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Chapter
7 – Chichester to Ramsgate
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Day 47 Tuesday 27th June, Chichester harbour
to Brighton - 42 NM
We eventually got away
at 0830, following the river west before the turn south and the open
sea. We were both looking for 4 green buoys that marked the channel to
the bar and came across what looked like them earlier than predicted
(remember that we navigated rivers and channels without GPS fixes).
There was something not right about their positions, and we could not
see any other buoys, so approached warily. Only after closer
examination through the Binoculars did we realise that they were not
buoys but boys, four fishermen in green jackets and waders!
We were both quite dry
mouthed as we approached the Bar as we were the only boat moving, That
worried me as within in the confines of Chichester Harbour and Haying
Island there must be several thousand boats and although it was Monday
morning it seemed inconceivable that no one else was about. Although
my fellow yotties had convinced me that the channel had been dredged
and I would have at least 2 metres under the keels the fact that no
one else was attempting the bar made my more hyper. We carefully
monitored the depth gauge that revealed that the least water I had was
0.5 metres below the keels, and it was NOT where the bar was supposed
to be (the actual bar showed 2 metres).
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Feeling that we had had
our slice of luck for the day I did not temp fate by trying for the
Looe channel south of Selsey Bill, opting for the long route around
the Pullar Bank then round the Owers cardinal. The wind, that had been
a SE3/4 when we first hit the open sea kept swithering about during
the day, dying and developing again resulting in a mixed ride of sail
and engine. We eventually arrived in
Brighton Marina at 1710 with a good SE4/5 blowing, which made the entrance
somewhat interesting, and gave an uncomfortable swell in the visitor’s
area.
After filling up with water
we quickly abandoned ship for a night in the “Big Toon.”
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Day 48 Wednesday 28th
June, Brighton to Rye - 43 NM
The passage plan was pretty tight today as we were very
tide restricted at Rye, which had access +/- 2 hours HW
and less if we wanted to get into the town itself. We left Brighton at 0700 and to keep the boat moving at the speed necessary motored into
a good E3 until we had rounded Beachy Head and Royal
Sovereign lighthouse and then had a great fine reach into Rye. We got
to the outer marker of the harbour at 1410, eventually tying up at the
Strand quay at 1500.
The tide at the Strand Quay was quite impressive as at 2.5
hours after HW you can actually see the boat going down into the muddy
river base. We went for a short walk around the town and when we came
back there was no water to be seen anywhere!
Rye is a truly
brilliant place to stop, with excellent facilities. We just wished
that we had more time!
Day 49 Thursday 29th
June, Rye to Dover - 33 NM
Our original intent was
to make it all the way to Ramsgate because there was Power Boat races
scheduled there for Saturday, and we really didn’t want to get mixed
up with that, but the earliest we could get away from Strand Quay, Rye
was, the harbourmaster informed us, 12-30. At 12-15 there was a
trickle of water coming up the river and by 1230 the level had reached
us.
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By 12 40 the boat was semi-floating, rising at a rate of at least a
foot every 5 minutes, and by 1300 we were able to leave.
We motored down the channel against quite a tide and
eventually out into the open sea and an E3. We sailed out toward
Dungeness point leaving it to the west by 1500, but soon realised
that it would be very late by the time we would be getting into
Ramsgate so elected to have a leisurely sail to Dover instead. We were
about 4 miles from Dover when
we found the headsail had a big tear in the leach, so hastily
rolled it up to examine it later and motored the rest of the way to
Dover.
We entered the harbour through the westerly entrance, as
per instructions issued by the Harbourmaster as the easterly one was
in continuous use by the Ro-Ro ferries. They were lining up like
aircraft coming in to land at Heathrow, and the traffic was continuous
because as soon as there was a gap a stream of boats would shoot out
the same way. We found the Marina easily, and
although we thought that there would be a lot of wash induced
disturbance we had a very relaxed and swell free night. |
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Day 50 Friday 30th
June, Dover to Ramsgate - 19 NM
First thing in the
morning we dropped the genoa to repair it, but the sail was in a bad
way and it was clear it was beyond our simple means. We called the
marina office and they gave us a telephone number of the local
sailmaker, and within 30 minutes they were with us examining the sail.
They promised to repair it that day and would deliver it to Ramsgate
that evening.
With the tides not favourable until 1400 we decided to
visit the castle on the hill and, if we had any time afterwards, visit
the town as well. The castle was spectacular, being one of the biggest
and most fortified in the UK and is well worth a
visit. The town, however, is pretty dire.
After fuelling up we departed Dover at 1350. leaving
the harbour through the westerly entrance and making our way to the
easterly one, where we had to wait about 15 minutes for a gap in the
traffic. We motored around the South Foreland and into the channel
between the Goodwin and Brake sandbanks, turning into Ramsgate after
running 4 miles down the main channel. The marina was stuffed with
power vessels there for the racing the following day and although the
crane was working double time on the racing boats the whole place was
much quieter than we thought it would be.
We enjoyed a really
good evening in Ramsgate, and must visit there again sometime.
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