Last week I discussed why my trip is taking so long, never mind the repairs I was having to do to the boat. This week things have moved on, so what’s gone wrong this time?
A weekend on the Isle of Wight
I had spent a couple of days in the company of the Manning family on the Isle of Wight. But if there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to help get the party started, it’s the arrival of Dangerous Dave from Poole. Their sail from Poole was eventful to say the least. The easterly winds that have been driving me along were just what they didn’t need. Especially when the wind picked up a little.
Sailing into the wind requires more effort than sailing across the wind, where the wind is on the side of the boat. Or with the wind behind the boat pushing you along. It’s not just the effort required; you also have to sail a longer distance. It isn’t possible to sail directly towards the wind, so you sail at an angle close to the wind, then tack (turn) and do the same again. You have to zigzag your way towards your destination.
Now they had arrived the party could begin. We had not been together for the last two or three years as I had been hanging out on the east coast.
Sail back to Poole
After a weekend renewing old friendships, the time came to move on. I decided to take the opportunity to sail in company over to Poole. I love my life, but life is always better when you share it with others.
Where my friends had had to sail into the wind two days previously, we sailed with the wind behind us. The first half of the sail was glorious, with the two boats keeping pace. Unfortunately, the wind wasn’t set to last. Halfway across between the Isle of Wight and Poole, the engines were once again on.
It was around this time that I realised that my chart plotter had turned itself off. I thought at first I must have caught something, turned it on again and thought no more of it.
The trip was otherwise an uneventful and chilled affair, until entering the long narrow channel up to the entrance into Poole Harbour. There, heading towards us was the super-fast Condor FastCat ferry to the Channel Islands. Although Poole is a commercial port, usually you don’t get much in the way of large ship movements to distract the leisure boater.
Sail to Portland
After a couple of evenings in Poole, chatting and putting the world to rights, it was time for me to move on again. Next stop on my route was to be Portland. I thought about going into Weymouth Town marina, but Portland is easier when it comes to leaving to go round Portland Bill, but I’ll come to that next week. To get in and out of Weymouth you have to go through the lifting bridge, which works to a set timetable.
Remember how I said that there is rarely much commercial traffic in and out of Poole Harbour? Well, this Wednesday was different. After the ferry traffic had departed around me when I pulled out of the marina, there were warnings across the radio of large ships with restrictive draft entering the harbour. These ship movements include a moving exclusion area around the ship. Escorts are provided by pilots and sometimes other security vessels whose job is to move the unsuspecting out of the way.
This particular vessel could only just fit into the harbour at the full height of the tide. I was ready to move out of the way if needed. Luckily I had timed it right and made it out through the narrow entrance shortly before it arrived.
A ghost in the machine
The trip to Portland was again light winds and uneventful. The high pressure that had a hold over the UK at that time made for very settled conditions. Conditions with very light winds. However, my chart plotter turned itself off again. A ghost in the machine.
Once in Portland I did some testing of the chart plotter. It would turn itself off after about 30 minutes and then refuse to stay on. I tried rewiring the power, updating the software and even resetting it to factory default. No change in the fault. Luckily, it is under guarantee. Now in the process of trying to be in the same place as a replacement from a Raymarine dealer.
From Portland I took the short bus ride into Weymouth on the Thursday. The old world, Georgian seaside town is a real gem. Still popular, Weymouth is a lively spot with a great beach. It has a busy town and a bustling social scene around the harbour. In my view, definitely worth a visit.
