Along the South Coast
By now we had reached the point in our almanac which said we were in South East England and my position plots were heading ever closer to the Greenwich Meridian - which would mean that for the first time in over a year I would be plotting East rather than West! That said we still had some way to go along the English Channel and the weather forecast seemed to be changing - the big high pressure that brought with it light winds and sunny hot days seemed to be breaking down and the weatherman started to mutter something about the jet-stream dropping south allowing atlantic fronts in! What this means for us is more wind - probably some rain and more challenging sailing!
After a night in Littlehampton the morning dawned warm and sunny with light winds and we motored out of the river about 2 hours after high water drinking our breakfast tea and munching a bowl of cereal. Sadly the wind never got above 4 knots all morning so it was a long motor along the coast - passing Worthing and Shoreham - to the delights of the massive Brighton Marina Village complex. The trip took a little over 4 hours and we were tied up in Brighton by lunchtime. A look at the weather forecast confirmed the dire predictions of the weatherman on Sunday and it did look as if the summer heatwave was indeed coming to an end. We decided to stay in Brighton for 2 nights to avoid a F6 that was coming through and then head off for the short trip to Eastbourne on a lunchtime tide. Again we needed to plan our tides carefully as this leg of the journey meant that we would be passing Beachy Head another of those slightly tricky headlands.
Brighton Marina is huge - the largest in the UK- and surrounded by a "village" development of shops cafes, a multiplex cinema, casino and fitness centre as well as residential flats. Stepping off the boat and into this created environment I expected to find Micky Mouse appear around a corner or see signs to a roller coaster - it really didn't feel real and I can't say I liked it very much! We did escape on the funny little Volk Electric train into the centre of Brighton for a wander around the historic Lanes area and a meal in town but I can't say that I will be itching to visit again soon!
Our next port of call was to be Eastbourne and as I mentioned above the only issue with this would be ensuring the tide was right to enable us to round Beachy Head. We left Brighton just before lunch after a night of fairly strong winds - these had now eased off and we had a steady SW4-5. The sea was a bit lumpy but we were making good progress with the wind virtually behind us and just our large headsail fully unfurled. Slowly the grey of lunchtime lifted and the sun came out so despite the lumpy rolling sea it was a good afternoon sail. We arrived at Beachy Head about half an hour earlier than planned but the tide seemed to be running with us so we decided to stay fairly close in land following the 10m contour on our plotter which took us about 1/2 mile offshore. Rounding Beachy Head also meant that we had crossed the Greenwich Meridian and so we were now definitely back in Eastern England!
A couple of hours later we were safely tied up in Sovereign Harbour Eastbourne - another large marina/shopping/residential complex on the outskirts of Eastbourne. This didn't feel quite as unreal as Brighton to me but sadly we didn't really have time to explore as the weather forecast meant that we needed to leave very early the following morning for the 45mile trip to Dover.
So it was that at 4:40am the next morning - and co-incidentally our 38th wedding anniversary!- we found ourselves in full wet weather gear locking out of the marina in the early grey light of a wet day! The early start was necessary to make maximum use of the tide; heading east along this part of the English Channel we could get help from two tides which sort of "merge" at Dungeness Point. In theory we would be able to carry a favourable tide for 10 hours all the way to Dover. Although it was grey and overcast initially we were sailing through a light drizzle but as the day wore on the rain got heavier and by the time we were off Folkestone it was torrential! We had however made really good time averaging about 6K in a fresh NW5-6 so by lunchtime I was talking to Dover Port Control requesting permission to enter the harbour. Soon we were tied up in Dover Marina knowing that we were going to have to spend at least 2 nights there as the forecast was for a full gale the following day. The feeling that we are nearly home is quite strange and it is also quite strange to approach a harbour knowing exactly where we are going! It's the first time since we left Lowestoft in May 2017 that we have entered a familiar harbour and been able to answer "yes" to the "have you been here before" question from the harbourmaster!
So now as I write this we are waiting for the predicted F8 to blow itself out with the hope that we can make it to Ramsgate tomorrow and perhaps find somewhere for a delayed anniversary meal! After Ramsgate the final leg of our journey will be back across the Thames Estuary to the River Blackwater and home!
After a night in Littlehampton the morning dawned warm and sunny with light winds and we motored out of the river about 2 hours after high water drinking our breakfast tea and munching a bowl of cereal. Sadly the wind never got above 4 knots all morning so it was a long motor along the coast - passing Worthing and Shoreham - to the delights of the massive Brighton Marina Village complex. The trip took a little over 4 hours and we were tied up in Brighton by lunchtime. A look at the weather forecast confirmed the dire predictions of the weatherman on Sunday and it did look as if the summer heatwave was indeed coming to an end. We decided to stay in Brighton for 2 nights to avoid a F6 that was coming through and then head off for the short trip to Eastbourne on a lunchtime tide. Again we needed to plan our tides carefully as this leg of the journey meant that we would be passing Beachy Head another of those slightly tricky headlands.
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| Brighton Seafront |
Our next port of call was to be Eastbourne and as I mentioned above the only issue with this would be ensuring the tide was right to enable us to round Beachy Head. We left Brighton just before lunch after a night of fairly strong winds - these had now eased off and we had a steady SW4-5. The sea was a bit lumpy but we were making good progress with the wind virtually behind us and just our large headsail fully unfurled. Slowly the grey of lunchtime lifted and the sun came out so despite the lumpy rolling sea it was a good afternoon sail. We arrived at Beachy Head about half an hour earlier than planned but the tide seemed to be running with us so we decided to stay fairly close in land following the 10m contour on our plotter which took us about 1/2 mile offshore. Rounding Beachy Head also meant that we had crossed the Greenwich Meridian and so we were now definitely back in Eastern England!
 |
| Rounding Beachy Head |
So it was that at 4:40am the next morning - and co-incidentally our 38th wedding anniversary!- we found ourselves in full wet weather gear locking out of the marina in the early grey light of a wet day! The early start was necessary to make maximum use of the tide; heading east along this part of the English Channel we could get help from two tides which sort of "merge" at Dungeness Point. In theory we would be able to carry a favourable tide for 10 hours all the way to Dover. Although it was grey and overcast initially we were sailing through a light drizzle but as the day wore on the rain got heavier and by the time we were off Folkestone it was torrential! We had however made really good time averaging about 6K in a fresh NW5-6 so by lunchtime I was talking to Dover Port Control requesting permission to enter the harbour. Soon we were tied up in Dover Marina knowing that we were going to have to spend at least 2 nights there as the forecast was for a full gale the following day. The feeling that we are nearly home is quite strange and it is also quite strange to approach a harbour knowing exactly where we are going! It's the first time since we left Lowestoft in May 2017 that we have entered a familiar harbour and been able to answer "yes" to the "have you been here before" question from the harbourmaster!
So now as I write this we are waiting for the predicted F8 to blow itself out with the hope that we can make it to Ramsgate tomorrow and perhaps find somewhere for a delayed anniversary meal! After Ramsgate the final leg of our journey will be back across the Thames Estuary to the River Blackwater and home!
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