Onwards to the Isle of Wight 25th July 2017

Having being in Weymouth for 12 days we still weren't sure if we would be leaving on the 27th July or not. The 26th July had given us three different forecasts in the same day. We planned to leave when the bridge opened at 12 noon, so that would give us plenty of time to look and look again at the weather forecast.

Carole and Chris returned from their week at home and it was good to see them again, we nipped  around to Seaduction for me to look at a navigational programme on Chris's laptop. The computer agreed with me and also that it would be a long journey. The alternative was to leave at 6 am the following morning but that would have meant leaving the marina that night on the last bridge. As the weather was so changeable be decided to stay in the marina in case we couldn't leave.

Everything ready for the off.

Chris had already decided that if we stayed we would have our crab supper after all - so we were in a win win situation.

Luckily the weather looked fine the next day so we bid Carole and Chris farewell and set off. Chris was hopeful we would have a good sail.
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Carole and Chris of Seaduction.

 Lots of boats were milling around for the noon bridge.

As we came out of Weymouth we set the sails straight away and quickly flew across the bay, reaching 7 knots, at this stage I was worried that this might muck up our passage plan and that we would reach the needles too early - oh foolish woman!

Quite a lot of interesting things on the radio. Although we have a hand help radio on deck, if the caller is some way away I need to go down below to the main radio. So I was up and down with my notepad as there lots of information to note. First of all was Warship Sutherland, who announced they would be firing live missals therefore it was of vital importance that I knew exactly where they were. Luckily Sutherland was on the other side of Portland Bill, so that meant it was no where near us.One less thing to worry about.

Then there was a pan pan from a motor yacht with engine failure, Coastguard were trying to arrange a tow so I took down the position of the ship. In the middle of all this a rather irate fishing boat came on to yell at another boat, whether it was a sailing or motor yacht I do not know, but his language was rather fruity as he was furious that the other boat was not keeping a good watch and there had nearly been a collision. So the radio was being interspersed with the coastguard and the fisher man.

We heard later that a boat had taken the broken down boat in tow and the pan pan was cancelled.

A bit later into the journey the missal was fired. Although it was no where near us, it was exceedingly loud with a good boom coming to us.

As soon as we started going along the coast then the wind was behind us and the tide changed. We knew that we would be pushing the tide for a large part of the journey as we wanted to hit the needles at exactly the right time. But there is pushing the tide and pushing the tide. At one stage we were only making 1 knot.  The original plan had been to split this journey in two and stop off either in Studland Bay or Poole Harbour. That meant we would have the correct tide with us for each leg. However as the weather gods are definitely conspiring against us we knew we couldn't anchor in Studland Bay and I was worried about being weather bound in Poole Harbour as it coasts £48 a night. That was more than my thrifty nature would allow. So we were doing the long leg.

As the wind was behind us we had quite large seas. John spent most of the time on the helm as I had inputted a number wrongly into the nav system and we were then doing it the old fashion way with the chart on my knee. Not that the auto pilot would have been able to cope with the seas.

It just seemed a long time to get anywhere, but luckily the tide began to change when it should and our speed increased considerably.  We could see the Isle of Wight in the distance for quite a way before reaching the Fairway Buoy. By this stage the tide was really running and we knew we were in the Needles Channel. Sadly none of the photos came out as the journey was so bouncy.

I rang Yarmouth Harbour to be greeted with the news that it was full but we could go on one of the outer mooring buoys. We went down the Hurst Channel at ten knots and quickly arrived at Yarmouth, by this time it was 10 pm and dark. However much to our surprise and delight we managed to pick up a suitable buoy at first go, our friends Beth, Bob and Julia would be surprise after my attempts on the River Orwell earlier this year.

Once moored up a quick cupper and  sandwich and then to bed. John was off like a light but I couldn't sleep as the waves slapping against the boat was incessant and loud. The more I tried to sleep the more I couldn't, I went on deck twice to check everything was okay, which it was. Rather than disturb John I ended up sleeping in the cockpit, which was rather nice. I was very snug with the spare duvet and the stars were so clear with the lack of light pollution. I wish I'd though of this earlier as I dropped off very quickly. I was woken at 6 m by the clanging of the halliard but as I was on deck I didn't have far to move with the winch. I saw some yachts leave the harbour so was pleased about that.

We had discussed moving that morning onto Gosport but a look at the met office forecast showed this idea to be a none starter

At 7 am I radioed the berth master who said there was a place for us as some boats had left, so we quickly dropped the mooring lines and went in. We were in full wet weather gear as the heavens had decided to open. In the space of 15 minutes we were absolutely soaked but safely moored up in Yarmouth.

The rain continued nearly all day, you got wetter coming back from the showers than you had been in the shower! Our attempt at an afternoon walk was also cut short by the rain but by the time we had had our evening meal it was nice enough for a stroll.

Thursday morning was another long look at the weather, we decided that we will be here till Saturday morning then move on to Gosport. The tides won't we ready for us to move on until Monday, then we will make our way back along the south coast to Ipswich.

A week or more in Weymouth.

It was great to have friends Chris and Carole from Seaduction next door. We quickly arranged to go for a Chinese meal on the Friday night. We had a very pleasant time and sat over the meal till late and didn't get back to our boats until nearly midnight.

We also made arrangements to have a crab supper on Sunday night, when Chris would teach me how to dress a crab. Sadly no crabs had come in when Chris went to buy them. So the crab supper was off. John and I thought we would go over to Portland Bill and explore. However by the time we'd done an ASDA shop and sorted round, we felt it was too hot and too late to go. We made the decision to go on Monday instead.

Monday morning was lovely, so we bid goodbye to Chris and Carole who were heading home for  a week. Believe it or not we caught the ferry to Portland Bill and began our walk. (You would have thought we had enough of boats!) The first bit is very STEEP to say the least but once at the top the views were amazing and we had a lovely walk.

Part of the walk went through the old quarry where there were several carvings made by the quarrymen.

Captain found a chair, which he said was surprisingly comfy.

I must admit by the time we got to the lighthouse at the end we were on the tired side but were quickly revived by bitter shandy and a meal. In order to catch a bus back we had to walk to the next village. Walking on roads is not is much fun. The bus was packed as the local school had turned out and had obviously got on the stop before us. A couple of the young people did offer us seats - good manners rule okay. However the many of the year 9 parents won't be getting their letters inviting them to the parent's meeting in September! As the floor was adorned with said letter.

We had a super day but in hindsight we might have been wiser to travel that Monday as the weather afterwards went down hill wind wise. The map of Britain for inshore waters was totally covered in red and we don't travel on red days. Apart from a mega thunderstorm one night it's been reasonable during the day. Anyhow we made the most of Weymouth and the local bus service and we have been out and about exploring and walking.

Now speaking to other sailing couples, there comes a time in every voyage where the wife cuts her husband's hair. Mr Gee won't let me near him with a pair of scissors. I really don't know why. Anyhow, because we were feeling like shaggy dogs we took the plunge and found a local unisex hair dresser and went and had our hair cut. We both feel better for it.

The weather as I mentioned wasn't suitable for sailing neither was it suitable for much sightseeing. Friday was horrendous both wind wise and rain wise. We'd hoped that Saturday would be bit better on the wind front even if still showers through out the day, but no joy for sailing.

As it was obvious we were staying put for a few days, we decided to get up early Sunday morning and get the bus to Lulworth Cove and then walk to Durdle Door.

Lulworth Cove

We enjoyed watching these people climb up and then jump off. It looked like fun.

Why do we always choose steep paths?

Looking back at Lulworth Cove from the top of the hill.

On the way to Durdle Door

Durdle Door.

As we have been so long in Weymouth we are going to cut out Poole on the way back and head straight to the Isle of Wight. We might try Cowes rather than Yarmouth this time.

Weymouth 14th July 2017

Weymouth mark two. This morning we had a 0730 set off, slightly apprehensive we set off. The main sail went up in the harbour and the genoa (genny) followed as soon we were out. We were sailing straight away but the wind was very gusty and I'm afraid I sounded like someone with a severe case of Tourette's. However once we'd reefed the genny things were a lot calmer. Amazingly the wind was in the correct direction and we could actually sail with the autopilot on.

As we would be going over a long period of time and over two tides I had done my work with tidal vectors, this meant that the course we were steering wasn't actually towards our first waypoint. You need to believe in your navigation as the tide takes you one way and then the other, if you have got the heading right you end up exactly where you want to be.

The sailing only lasted for 2 1/2 hours and sadly we had to pull in the genny and start the engine. This was about the time we were meeting all the ships coming out of the shipping lane. It was very busy and at times it is hard to judge  distances. Towards the end of the journey we had to slow down for one ship which meant for the next one not only did we slow down but also had to change course. But our motto has always been better safe than sorry. Apart from the commercial traffic we only saw one other yacht in the distance throughout the crossing.

The Bill of Portland was slowly coming into view, it is nice when you know we were arriving at the right place. I heard our name on the radio very faintly, John thought I was hearing things as we were totally by ourselves in the sea and not another vessel in sight. I went onto the radio and found it was our friends from Chris and Carole hailing us. They were passing St Albans Head and also heading for Weymouth.

As we made our way towards our waypoint we realised we knew that we would not make the 1800 hr bridge. We did try - as we passed the pier head bang on 1800, I radioed harbour control to see if wed missed it. At this stage we hadn't as the bridge was just being raised and there were boats to come out and boats to come in. We were informed if we were in sight of the bridge and it was still up they would hold it for us. A load of sailing dinghies came out and we had to avoid them so we didn't make the bridge. However we had the choice of the waiting pontoon and were rather pleased with our entrance. It was one of those moorings we were pleased with. Especially as we would have had a huge audience if we'd messed it up. Chris had already told us that if we were on the waiting pontoon just smell Bennetts' fish and chips. John was dispatched up the wall and came back with sausage and chips as we couldn't have fish and chips two nights running. It went down very well with a glass of shandy.

First impressions of Weymouth are very good. These photos are ones I took with my phone as we waited for the bridge.

The time passed very quickly and Chris rang us to say he'd rearranged the berthing arrangements and we were now next to them. It was great to have Carole and Chris on the pontoon waiting to catch our ropes.

Sailing information.
57.6 miles  - 10 hours 45 minutes
You get stamps at this marina which is part of a chain, so its pay for 6 nights and 7 nights free. Just over £30  per night.
Brilliant showers. You have a little room with a shower, sink and toilet.
Laundry - £2 a wash. How cheap is that! £1 for 20 minutes in the drier.
Marina staff really friendly and helpful.
Best wifi yet.

Weymouth here we come. 9th July 2017

An 08.30 set off today so a leisurely start. It looked a lovely day and we were still in shirt sleeves. Three weather forecasts had been consulted and all looked well, we were booked into Weymouth and although we knew we would miss the 1800 hours bridge we would be there in plenty of time for the bridge at 2000 hrs. The last job is to 'oil up' as both of us don't want to get burnt. I also attached my 'gig strings' to my prescription sunglasses, having lost a pair a few years ago I always take care.

After John finished oiling up, he went to put his glasses on but couldn't find them. We hunted high and low but they had disappeared off the chart table. We knew they couldn't be far away as he'd taken them off to put the factor 50 on. As the glasses proved more elusive, we were getting a bit worried as he can't see without them. I did comment that I was pleased it was him rather than me for once. Still we hunted , John could see mine, I though I ought to put them on so they didn't get lost as well. Only to discover I already had John's round my neck! Whoops.

So we finally left the mooring at 08.34 to a glorious Sunday morning. It was nice to just have one rope to put away rather than several ropes and all the fenders. We moved quickly away from Alderney and were on our way.

At first the sky was wonderful and we had superb visibility and very suddenly the sky to the left changed. It was a sky we'd never seen before and it looked like a black wall coming towards us, after a quick discussion we felt it might be fog and discretion being the better part of valour we thought we would turn back to Alderney. This was at 1005 and having covered 7.94 miles.

No sooner had we turned round and we were enveloped in the thickest fog I have ever seen and I mean thick. At times like this you are thankful for the electronic aids. Although I was marking on the chart where we were we actually couldn't see anything. Our nav system left a trail from where we had  come and John stuck to that exactly. I was keeping look out but couldn't see a thing. We knew we were nearly back and suddenly John told me we were in the harbour. We had actually got into the harbour but couldn't see it. The fog did lift enough for us to see the mooring buoys and for us to safely moor up.  We were back at 11.30, our round trip had taken us just less than three hours.

We decided that a cup of tea and well deserved chill out was deserved. What amazed us was the fog lifted as quickly as it came and the day was once again glorious. By late afternoon we decided we needed to get to shore for a work so the water taxi was called. As we got to the end of the village we could see a train. I then remembered that a small steam train runs to the lighthouse. The train pulls old underground carriages. Sadly when we got there they had finished for the day so we didn't get a train line. But we followed our noses and the road and found the light house. We came back via the coastal path and there were some glorious views. There were also loads and loads of fortifications built by the Germans in the second world war. They are in pretty good nick and we could look round them. The States of Guernsey are sensible, basically they say explore but the risk is yours.

After much studying of the weather we realised a low was now coming in so we would be in Alderney for a few days. We decided we wanted as near perfect as we could get to go back after this mornings experience. We knew it was going to be bad when all the charter fishing boats also stayed in the harbour for a few days. It also meant we would get the dingy out s the water taxi would prove expensive on a daily basis. However the outboard was not happy, we think the fuel had gone off, I didn't know that could happen. This meant unless the choke was out it wasn't running well so John was doing more rowing.

I must say whilst we were in Alderney we had a lovely meal at Cantina 6, which is a rather nice tapas bar. As we like walking we managed to get lots of walks in we planned on one day to walk round the island but the weather forecast was not good. That was rather an understatement as it really rained and was very windy. We bounced around all night on the mooring buoy.

I didn't move while making this video, it's the boat that is moving.

On out last day we did walk all around the Island, 11 1/2 miles but really enjoyable. Again we were struck by the fortifications, the amount of time effort and money spent on the channel islands by the Germans was amazing. Our time in these islands made us both realise what a hard time the people of the Channel Islands had during the war. As did the people bought across as slave labour. Until our visit I didn't realise how many people had been deported to various concentration camps.

At the end of the walk we decided to stop off at Braye Chippie rather than have to cook when we got back.

Don't know who's boat this is, but I liked my arty photo of the moon through the mast and genoa.

Rascal is down there somewhere.