Cowes, castles and calm

We finally left Shamrock Quay almost a week 'late' after lots of driving backwards and forwards between the house and the boat.  We were supposed to be transferring boat stuff onboard from the house but at times it felt like we were managing to fill up the boat and the house with things we decided we didn't need after all and brought back.

Our neighbour, who regularly sails a few months each year, suggested the best way to start is to just go somewhere local even if it is only a few miles away to begin with, so we took his advice and chose Cowes as we know it really well and there are lots of chandlers.  It also feels like being on holiday,  as we go to the regatta there each year.

We sailed part of the way to Cowes, down the Itchen river, but the new jib was really stiff on the furler and got stuck part way out, so it was quite a gentle sail with that halfway out and two reefs in the main.  We were still going nicely though.  Martin took a good look at the roller reefing gear and realised the problem was that we had used the wrong halyard for the sail, so that is straightforward to sort out at least.

Arriving in Cowes would have been uneventful, except that I was quite worn out from quickly getting all the lines and fenders done, and instead of letting me have a five minute rest, Martin decided to turn the boat round using ropes straight away.  Then one of the ropes he was using came off, leaving me on the boat, and Martin shouting at me from the pontoon.  

We got lots of stuff done in Cowes, mostly because we were stuck there waiting for easterly winds and fog to clear.  We now have working interior lights!  (It's only been 3 years since I originally bought them!!). We also had a visitor who had sailed a lot with Ben Pester on Marelle - he mentioned how well she sails even with reefs in.

After almost a week, we left Cowes on Thursday 12/5 for Dover.  There was still a lot of mist, and calm seas with no wind on Thursday, so we motored all the way, only putting the jib up once for a couple of hours.  Martin had to go forward on deck to tighten up the aft lower rigging, so I was pleased we had finished off the jack stays in Cowes.

Friday morning (13th - appropriate) we were off Dungeness and Martin saw some really bright lights flashing blue white red, they turned out to be fishing buoys we think but it was quite terrifying trying to figure out what was going on in the middle of the night and quite choppy seas.  The wind carried on strengthening all through Friday morning, and by the time we were approaching Dover it was a force 7 - on the nose of course - with really choppy waves coming over the foredeck and spray flying off the tops of waves.  The autopilot couldn't really cope with it, and when I went below to use the toilet I saw there was a big leak in the foredeck hatch as well.  The glue around the edges of the Perspex and wood had stopped sealing the water out, and every wave was causing seawater to rain down on the duvet and cushions in the cabin.  We were also not sure how much diesel we would have used, and were both quite worried about the engine failing.

Martin took over the steering, and headed for shallower water to try to get out of the bigger waves.  This meant heading in towards the huge cliffs around Dover, which felt very unnatural.  It seemed to take forever to get anywhere closer to Dover, but was probably only a few hours.  The entrance to Dover harbour looked tiny and there was a huge cross tide (at least 2 knots anyway), and then even inside the harbour it was rough water.  Somehow I managed to rig a few fenders and some lines, and we moored up at the second attempt, having bumped the side of the bow on the pontoon but only very gently and not even enough to leave a mark.  We arrived at 6 a.m. after 22 hours at sea.

We stayed in Dover for a few days to rest, and to see the castle.  Dover marina is quite basic but has good toilets and showers and laundry, and lovely marina staff.  The whole marina is planned to be redeveloped with a European grant in the next 5 years, it will be interesting to see if that still happens if we leave the EU.  We went round the castle on Sunday, lots of walking and steps but fabulous views and interesting history of course.

Monday at 4 a.m. we got up to leave Dover at 5 to catch a good tide up to Suffolk Yacht Harbour on the river Orwell, north of the Thames.  At 6 we actually left(!) - having underestimated how much we had to do to get ready, including putting duct tape on the leaky fore hatch.  Fortunately for this trip it was much calmer seas, and although there again wasn't enough wind to sail, the trip was uneventful despite all the dire warnings from the pilot books and almanacs of the traffic in the Thames estuary.  When we were a few miles out from Dover, the coastguard radioed us to ask us to check out a report of pollution in the water, which we did but found nothing.

Arriving at Suffolk Yacht Harbour around 6pm was fine thanks to a helpful chap catching the second mooring line I threw at him (I threw the first one in the water, not his fault!).  We had a lovely meal and beer at the Haven Yacht club and an early night.  We are staying in SYH for a few days to rest and plan the next leg.  Maybe we will also be able to catch up with Stephen Weldon and Jonathan Dyke while we are here.