Circumnavigation complete!

With the weather looking dodgy we made it back to Portsmouth in two 60 mile hops from Ramsgate via Eastbourne.  We had a slight disaster on the trip from Ramsgate to Eastbourne, we slipped our lines at dawn and must have been a bit groggy because we didn't discover until halfway through the journey that the rear hatch was not properly shut.  Normally this is not a problem but the heavy seas as we approached the straights of Dover caused great tidal waves of water to rush down the decks at frequent intervals resulting is a rather damp bed. The first job when we finally arrived through the lock at Eastbourne was to wash and dry our bedding.  Luckily the mattress was new last year and covered in a fantastic waterproof fabric which was a major bonus.

Storm Approaching near Dover

We spent two days at Sovereign Quay marina, a couple of miles from Eastbourne town centre.  A couple of wet and windy days, although the sun did make an appearance on Monday afternoon and we enjoyed a good walk along the promenade before the rain returned.

Wild seas at Eastbourne

Although, sun came out in the afternoon for a short while

The weather forecast was looking not too bad on Tuesday so we decided to push on departing the lock just after 7am to grey sky and gusty winds.  The first couple of hours was hard going as we rounded Beachy Head and past Brighton.

A bit choppy at Beachy Head

It wasn't raining and the forecast for the next few day's wasn't looking any better so the continued all the way to Portsmouth stopping at Gosport Marina, the first stop on our outbound trip six months ago.  Today we had a rest day and visited the Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, this was an excellent outing as we both remember the raising of the Mary Rose from our school days (1982).

Tomorrow we'll travel the short distance down Portsmouth Harbour to our home marina and begin the task of cleaning Bathia and packing up.

It's been a fantastic six months, we can't believe its almost over.  It'll feel strange not to study the Met Office inshore waters forecast and plan our next port of call...well not for a little while anyway.

I'll update the route and distance table pages and any other thoughts over the weekend once I'm back on home broadband.

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Progress slowed at Ramsgate

Leaving Ipswich on a blustery Saturday morning we sailed the 10 miles down the River Orwell to Harwich and moored at Halfpenny Pier, just inside the edge of the harbour.  During the afternoon strong wind and rain blew in for a few hours making the short exposed pier rather bumpy.

Harwich, Halfpenny Pier

These conditions were forecast followed by a reasonable Sunday and storms into the start of the next week.  The conditions did improve during the evening so we set our alarm clock for 4:30am to catch the best of the tide for crossing the Thames Estuary.  This is a fairly difficult stretch of water with shipping lanes, strong tides and shifting sand banks.  We had set our course to follow a recommended route, through the Medusa Channel, down Black Deep and through Fishermans Gat Channel south of Long Sand an then almost due south to Ramsgate.  I’m glad to say conditions were pretty good, the first 90 minutes or so were a bit scary in pitch dark but once dawn broke shipping was light and visibility to spot the channel markers was good.  We only had to keep clear of two large container ships, the second of which created a massive wake which we ploughed through bows first.  We passed some massive wind farms, a common sight on our East Coast passage; the weather was pretty good and we were tied up in Ramsgate harbour by mid-afternoon in the blazing sunshine.

Wild and windy Ramsgate Harbour

Unfortunately the next day the predicted gales started with high winds and heavy rain which have kept us in port all week.  The weather improved on Tuesday allowing us a pleasant walk along the coast to Broadstairs, still very high winds but it stayed dry, warm and sunny.

Broadstairs Beach

The rain and gale force winds then retuned and Bathia has been staining against her mooring lines and rocking around as the swell surges into the harbour for most of this week.  Today, Friday, the conditions have improved and the weekend weather is set to be a little better hopefully allowing us to get back on the move as we enter out last week of the trip.  Just a couple more stops until we return to our starting point in Portsmouth.

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Lowerstoft, Southwold and River Orwell

Leaving Wells in far calmer conditions we motor sailed into Lowerstoft and moored for a couple of nights at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club situated within the harbour.

Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club

Sunday was a hot day and we took a walk along the promenade followed by a large lunch in a seaside pub.  We awoke on Monday to thick fog, planning to depart at 11am to catch the tide a couple of hours south to Southwold, the fog appeared to be lifting but as we slipped our lines and called harbour control for permission to transit the harbour the fog rolled in again thicker than ever.  It was touch and go as to whether we should turn round and abandon the passage or carry on, with all our electronic navigation aids switched on we pressed on, creeping out through the harbour barely able to see the harbour walls let alone the small fishing boats waiting to come in.  With Katie glued to the radar and Robert peering into the murk and sounding the fog horn we slowly headed south.  The fog stayed much longer than expected but as we neared Southwold visibility improved, which was good news because the entry into Southwold harbour, up the Blyth River is narrow with a defined route to avoid sand banks.

Once safely secured to the visitors timber moorings in the very fast flowing river we could relax. Tuesday was very hot and sunny, we walked from the harbour along the beach a mile or so into Southwold and spent a very pleasant day soaking up the atmosphere of a seaside town described in our guidebook as 'Kensington on Sea', fine Victorian and Edwardian residential buildings and small green squares.

Southwold Sea Front

Fine weather on Southwold Pier

After Southwold we sailed onto Harwich and the large container port of Felixstowe, however just a short distance beyond the port the River Orwell becomes very rural and we stayed a couple of nights at the Royal Harwich Yacht Club at Woolverstone.  Walking down river we visited the pretty village of Pin Mill for lunch.  

Container Ships at Felixstowe

Butt and Oyster Pub in pretty Pin Mill

Needing a laundrette, provisions for ourselves and diesel for Bathia we pushed a little further up river and moored right in Ipswich.  With so much close by we completed our chores and also managed a trip to see Gone Girl, the film follows the book which we both enjoyed.  Tomorrow we'll move onto Harwich in preparation for crossing the Thames Estuary.

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