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
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