Leg 8 – Falmouth to Eastbourne

Drummond joined at Falmouth for the final leg to Eastbourne. Today was something of a baptism of fire for him, as we began with a 2 mile walk to send off my broken Winchrite electric winch handle for repair.

Those who have never used one can’t see the point of it. Those who have would never be without one again! They are remarkably powerful and whiz up the sails in no time with no effort. I hope to have mine back soon! So it was noon before we finally got underway for Fowey. Previous crew will be very envious to note that we sailed the whole way! And the sun was out (bar the odd tiny shower) pretty much the whole time. Fowey is very pretty but immensely crowded for regatta week. Even so, Harbour Patrol boats Zebedee and Dougal (no; I didn’t make it up…) helped us find a berth alongside upriver. So, since we’re marooned on this mid-river pontoon, there’s nothing for it but to enjoy a chicken stir-fry and a (small (ish..)) glass of red wine…..

20 August – Fowey to Salcombe

We were away at just after 0800, filled up with water on the service pontoon and then away out of Fowey and into a really encouraging beam reach of 6 – 7 knots. We saw this interesting looking yacht which was going even faster…. The wind lasted for an hour and then died and stayed dead. The sea turned to oily smoothness so we motored on and enjoyed the sunny, albeit rather chilly, weather. Salcombe bar is not as terrifying as some would have you believe. All you need is high water and sea like glass and there’s no problem at all! Salcombe very picturesque but horribly busy at this time of year and we were pressed to get a berth sharing a swinging mooring – an interesting exercise in boatmanship! First, though, we tried anchoring independently. Mr Cunliffe was right – there is a lot of weed and we don’t have a Fisherman’s Anchor. So back to the shared mooring. For those keeping count, we’ve now done 1821.35 miles; I can barely believe it. And now, cottage pie and some more of that restorative red……

21 August – Salcombe to Brixham

Our attempts to leave our shared mooring were somewhat thwarted by the mooring strop jamming on the buoy. Fortunately our neighbour came to the rescue in his dinghy and wrestled the thing free. Our passage took us past Start Point, apparently so named because ancient sailors christened it “The Start” of the infamous channel choppiness. We saw little choppiness but we did shift along at a fair lick, propelled by a vigorous Force 5 (20 knots of breeze) from astern. Drummond clearly enjoyed the experience,… …despite the interesting challenge of furling the main in a yachtsman’s gale off Berry Head. Brixham set a new record for marina charges at £42.50 a night, but has otherwise managed to remain a very charming little seaside town with not too much in the way of amusement arcades and kiss-me-quick hats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Drummond for a splendid dinner at Beamers to complete the Brixham experience.

23 August – Brixham to Weymouth

The challenge of this passage was the rounding of Portland Bill and it’s infamous tidal race…

(Strewth..!)

… after the 40 mile slog across Lyme Bay. Not the ogre of seafaring tales if accorded the proper respect, which in our case meant leaving Brixham in the dark at 0500 in order to get the tides right and give the beast a good offing. It all went perfectly well except for missing the 1200 bridge opening at Weymouth. So Drummond and I tucked into scrambled eggs and ham on the waiting pontoon as we bided our time for the 1400 bridge lift. I remember Weymouth as a slightly upmarket resort. Sadly, those days seem well past. It has now drifted towards the Blackpool end of the market, but the beach and the vistas of the Jurassic Coast are still unbeatable. Our total mileage is now 1908.85……………

24 August – Weymouth to Poole

We were saved from any temptation to rise too early by the fact that the first bridge opening at Weymouth occurs at 0800. Looking back, Weymouth retains some of it’s former seafront splendour – just don’t look too closely…

And so began a day of Jurassic tourism along the rocky Dorset coastline…

The sunshine was delightful as we visited Durdle Door. The smooth sea conditions made it possible to approach rather closer than I might otherwise have done and we had a great view of this amazing natural sculpture….

Next, Lulworth Cove. Yachts at anchor were still waking up when we arrived; it was a bit rolly even in a slight sea and I’m not sure I’d want to spend the night there. But – literally – as pretty as a picture, especially when visited before the tourists arrive….

Our nautical tourism took us next to St Alban’s Head..

Durleston Head…

Swanage…

Studland Bay..

Old Harry Rocks……

…and not forgetting Old Harry’s Wife…….

…and possibly his child..?

Poole harbour entrance was to say the very least busy…

 

 

 

And Brownsea Island delightful..

Finally, we came to Poole Quay Marina, which now has the record for the highest marina charges of the trip – £49.50 for one night! Poole Quay itself seems to have gone much the same way as Weymouth – sort of Blackpool-ish. Mind you, we did have the Fish and Chips…!

25 August – Poole to Swanwick

We were supposed to go to Beaulieu – but it is Bank Holiday Monday, after all.

Which is probably why the weather was distinctly iffy. We set off just after dawn (tides, again) into howling wind, torrential rain and poor visibility. The busy scenes of yesterday were gone – no one in the whole of Poole Harbour was about to cast off this morning. Except us.

However, our conclusion that – despite the weather – the passage was perfectly do-able proved to be correct. And though it was not especially pleasant, the tides swept us along at over 10 knots – 11 including surfing down waves – so the discomfort was short-lived and, actually, a bit exhilarating.

Once through Hurst point, which was distinctly bumpy as the tide swept us through at Formula 1 speeds, the sea state subsided, up went the Genoa and we positively flew up the Solent.

No pictures today. It wasn’t pretty. But, by gum, it was pretty quick!

26 August – Swanwick to Gosport

We return to the story of the broken Winchrite. See top of page. Well, it’s fixed; but all arrangements for its return seem to have come to naught. First, we were going to pick it up in Lymington yesterday, but that fell through. Then it was going to be delivered to Swanwick today, and that fell through too. So, it might as well be sent home now. Here’s hoping..

So, having waited all morning for the non-arriving Winchrite (filling our time productively by having an enormous fry-up in the Boat House Café – oh, and we got some nice fish to have as a starter for dinner tonight) we set off for Gosport. Interestingly, the forecast stated that the heavy rain would finish at 3 o’clock – to be replaced by thundery downpours. Frankly, I couldn’t tell the difference; we got wet anyway. For those unfamiliar with the subject, here is a picture of some rain hitting some water.

The somewhat miserable weather and uncertainty about wind speed, direction  and sea-state has led me to abandon the stop at Chichester. We might not get in over the bar. Worse, we might get in and be unable to get out. So, we’ll keep safe and head on for Brighton. The entrance there is notorious, too, in certain conditions of wind and sea state. But if all else fails we can always bash on to good old reliable all-weather, all-tide Eastbourne – which we left 74 days and 1992.98 miles ago.

Very sorry, Bob, that we shan’t see you in Chichester – looking forward to lunch on Sunday, though!

27 August – Still in Gosport

We rose at 0700, ready for an 0800 kick-off. However, a study of the weather situation overnight indicated that things were potentially a bit worse than we had thought. Big winds from the east (the direction in which we’re going) which would be against the tide and so kick up quite a fuss. And then there would be the Owers off Selsey Bill – where Ted Heath lost Morning Cloud III in 1974. And then the horrendous entrance at Brighton, particularly famed for its real malevolence in south-easterlies.

So we stayed put; this is supposed to be for fun, after all.

Drummond went to see HMS Victory in Portsmouth, since he had not seen her before, and I replaced the chafed furling line on the in-mast furler. I will not bore you with the details, but it took the best part of 4 hours. Beware instructions that begin; “Simply…..”

Tonight, since Drummond may depart on arrival at Eastbourne following our final passage of the final leg, we had what might well be the last bananes flambées of the cruise. I hope they were up to scratch – there weren’t any left.

Tomorrow, we shall still have strongish winds, but they will be squarely behind us for the last leg to Eastbourne. The route is in the chartplotter (well done the boat umbrella) and we’re ready for the off at 0600.

 

It seems a very long time since we left on 14th June, and it will be very strange, finally, not to have a passage to plan for tomorrow.

28 August – Gosport to Eastbourne – The Final Passage

Setting off before dawn at 0555 seemed no different to all the other early starts of the last 10 weeks. As I blearily noted the weather and tides in the log, I noticed that – spookily – I was on the last page. There would not have been room in the book for another passage……..

Once out of Gosport and the Portsmouth Harbour approach channel, we were quickly under sail and zooming happily along towards the submarine barrier. My height of tide sums (Low Water Springs or LWS) were mercifully correct as we cleared the barrier by 0.30 meter – or a foot, in old money.

At 0709, the trip clicked to 2000 miles since he start of the circumnavigation, but we had more interesting challenges afoot. In a slight to moderate sea, with winds of F3/4, the short cut round Selsey Bill – known as the Looe Channel – should have been a doddle. However, as we approached the entrance – being swept forward on a fierce tide – I had a bad feeling about the breaking seas on Boulder Bank and The Mixon, recalling how the fearsome limestone reef of the Owers had wrecked Ted Heath’s Morning Cloud in 1973.

LWS clearly makes a big difference and we turned off for safety, grateful for Shimoni’s powerful engine to fight the tide and set us on the longer passage around The Owers and free of danger. Once around, we hurtled forward with wind abaft the beam and just the Genoa to drive us, free of crash gybe risks, at over 8 knots. A quick gybe around Beachy Head was all that was needed in over 40 miles.It was a great sail to finish on.

I am so grateful to Keith for turning up to see us home and joining Drummond and I for a final dinner; a proper celebration of a great trip. Subsequently, Drummond has composed his own pictorial collage of the final leg, but sadly it has proved too big to load on the blog; sorry Drummond.

Full statistics of the voyage are available from the last tab on the Home Page.

Finally, thank you to all of you who have taken part for making it the trip of a lifetime – and not least to Sue!