When I left you last Friday I was safely tucked up in Ramsgate. It had been a cold couple of days in the north sea. What a difference a week has made …
Later last Friday afternoon I made the move round to Dover. It was only a short 3 hour trip, but I didn’t leave Ramsgate until 3 in the afternoon due to tides. The day was warmer than it has been, at least at the start. However I was happy to get in at the end.
Things weren’t quite in my favour at the beginning. The tide was still a little against me, and this made things a bit uncomfortable for a while. It was a little like being tossed around on a fairground ride at times!
A combination of the shallow sea and the wind blowing against the last of the north going tide made for conditions that sailors like to call “Lumpy”. This is basically waves with very little distance between them, and so quite steep. Not necessarily big waves, but big enough to bounce the boat around. Generally a little uncomfortable. The wind going one way and the tide going the other just made this a little worse as this makes the waves that little bit steeper and more vicious.
Soon however the tide turned in my favour and this helped the seas calm down. What little heat there had been soon began to slowly disappear as the sun got lower in the sky. I was glad to be wearing multiple layers, with T-shirt, fleece, chest high salopettes and waterproof coat. I could still feel the cold through the thermal lined fleece gloves I was wearing.
Traffic jams at Dover port
Three hours is not a long trip, and I was soon on the radio to Dover port control. As I’ve said before, Dover is a busy ferry, commercial and cruise port. Port control strictly manages traffic in and out of the port. As is usual for such a busy commercial port, timetabled commercial traffic takes priority. I was left circling outside the harbour as one ferry left and another entered the port.
I was soon inside the safety of the massive breakwaters that make up Dover port. I’m sure port control must have been chuckling to themselves as I scampered around the decks deploying fenders and warps ready for the marina. Literally as i stepped back inside the security of the cockpit my vhf radio crackled to life as they finally gave me permission to head across the harbour basin to the marina.
Once safely tied up and booked in at the Dover marina office there was only one place to head. I don’t think any stop in Dover would be complete without a trip to Cullins Yard. Unfortunately no, I didn’t get a free meal for mentioning them, I just think the place is great … and it’s always popular so I don’t think I’m the only one!
Waiting for the tides to change
I spent a few nights in Dover, mainly waiting for the tides to turn in my favour. When you are only doing short day sails, say between 5 and 8 hours the tide has a big effect on each trip. If you sail for 12 or more hours you will usually get 6 hours of tide going one way and 6 hours going the other. If you are doing short days then you want to aim to have the tide with you as much as possible. That’s the theory anyway, real life has a few complications to throw into that particular mix.
And so I was up early on Wednesday to finally start making my way Westward. To start with the wind was more from the South West than forecast. This would have had me sailing pretty much into wind. While this is possible, I needed to get to Dungeness before the tide changed against me. Where ever the land sticks out into the sea the current is usually stronger as it passes this headland. This is due to water being pushed out from the bay on either side of the point of land and pushed round the headland. I told you … tides, theory and practice isn’t always that simple.
While it was still a bit chilly out there, it was nothing like a few days before. The blue sky and sunshine gave the sea a nice green/blue colour, so different from the shades of brown found on the east coast.
Pushing on towards Eastbourne I became preoccupied with looking for fishing pot markers. These small marker buoys are deployed by fishermen to pinpoint their shellfish pots on the sea bed. Reputable fishermen will use bright orange markers for this. These are usually easily seen and avoided. Some fishermen however will use black or white canisters. Trying to find these against the shadows and glistening tops of waves can be a near impossibility. I know from previous trips that around Eastbourne harbour is an area loaded with prime fishing spots. Vigilance here was key.
Finally pulling in to Eastbourne’s Sovereign harbour I was ready for a rest. This would be a short stop over, so another early night ready for an early start in the morning. With this life your alarm is set by the tides, not regular time.
Hazy days
After a 6:30am alarm call and a coffee infusion I was up and ready to go on Thursday. I managed to catch the 7:30 lock out of Sovereign harbour, trying not to up set the fishermen who were off to try and make a living. Out of the harbour it was a bright but hazy day. An orange tinge to the murky haze showed it to be the promised Saharan dust cloud the was heading north. It was made all the more eery as it was hiding Beachy head in it’s midst, and that cliff edge was my turning point towards the west.
The sun was strong however, and the visibility soon began to improve. I even had a sail out for a little while. But the wind that day was light and short lived, so that was soon put away. The cold of last week had bought good sailing with it. Unfortunately the improved weather had reduced the opportunities to actually sail.
As I motored on towards Brighton, avoiding the odd fishing pot marker and immense ferry leaving Newhaven, I sat and soaked up the sun. I did manage to spot my first dolphins of this years trip. They weren’t interested in playing with the bow wave of the boat unfortunately. Presumably too busy surfacing and diving for their dinners. Still, seeing dolphins in the wild will never get old.
A week or so ago I had been fighting the cold, layering up and doing everything to keep warm. Now I was removing layers and applying sun cream. Pulling in to Brighton marina I felt like I had my own inbuilt central heating. What a difference to a week ago.
