weekend of sailing. So just before 2pm we dropped anchor about half a mile off the beach in Studland Bay and sat back to watch the comings and goings of the day before settling down to a quiet night in the bay - it was bliss!
The following morning as planned we weighed anchor and sailed into Poole Harbour to spend some time exploring this seaside town and meeting up with some old friends.
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