Dover to Eastbourne (Sovereign Harbour) 23rd May 2017

We had seen all we wanted to see in Dover and decided that today was the best day to move on. To be 100% sure we did go to the Harbour office to make sure the weather information we had was the best. I had done the passage plan the night before as we had to leave Granville Lock at a set time, we also needed to have the correct tides going down.

Dover Harbour gave me permission to leave the marina and enter the harbour. As we were going through they hailed us on the radio asking us to phone the marina office. This I did, they informed me that on their records we had stayed two nights and had not paid. I assured them I had and could even give the receipt number. For some reason the night we arrived

, the guy didn't log it on the system. The woman thought it odd we'd been and asked about the weather and then skipped off with out paying.

The less said about the journey from Dover to Eastbourne, the better. It was one of those days when you think why am I doing this! The weather was awful, wind on the nose all the way, so it was uncomfortable and slow.  I think the picture of me says it all.

As we passed Dungerness we did have a decent bit of wind and had just set the sails to sail, when we were hailed by the support boat from the firing range, who thought our course would take us too near the firing range. I would beg to differ but who am I to argue, they wanted a three mile buffer zone, so sails down and course changed. After about ten minutes they called us back and changed the limit to 1 1/2 mile so we could resume our original course!

There was also a patch of fog at one stage , which was not what we wanted but luckily it cleared up very quickly.

The journey seemed to take forever. We could see a yacht keeping track behind us. When we both got into the lock we found they too had set off from Dover that day, but slightly ahead of us. They agreed with us that the weather was not what was forecast. They also had been asked to move their position by the firing range, in their case the boat came to them and moved them on.

I found the next two pictures on Marine Traffic. We didn't know they'd been taken but were pleased they have been taken,

After a journey of nearly 12 hours we decided we would stay three nights rather than the planned two. This meant we could recover from the long day. It also gave me chance to catch up on the laundry and there was a nice comfy chair where I could sit and read while everything washed and dried.

There are lots of restaurants etc round the marina and an ASDA near by. On our lazy day we ate out at SI (Simply Italian) as recommended by our friends Carole and Chris (Seaduction) and we thoroughly enjoyed it. When we go back we had a motor boat moored opposite and this was an older couple who had come down from Ramsgate that day. They had had an awful journey as the fog was so bad and they had to put into Dover for four hours, the fog was so bad even the ferries were missing the entrances and had to go round again. So our decision to come the previous day was justified.

This picture shows why it is important to follow instructions. This is the entrance at low tide, we timed it to come in at high tide.

Again, why even at high tide you need to follow the leading lights. These bumps don't look a lot in the photo, but they are far below the surface even at high tide, when they are not visable.

The walk along the sea front to Eastbourne was lovely, very gentle about three miles to the pier. We also had a quick look around the town. If we had been there longer there were buses out to Beachy Head.

That night we got a new neighbour, Hawke, which we recognised straight away from Ipswich Haven Marina. It has been on the hard for nearly two years and had been renovated. Like us Pam and Pete were heading to Brighton next.

Sailing Information
Brilliant leading light as you come in from the safewater mark. Will change from white to green or red if you are not on the correct heading.
Lock efficient
Brilliant facilities - huge showers
£35.34 per night
Washing £4 per load
Drier £1 for 9 minutes
Asda nearby (also many other shops in retail park)
Note as this is a Premier Marina, you can go on line and book 7 nights for the cost of 7. Brighton and Gosport are part of the same chain. In theory you can only stay 2 nights in each marine but it is at the managements discretion.