Small Boat to Chichester - Day 14

Cripes, fourteen days on board. And no blood spilt (yet).

Typically, today dawned with sunshine and warmth. Ah yes, warmth. What a welcome diversion from the blasted wintry icy blast we've come to know and ... know over the last fortnight.

A short hop of a couple of hours upriver was all that today had in store and there being no rush and little point in bashing the tide, we set off at lunchtime.

As soon as we could, it was sails up and engine off and away we went tacking upriver merrily having fun in the sun.

It was bound to go wrong I suppose and shortly after taking the tiller Rik reported that something was awry in the steering department. Sure enough, we discovered that the tiller had broken at the base and only the brass strap was keeping out from coming apart completely.

Away went the sails and we proceeded utilising the emergency steering gear. This is a cunning arrangement that involves turning the outboard from side to side. Of course, the downside is that it only works when motoring but the key point is that it does work.

Back at Fambridge, we offloaded everything that could be offloaded, refueled and generally sorted out before heading to the pub for some beer and a last meal.

Small Boat to Chichester - Day ... eek!

Was it an unlucky day? The jury is out

It was certainly one of the more tricky days for the navigator. The forecast looked pretty uninspiring and seemed set fair to stay that way for a few days. Northerly F3/4 isn't what I'd have asked Santa for, not by a long chalk

After debating running round to Harty Ferry in the Swale and then completing the run to the Crouch on Friday, we decided one day of misery was a better option than two and headed for home

Of course, there was the option of staying put in Ramsgate for another day in the hope that the weather tomorrow would be better but it looked a forlorn hope and in any case there isn't a hell of a lot to do in Ramsgate

Having made the "let's just go for it and get back" decision, the next issue was one of tides. We've learnt the hard way on this trip that a foul tide is to be avoided if at all possible. Today though I had another problem to consider

The shortest route back was the way we came south i.e. crossing the SW Sunk. However, after scraping the barnacles off last time, I wanted at least half tide this time. Add everything together and it dictated an 07:00 departure and a foul tide all the way to Fisherman's Gat. The good news would be a fair tide down the Whitaker and into the Crouch. What goes around ...

A foul tide and a foul wind is too much for anyone and it was sadly a case of bite the bullet and motor North. As always, it just seemed to drag on forever and there was an uncomfortable rolly swell too.

Twice we had to turn to starboard to avoid shipping. The first was a work platform type vessel which steamed down from the North on a head on collision course and made no alteration of course or speed. Not surprising really given that there appeared to be no-one on the bridge!

The second was less equivocal, a cargo ship heading for the Prince's Channel approaching from starboard was without doubt the stand on vessel and we turned and ducked around his stern.

At last, we reached the gat and turned into a more westerly heading. As we'd hoped, this gave us just enough angle off the wind to get her sailing close hauled. The peace and quiet was very welcome but it wasn't to last.

As we crossed the Black Deep, the wind lost it's get up and go and consequently so did we. The tide could now get a proper grip on us and push us South of our planned crossing of the sands.

Soon enough we were in that situation which must have been a nightmare for mariners in the days of sail - down tide and down wind of where we needed to be. We were in no mood to emulate my forebears and started the engine!

Across the sands with plenty of water this time, we turned North across the Barrow Deep and then skirted around the end of the East Barrow into the Whitaker Channel.

Every attempt to get her sailing, and we tried several times, was foiled by the wind either shifting to head us or dying away to nothing, or both, within minutes of us unfurling the genoa and getting the sails set.

Finally, inside the Inner Crouch, we actually managed to get sailing for the last couple of miles before ducking into Burnham Yacht Harbour for the night (the tide was on the turn, we'd been on the go for nearly 12 hours and frankly we'd had enough so another two hours under motor flogging the tide up to Fambridge did not greatly appeal)

A quick dinner on board was followed by beer and a pick on the junior crewman session in the Swallowtail bar.

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 12

Today was always going to be a short hop to Ramsgate given that we were moored in the semi-tidal Granville Dock. The gates close about 2 hours after high water and don't open again until 3 hours before the next high tide

Today, that meant well nigh midday before we could leave unless we made yet another very early start and the forecast didn't fill us with any great enthusiasm for a long day anyway.

Port Control offered us the use of the Eastern entrance given that we were heading that way along the coast which was handy although we had to circle around just inside the entrance whilst a ferry went out.

Control called us up and told us to follow him out at our best speed and then immediately clear three channel to the North. As we came out through the pier heads we could see why, there was an inbound ferry bearing down on us at a rate of knots! We did not, as you may well imagine, hang about!

Once out of the way, we got the sails up and the engine off. The rain was a pain (see what I did there? Good eh?) but the breeze suited well enough and we made good time.

I'd deliberately planned an inshore route to give us a view of the coast - when we came down this way last week we were well out and three vis was poor so we didn't see much at all

As we made our way across Pegwell Bay, the wind headed us and we had to put a couple odd tacks in to clear the shoals. By now is was getting a bit brisk out there so a reef went in on the genoa to calm things down.

This being the first time we've reefed down the new sail, I was delighted to find that with the foam luff it sets very well. Money well spent.

Had we not been so close to Ramsgate, we'd have been looking at reefing the main too but we would be dropping it before long so we eased the kicker and the sheet too take the sting out of it and luffed if necessary to keep her on her feet

Soon enough, we were off the Southern breakwater of the port and on went the engine and away went the sails. Twenty minutes later we were alongside and putting the kettle on

It had been a chilly, wet and rather tricky but quite satisfying day although nobody was complaining that it was also mercifully short!

Dinner on board was followed by a swift pint and a planning session. The weather for the next few days isn't great and whilst we'd like to take two days overt the run back home it may be a case of get the hammer down and get back tomorrow.

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 11 pt.2

Subtitle: It's Ferry Busy Out There

During our visit to Dover castle, it was rather disappointing to climb all the way to the roof of the Great Tower only to find ourselves standing, when you get right down to it, inside a cloud!

Later in the day, at the Admiralty Lookout, the visibility had improved to a couple of miles and a good view of the port complex was to be had (just don't look down Bru!)

But it was only late in the day, when we emerged from the World War 2 tunnels to find that the rain had buggered off at last and the sun was shining, that we found a vantage point with a clear view all the way to the French coast.

And between us and the French? Big white ferry after big white ferry. One after another, backwards and forwards, queuing up to get in and out of the port. The task of Port Control is to keep all this traffic from bumping into each other and although everything moves rather more slowly it's not that different from air traffic control.

And my next mission? To slip little old Brigantia through the middle of that lot without getting a slap from the big boys! Fortunately, provided we follow proper procedures, Port Control treat the skipper of a little boat with the same courtesy and consideration they give to the master of a cross channel ferry.

Woe betide the yacht skipper who moves his boat without getting the good word from the man in the control tower though!

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 11

A day in port at Dover had always been part of the plan and today was that day. We were a little late getting up after lying in so it was late morning before we set out on our expedition of exploration.

Our first target was breakfast, well actually more like brunch in truth, at the cafe on the end PhD the Prince of Wales Pier. It stated to rain as we walled out but we didn't let this dampen our spirits although it did dampen our trousers!

We dried out walking up the steep hill to Dover castle were we spent the rest of the day. It's a fascinating place and just about worth the rather high ticket price.

We left just shy of closing time and staggered, in my case literally, back down the hill again. Passing the rather pleasant watering hole of Cullins Yard was deemed too foolish to be seriously contemplated and whilst we were there we thought we might as well eat

The food was excellent, the beer superb and we had fun finding the gems on the CD duke box before repairing back on board for coffee and kip

Due to the tides times and when the gate out of the dock will be open it will be a lunchtime departure and a short hop to Ramsgate tomorrow

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 10

After much head scratching and due consideration, we'd come to the conclusion that Rye was not on today.

Much as we fancied visiting the town and despite all the recommendations that we should do so, neither the weather nor the tides served.

The pilot books and web sites advised against the harbour for the first time visitor in an onshore breeze above F4 and that's both what was forecast and what, it turned out, we had.

Add to that a very springy spring tide this weekend and the recommended HW - 2 access time would leave us dealing with 5 knots plus of flow. Tricky in a boat that will barely do 5 knots!

So we departed Sovereign Harbour at seven heading for Dover instead. It was a tricky but satisfying sail on a broad reach with a noticeable and occasionally awkward swell catching us on the stern quarter.

Never the less, we kept the speed through the water consistently above 4 knots, something we'd never have achieved with the old sails, and with a 2 knot plus fair tide we fairly romped along.

About five miles short of Dover, just off Folkestone, the wind shifted, faded and we lost drive from the sails. The tide was setting us across the entrance, the rig was banging and crashing in the swell and the skipper was getting stressed by the sound of potentially expensive imminent damage!

We tried gybing and heading inshore but that didn't work so finally we gave in and started the engine.

Mark took the helm all the way in and did a good job got a novice although I did have to jump in at the last moment to avert a somewhat more positive than desirable arrival on the pontoon!

After dinner on board, we repaired to the bar for a beer and bullshit session

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 9

At last the weather has become a little more spring like. A relatively short hop today from Brighton to Eastbourne to position ourselves for either a visit to Rye or the long leg to Dover

We left Brighton at 7:15 and within 15 minutes, as soon as we were clear of the breakwater, we had the sails up and the engine off.

Although there was still a bit of a chill inn the air, we had a cracking sail reaching beautifully at over 5 knots. This is a point of sailing that had been frustrating with the old sails as I could never get them to drive. The only problem with the new sails is the face ache I've got from wearing a stupid grin as they drive like the devil!

After a touch of the headland doldrums around Beachy Head, we came hard on the wind as it stiffened to a solid F4 gusting 5 and veered into the North West. In one gust we logged a scarcely believable 6.5 knots. With a couple of knots of fair tide our VMG was sitting at a spectacular 7 to 8 knots for long periods

Arriving in short order off Eastbourne it was tempting to press on eastwards but good sense prevailed and we tacked up to the harbour entrance before dropping the sails and motoring into the lock.

One of our best sails yet and in sunshine too!

The afternoon was spent on fueling up, stocking up from the supermarket on site, showering etc.before Rik and I walked into Eastbourne inn search of fish and chips and a decent pint. Both were duly procured and it was a pleasant walk along the sea front too

Tomorrow we has planned to head for Rye but we've been forced to have a rethink. The forecast is for onshore winds which are not good for entering the harbour plus it's very spring tides which means a flow rate of up to 5 knots on the flood

Brigantia will only do just over 5 knots flat out and we'd have to go in on the flood, turn and stem the tide if we wanted to get up into the town (and there's little point going into Rye if you don't).

So that's out and it's back to Dover tomorrow!

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 8

Long day, short blog! Too tired to write much

Left Sparkes quite late, bit of a lie in. Kicking strap padeye came off the boom as soon as we set the main. Motored on whilst we all took turns at drilling out holes, finding the rivetter and rivets and nailing the damn thing back on

By the time we got the sails set and the motor off, we were well on our way to entering the Looe Channel.

Made a foolish mistake ignoring tidal streams, assuming what goes around comes around but forgetting that a foul tide around a headland is a drag in every sense of the word

Then the wind died. Completely. And the forecast came on the VHF complete with strong wind warning. Oh the irony. Oh how I laughed.

On we went under motor with much cogitation and some significant frustration apparent in the navigation department. Me that is.

Eventually, a breeze kicked in but from right astern. Where was the F4 Nor'westerly the forecast predicted? On we sailed then it went again do it was back to motor.

By now I'd settled on Newhaven as a destination but our ETA gradually slipped further and further past sunset. Brighton, four miles closer, it would be.

Now we got a breeze from the North West at last. The sun came out and despite the chill it was good sailing for an hour or so. Sure enough though the breeze dropped and once again our ETA demanded a boost from the noise machine.

We motored the last hour arriving in Brighton just as the light failed. A sort out, a meal, a coffee and sleep (shortly)

Tomorrow looks like being more of the same weather wise so a short-ish hop to Eastbourne looks the most likely scenario

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 7

A late-ish start this morning saw us locking out of Chichester Marina just before half past eleven to run down to Hayling Island for the night.

After a short diversion upstream to get a look at Dell Quay from the water, we motored downstream on the ebb tide in a stiff breeze.

Through Itchenor, the conditions weren't too bad although dodging the boats on the moorings was an interesting exercise with some lying to the wind from one direction, some to the tide from the other and some ask over the place.

As we got into more open waters the chop stated to build advanced to make matters worse now that we were fairly committed to crossing the harbour the wind went from F5/6 gusting 7 to a solid F6 gusting F7 and almost hitting F8 in the worst gusts according to ChiMet.

It was slow and bumpy but we made it across without incident. Getting onto the allocated berth at Sparkes Marina was a little tricky in the conditions but we managed it ok and repaired to the bar to recover!

A meal this evening rounded off the day although I think we might have to go on to water and ships biscuit next week given the size of the bill!

Tomorrow we'll hopefully start back eastwards. We might duck in to Shoreham or Brighton but if the conditions are ok we may make a run for it and push on to Rye which would be an overnight passage

Oh and provided my phone has a signal and the battery hasn't gone flat, Brigantia should show up on the misunderstood.com AIS ebb site

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 6

A funny sort of day weather wise. Sunshine, howling winds, flat calm, downpours, hail, you name it, we had it!

The chandlery at Chichester Marina happily had the type of deck vent we have in stock. Oh, I forgot to mention that at some point on Tuesday the starboard cabin vent got dislodged by a passing foot (probably mine I fear) and lost overboard. Only a tenner so not a disaster.

With that sorted, I set about some ropework that needed doing. First job was to shorten the kicking strap which I'd made a yard and a half two long. Next up was to divide the line for the cruising chute sheets in two and fit the second nab shackle to make a pair of sheets.

How often, even whether, we'll use the second sheet remains to be seen. It's only of use of we're gybing the chute and with it flown inside the forestay that may be not very often or even never.

Finally, I set about cutting two straps off one side of the holdall we're using as a launch bag for the chute and sewing them to the other side thus making a pair of clip loops that can be used to attach the bag to the guard wire when launching the chute.

Meanwhile, although we'd traded with the natives for supplies yesterday and obtained a white liquid not unlike milk and some slices of cured pig amongst other things for a paltry glass or two of the local firewater, it was felt that a foraging party should try it's luck and Rik set of to explore Birdham returning some while later with further useful additions to the ship's stores.

Mark spent the whole day with two bits of spare string and the knot book doing astonishing things like tying a loop in a rope one hand behind his back whilst standing on one leg with his eyes shut. I kid you not. Or even knot.

Come the evening we consumed sausages and mash with mixed vegetables before Rik and I set out on a night raid of Dell Quay. A walk of a mile or so through Salterns Copse ascend on alongside the water brought us to a very pleasant spot with a very nice pub where we knocked back several pints of very nice beer.

The walk back in the moonlight would have been magical too but it was getting more than a bit chilly! A good night never the less.

Tomorrow we shall start getting into gear for the return eastwards.

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 5

We didn't exactly rush about getting going this morning. In fact, it was nigh on midday before we started the engine and pottered out of Sparkes Marina.

As soon as we were clear of the moorings, it was up with the sails and off with the engine for a very slow two and a half hour sail up to Itchenor.
At times we were standing still or even all but going backwards with the ebb tide against us and very little wind but persistence paid off and we sailed onto a visitors buoy, made everything secure and called the ferry for a trip ashore.

A couple of beers and a packet of crisps in the Ship and we toddled back to the pontoon to catch a ride back to Brigantia

With just a mile or so to go, it just wasn't worth hoisting the sails so we motored on up the channel. After several attempts to call Birdham Pool Marina on the VHF and given the lack of water in the channel to their lock, we tried Chichester Marina and were straight in and on a berth in no time.

A bit of a tidy up and dinner on board was followed by a visit from an old friend and her husband which inevitably led to a beer or two at the Yacht Club.

Tomorrow will probably be make and mend day right where we are as the forecast is a bit rubbish. We'll see what we see in the morning!

P.S. Apologies for the rubbish spelling and strange words here and there - I'm blogging this on the mobile and some of the stupid suggestive text insertions get past my eagle eye!

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 4

Over a point of bloody awful over chilled keg Speckled Hen (yep, really. Words fall me) last night, we'd discussed plans and given the forecast strong winds for the latter part of the week decided to put in a long day and make Chichester Harbour if possible.

So with an early start being the order of the day, I was up after just five hours sleep for a shower then Mark and I got sorted out and just made it for the six-o-clock locking (the locks out of the marina operating on the half hour).

As soon as we were clear, the sails were up and the engine off. The weather was, for once, much as forecast. Grey overcast, F4 from the NW, occasional rain and one or two very brief glimpses of the sun.

Rounding Beachy Head the view was quite something. It did not disappoint! The chalk cliffs are stunning even on a grey day.

The wind died on us for a while but we had determined to run the engine only if totally unavoidable so we jilled about and sure enough the breeze kicked back in.

Ahead of us lay a 41 mile leg pretty well exactly due West to Selsey Bill. With the wind in the North West, we were just able to make the heading close hauled.

Apart from a few quiet spells and the odd lull the relieve the excitement, we screamed past Newhaven, Brighton and Bognor, although we were too far offshore to see whether Bognor was buggered as per the instructions of King George!

The long haul gave me a chance to tweak the sail trim, I'd rearranged the tack lashing yesterday to pull the tack closer to the mast and that plus a few slight tweaks on the outhaul and downhaul sorted the main nicely.

A bit of a heave on the genoa halyard and some fiddling with the sheet lead adjustment did the same for the headsail and for once I could sit back happy with the set of the sails.

I should think I was happy given that, apart from during the aforementioned lulls, we were logging over 5 knots and hitting close to 6 in the gusts. Add a fair tide to the equation and we were shaping up to make a truly spectacular passage.

For a spell when it was particularly gusty, I sat playing the mainsheet like a dinghy sailor, easing the sheet in the gusts to keep her on her toes and on course. Rik had a go at this later to when we had another bought of bluster from the wind gods.

We had some further excitement when the ship we'd passed at anchor off Eastbourne came up astern. From the AIS app on my phone, we were able to discover that she was the Sospan Dai - Deloitte the Welsh sounding name a Belgian dredger - and that she would pass us to port at 8 knots.

The excitement increased when she called us, at least we think it was it's although she called "sailing vessel on my port now"given that there was no other vessel in sight, and did she'd be changing course to 135 in one hour. I tried calling them back for clarification but received no reply.

The hand bearing compass confirmed to changing bearing (just good practice on this occasion) and we kept a close eye on her until sure enough, an hour later, she turned around and went the other way. The penny dropped that we were on the edge of a dredging area and she was running lanes sucking sand and gravel from the sea bed

We continued on our merry way! All good things must come to an end though. The lost time when the wind died earlier in the day now came back to haunt us as the tide turned foul with us still nearly four miles short of the Street buoy at the far end of the Looe.

We'd have to fight our way through this narrow passage between shoals with an increasing adverse current of up to 2 knots. And now the wind dropped!

Our log speed dropped from over 5 knots to under 3 knots and refused to go up again. Our SoG (speed over the ground) dropped from over 6 knots to less than 2 knots and our ETA inside the harbour was the early hours of the morning!

In desperation, we even tried the new cruising chute. After a brief hiatus when I realised I was trying to hoist it sideways, we got it set, said "wow, that's cool" with a silly grin and then the wind died altogether.

Oh well, now we could practice getting it down again! Mark tripped the tack and then ran the halyard out whilst I hauled in the sheet and bundled the sail into the corner of the cockpit. With the bag on the bridge deck it proved easy to put away too.

It was time to resort to the last resort and fire up the noise machine. It was quite interesting to approach a surf line from the wrong side, as it were! Once clear of the shoals we shaped a course to the North West towards the West Pole beacon.

The breeze now kicked back in from the North and we had just enough angle on it to make setting the genoa sheeted hard in and pinning the main across worthwhile. It gave us an extra knot of speed and, just as importantly, allowed a reduction in engine revs from "bloody noisy" to merely "noisy".

I dug out the motoring cone and hoisted it to the starboard spreader for the form of the thing. It's been lurking in the cockpit locker for two years and never been used so it was about time it was.

That didn't last and soon enough the breeze headed us and the genoa started to flog ago away it went. We kept the main up as steadying sail until just short of the channel and then dropped it before turning at the mark.

Motoring in, we tried to call Sparkes Marina on VHF 80 but there was no reply. Dropped onto the inner visitors pontoon and went walkabout and found the night dockmaster and sorted out an overnight stay.

A quick sort out on board and we tried to the Piranah Bar on site for a most excellent meal. It was so good we even had pudding!

55 miles in less than 13 hours at an average speed of over 4.3 knots. Not bad for a little boat! The new sails were worth the cost, we'd never have done it with the old rags.

Only minor niggle it's the return of the damp carpet problem. It's salt water and it seems to happen when we are pitching significantly.

I reckon it's what finds its way down the chain pipe and through the fore hatch accumulating under the inaccessible heads floor and leaking aft when the bow pitches up.

The worry, though, is that it's getting in through the equally inaccessible sink drain which has the potential to have serious consequences. Investigations will commence when we have an otherwise idle half hour.

For the next few days we'll explore the delights of Chichester Harbour before turning our thoughts to the return trip.

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 3

Our departure from Dover had to be delayed until after the chandlery opened due to an urgent need for a bulb for the port nav light and a fuse for the instrument panel neither of which we had spares for (bad planning that)

With that sorted and the petrol cans refilled at the nearby BP, we got under way at a quarter past nine heading out into a horrible drizzly clag and visibility of less than two miles.

There was a bit of a breeze so once clear of the harbour we set sail and stopped the engine. The conditions were supposed to improve, the wind was supposed to be stronger and from a better direction (up the chuff yet again) no-one of which happened.

Instead, the wind died off Folkestone and the clag closed in to less than a mile vis. We couldn't see Dungeness lighthouse or power station until we were almost on top of them!

Once past Dungeness, a bit of a breeze started to build and we were able to get sailing again. The breeze continued to build and we absolutely screamed past Hastings and Bexhill, the shore just about visible, at around 5 knots close hauled hitting 6.1 knots briefly in a gust

The sun even came out choir a while! We locked into Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne and berthed just shy of 8pm.

Dinner on board has been shoveled down hungry gullets, we will shortly investigate the possibilities of a pint

No photos today, nothing much to see!

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 2

Given that we'd has a long and tiring day yesterday and that the forecast suggested the weather would be fairly taxing, we decided to make a short hop down the coast to Dover today.

With F4/5 forecast from the NW and the evidence of our own senses telling us it was fairly breezy, we put a reef in the main before departure.

We left Ramsgate just past eleven to catch a fair tide down the channel. Following the example of a couple of other yachts ahead of us, we circles round in the outer harbour to hoist the main before heading out between the breakwaters.

It was fairly bouncy in the harbour entrance but settled down a bit once properly outside. We headed west on a course to clear the shoals making cracking time with the genoa and main both pulling.

However it was hard work at the helm keeping both sails filled without coming too far off course and after a while we furled the genoa and made life much easier sailing under main alone. We lost getting in for a knot off boat speed but with a fair tide we were still bowling among at over 5 knots over the ground.

In no time at all we were on the VHF asking for permission to enter port. Dropping the main just off the harbour entrance was a bit of a muddled exercise due to bad management mainly but we got it sorted out quite quickly and without any harm done

We ducked into the eastern entrance as instructed behind a departing ferry and scuttled across the outer harbour into the tidal inner harbour where the fish are more our size!

Moored up, we wandered along the sea front ending up in the seafood restaurant above the water sports centre for, well either a late lunch or an early dinner.

After generally lazing around and doing some odd chores, Rik and I went to Cullins Yard for a couple of beers. Interesting place!

Tomorrow we head on westward and see where we get

Small Boat to Chichester - Day 1

Well the passage plan proved to be pretty good and we arrived in Ramsgate barely an hour later than anticipated despite flakey winds which always seemed to be doing the exact opposite of what we needed

The new genoa sets beautifully but I think I need put my thinking head on to get the main properly set up (I suspect the problem may be the loose aft lower shrouds which are too long and can't be tensioned up properly)

We had to motor out of the Crouch as what little wind there was was from the West and right up our chuff. Once clear of the land, we got enough off it to make it worth setting sail and we gybed and fiddled and faffed our way to the Inner Whitaker where we turned into a reach

Except we didn't. We ended up close hauled and having to pinch up to hold the course tweaking to get the best VMG. After some head scratching we realised there'd been a shift in the wind (it being variable being the only thing the forecast got right). Hey ho.

Now the wind died to nothing and there was no option but to start the engine.

We then had a nerve racking crossing of the Sunk Sand with less than half the depth expected and scraping the barnacles off the keels on the sand! They don't talk about the shifting sands of the Thames estuary for nothing!

As we entered the Fisherman's Gat Precautionary Zone, where the BIG ships come out to play, something inspired me to check the cooling telltale on the outboard. Eek! Virtually dry. Not good.

So there we were, drifting about in the middle of a bloody navigation precautionary area with the outboard in the cockpit checking the intake etc! Nothing to be seen, everything fine. Engine showing no signs of overheating so I took the decision to restart it and get off to the side of Fisherman's Gat where we'd be out of the way and in water shoal enough to anchor if needs be

That entailed about 30 minutes of motoring constantly checking the engine by the end of which we concluded there wasn't actually a problem at all, other than with the telltale. If you can keep your hand on the engine cowling for as long as you like and merely experience a pleasant and rather welcome warming of the extremities, the engine isn't overheating!

Once out of the wind shadow created by the London Array wind farm, we got some breeze again, albeit virtually dead on the nose. A couple of experimental tacks and close study of heading, course and VMG suggested that starboard was the tack to be on. We gained by the push of the cross tide setting us back towards our direct heading (it's called lee bowing the tide in nautical circles!)

As we approached the anchorage off Margate, the wind died again and we fired up the engine for the last couple of hours into Ramsgate. All in all, a good if long and slightly challenging day.

A beer in the Royal Temple Yacht Club was followed by dinner on board and an early night

Small Boat to Chichester - D-day -1

Rik arrived first about lunchtime and moved Brigantia off her new buoy (we've been promoted to the buoy nearest the pontoon!)., Mark and I arrived much later having stopped to do the perishable shopping and then again to fill the fuel cans.

Much care over stowing the gear kept her nicely trimmed this time, compared to last year when she was badly overloaded and somewhat down by the stem.

Rik and Mark hit the showers whilst I went around with the spanners putting some tension in the rigging which was loose as a very loose thing. I wouldn't call the rig exactly tuned now but at least it isn't sloppy.

We reconvened in the pub for a poor and a pint or two grabbing a last few nearly forgotten items from cars on our way back.

It's an early start in the morning. We need to be away by six at the latest, earlier if I wake before my alarm goes off, in order to make Ramsgate at a reasonable time.

The forecast is reasonable, perhaps a bit more wind than we'd ideally like (but F3 gusting 4 it's a lot better than 5 gusting 6 as was forecast a day or two ago) with good visibility and not too chilly. Might be a shower or two but hey ho.

We should be able to take the shortest route via the SW Sunk Fisherman's Gat and be in port by early evening.

Small boat to Chichester, D-day -2

The bags are packed, the dry stores have been delivered and are ready to load up, the charts and routes and so on have been sorted out, copied onto the small laptop, mobile and GPS.

All that remains is a night at work, grab a few hours sleep and then hit the road. We'll pick up perishable food, milk etc on the way, load everything on board and then I'll need to dive into South Woodham Ferrers to fill up the petrol cans - I could do it at work tonight but a> the quantity is over the limits on an attended forecourt (and I'm the attendant!) and b> I don't much fancy having 40 plus litres of petrol sloshing around in the boot all the way down to Essex.

The forecast is looking quite promising now although it will be a little chilly. Rain is also on the cards but crucially the wind is now predicted to be F3 gusting 4 or occasionally 5 all day (and well into next week). Direction is a bit variable with the wind backing as a low tracks across the south of the country but we should hopefully be able to hold our course for most of the day

On that basis, I've committed to departing early on Saturday morning* and reserved a visitors berth at Ramsgate for Saturday night. Obviously, if there's a drastic change in the weather we will have to abort but otherwise it's all systems go!

* which is actually a commitment to definitely driving down tomorrow - if there was no realistic prospect of getting under way on Saturday I'd rest up tomorrow

Small Boat to Chichester - D-day -3

Spring Cruise 2013 - D-3, time to start firming up plans

In theory, just three days to go before we depart on our big cruise of 2013

I say in theory because the wind forecast for the weekend remains somewhat iffy. There has been an improvement in the forecast wind strength which, yesterday, all sources were suggesting would be F5 (17-21 knots) gusting F6 or even 7 (upwards of 30 knots) over the entire weekend

Now, the situation is more confused (helpful, not!).

Meteogroup (WeatherPro app on the mobile) which I tend to favour as a good source of info now has the basic windspeed for both Saturday and Sunday as F3 gusting F4 starting off in the NNW and veering round to SSE overnight. That would be pretty well as good as it gets

However, Windguru has F4 gusting F6 from the NNW backing late afternoon on Saturday to SSW and then overnight to SE with Sunday seeing top end of F4, creeping into F5 with gusts up to F7. Not so good

The extended marine forecast from the Met Office isn't too encouraging either predicting strong Northerly or North Westerly winds throughout the weekend. The Met tends to predict on the basis of peak wind though.

Looking at the raw(ish) GFS model data via netweather.tv we now see a deepening low pressure system developing over the low countries on Friday night which tracks along the South Coast during Saturday and Sunday getting deeper as it goes. This explains the wind shift (and the variance in the prediction because if that low tracks a little North of the coast, the wind will back, i.e. change in an anti-clockwise direction but if the low pressure tracks down the channel or the North coast of France instead, the wind will veer, i.e. change in a clockwise direction).

So where does that leave us? Well it leaves the skipper in increasing danger of further baldness (as if my hairline isn't receding fast enough already!) due to the head scratching going on trying to make plans on the basis of a shifting changing and somewhat borderline forecast.

To sea or not to sea ...

that is the question?

To date, I've tended to be fairly conservative as far as what conditions I'd set out in are concerned. I've generally worked on the basis of not setting out if the underlying wind strength is above F4 (max 16 knots) or the wind is gusting F6 or above (22 knots upwards)

Given the experience Rik and I gained last year, when we were most certainly out in conditions that exceeded those limits by some way at times, I am minded to raise the bar a little and go for it provided there is not a Strong Wind Warning on the Met Office Inshore Forecast or a Strong Winds Alert on WeatherPro.

We will also check the live sea state on Wavenet particularly, in the case of the run from Fambridge towards Ramsgate, the South Knock Wavenet site and the Sandettie light vessel and abort if it looks too rough (anything much over 1m mean wave height, e.g a "moderate" sea, would be off-putting and we'd definitely pull the plug on the trip if the wave height was up towards 2m. That's still "moderate" in sea state terminology since the sea doesn't officially become "rough" until the waves exceed 2.5m!

And so to plans, vague though they may be as yet ...

It fundamentally hinges on the forecast for Saturday as issued late Thursday evening / Friday morning.

Provided there are no strong wind warnings for Saturday and the forecast wind is F4 or less it'll be Plan A

If the forecast wind is F5 upwards for Saturday but there are no strong wind warnings for Sunday, it's Plan B

There is no Plan C! Not yet anyway because if neither Plan A nor Plan B work out, we'll have to have a think about Plan C depending on the forecast for next week and that's too far away to make any firm decisions about.

Plan A

Mark and I will drive down Friday morning straight after work (excepting if I'm too tired to drive in which case we'll drive down Friday afternoon) and meet Rik at the boat. Stores will be loaded, rig tension set up, everything stowed and made ready for sea before we retire to the pub for a meal, a beer and then an early night.

We'll depart Fambridge early on Saturday morning towards Ramsgate anticipating a 12 to 15 hour passage across the outer Thames estuary

Plan B

is basically the same as Plan A but 24 hours later. We'' meet up on Saturday and depart on Sunday

The non-existent Plan C

Unless the weather forecast for the weekend is totally pants, we'll meet up on Saturday come what may. If Ramsgate is off the radar for Sunday, we'll have to consider what we can do instead.

It might be feasible to sneak an inshore passage into the Medway and thence along the Swale with a view to heading coastwise around the North Foreland on Monday

Or we may have to revise out plans drastically and contemplate a wander round into the Blackwater for a change of scenery and play it by ear from there

The one thing I really do not want to do is to end up sitting at Fambridge for several days going nowhere!

Oh what a surprise ... not!

The weather forecast has deteriorated significantly

The long range forecast, for what it's worth (which isn't much) has been quite promising for a while now, suggesting F3/4 Sou' Westerlies all next weekend and well into the following week. Nigh on perfect in fact.

As we move into the more accurate and reliable 5 to 7 day forecast, the GFS model is predicting a persistent low over the low countries with the Azores high building and pushing North in the Atlantic. The result? A funnel of Northerly winds straight down the East Coast with F5 gusting F6 or 7 forecast for Saturday and not much better on Sunday

Even if the wind speeds were within our comfort zone, which they aren't, being Northerly winds they'll have the whole of the North Sea from top to bottom to fetch up some decent wave heights.

As things currently stand, it looks like a repeat of two years ago when we spent the first few days of our main annual cruise nailed to the pontoon at North Fambridge. Unless there's a significant improvement, looks like it could be Monday before we get under way (with all that that implies for lost opportunities given that the tide will, quite literally, be turning against us as the week progresses)

Ho hum

Countdown to departure ....

The big spring cruise is almost upon us and I can't wait!

Lots of last minute preparations and "damn, I forgot such and such" ordering!

We'll be trying a new fuel for the spirit stove for one thing. Suddenly, bio-ethanol has become readily available in the UK in shops and by mail order despite seemingly falling foul of the rules that require neat alcohol to be denatured (hence methylated spirits) unless sold under licence

It's sold for use in spirit fireplaces that are all the rage in modern minimalist décors but in essence it is simply pure ethanol (the "bio" is a bit misleading since I gather that most industrial ethanol, from which meths is manufactured anyway, is from "bio" sources rather than fossil fuels being made from wood pulp, straw and other agricultural by-products) and as far as I can tell the stuff I've just bought on the t'interweb isn't denatured in any way!

The big advantage is the lack of the classic meths smell. This stuff has very little smell at all, maybe just a whiff reminiscent of neat vodka or gin (but I seriously advise against drinking the stuff!). A secondary advantage is that I've bought 12 litres of the stuff in handy sized 1 litre dispensing bottles for rather less than I was previously paying for 10 litres of meths in 2 x 5 litre containers which had to be decanted before filling to stove.

A few last minute items are on order from the chandlery - some soft shackles to use on the cruising chute (one for the sheets, two to attach the sheet blocks to the coaming cleats at the aft end of the cockpit), a rechargeable foghorn thing (been meaning to get one for ages, kept forgetting) and, crucially, a Barton roller reefing handle. Although the roller reefing boom on Brigantia has long been superceded by the superior slab reefing, the mechanism is all still in place and over the last couple of years the boom has managed to twist round by a few degrees. No amount of persuasion will convince it to rotate back into the vertical without the proper handle and although one could doubtless be borrowed, the same thing is likely to happen again so it would be useful to have one on board.

Of course, wouldn't you just know it - the chandlery was out of stock on the critical item but they've promised to have it in by Wednesday and shipped to me to arrive Thursday. Fingers crossed.

There's bags of clothes on the settee, bags of bags (sleeping, for the use of) on the floor by the couch, bags of charts and things (navigation, for the use of) by my desk. The two things that are lacking are bags of time and bags of money!

And now to plans ...