Finally we were off for a summer of sailing. At first everything went smoothly, the navigation was spot on and we were making excellent time - the tide was giving us a good push along. As forecast there was not a lot of wind so we motor sailed.
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| Although it was a bright day, it was cold. John wrapped up warm. |
Just as we were leaving Fishermans Gat the wind began to pick up slightly so we felt we would put the sails up and sail.Life was good and we were only about 14 miles from the entrance to Ramsgate Harbour. Before we did this the sound of the engine changed dramatically and it was not happy. We knew something was amiss but not what. As a precaution we contacted the Coastguard to make them aware of the situation. We didn't require assistance but they radioed through every 30 minutes to make sure we were okay. The sails were up and we continued to make good time towards Ramsgate as we were doing 5.7 knots SOG (Speed over ground). On our next welfare call from the coastguard I informed them that we were happy not to have any more welfare calls but we would call back if the situation changed.
John did the sailing as he is the better sailor than me and we were lucky that the wind was in the right direction and we could keep to the course we had planned. However as we passed round North Foreland every thing changed - the wind not only dropped but also changed direction and the tide turned. So now we were making only 2 knots - very slow.
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| North Foreland |
About this time we could hear a very loud throbbing engine - it was the boarder patrol. They came behind us and hailed us on the tannoy to contact them on a specific channel. This we duly did and we answered all their questions. They obviously liked all my answers as we weren't boarded. Not that I would have had a problem if they did as they are doing a good job protecting our shores. They were very polite and professional and wished us a good sail and departed.
By now the tide was stronger and wind none existent and we were only making 0.5 knots. Although we could see the entrance to Ramsgate Harbour it would literally take hours to get there. We tried the engine again and we felt it might not get us into harbour so once again I called the Coastguard requesting assistance.
At this time the heavens decided to open with such a speed we didn't have time to get the wet weather gear on as we were heading to wind taking the sails down. We have also discovered a huge design fault in our Bimini, which is there to shade us from the sun on hot days. When it rains heavily it collects water - there are also two holes in it for the back stays to go through. When the boat moves from side to side the water cascades through the holes on to the person on the wheel. For all the world like the Morecambe and Wise sketch singing in the rain. As both John and I were at the wheel for different stints we both got soaked.
Coastguard contacted us back to say the RNLI were on their way and in actual fact I could already see them. They were super and towed us into port. Although you feel a bit silly, they emphasised we had done the right thing and called before we were in an emergency situation. Once in Ramsgate Harbour they dropped the tow and we berthed up. The marina had chosen a berth that was easy to get to and Alfie from the marina was standing by to take our ropes.
The problem is now solved as the fuel sensor was not working correctly and although we knew how much fuel was in the tank and calculate fuel use whilst out, I had not taken into account the amount we had used in the winter using the heater. Although we were not out of fuel we were low and as the boat heeled this caused air bubbles to enter the fuel system.
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| I have down loaded a picture of our route from Vessel finder. But this is not strictly accurate as they have us going in a long straight line. The route we followed definitely had some turns in it.
Sailing Information
£33 per night.
Nice clean facilities
Good but expensive laundry
Waitrose is the nearest supermarket
Peter's fish factory just off the marina is brilliant. (As recommended by Alfie)
Friendly and helpful staff
distance travelled from Harwich to Ramsgate 45.4 nautical miles |
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