Saturday morning and I was up at the crack of dawn eager to catch the tide and be on my way to Brighton. After starting the Engine I went forward and heaved in the anchor. This proved relatively simple, I just kept up a steady pace and let the boat come up to the anchor while stowing the warp into the plastic laundry basket I had on deck for this purpose. Once the anchor had broke free, I quickly hauled it on deck and went aft to set safe course out of Whitecliff bay.
It was beautiful morning, just a gentle breeze so I set the sails and headed across the entrance to the Solent towards Selsey Bill passing south of the Nab tower. As the morning progressed the wind died away and I had to restart the engine in order to make any progress. The tides are strong and the are plenty of sand banks and shallows to catch out the unwary.
I safely navigated my around the Bill and across the Looes, an area of shallows SE of Selsey.
A fair bit of the passage was done under power due to lack of wind. I even stopped to see if I could feather up some fresh mackerel for tea but didn't have a sniff.
I safely navigated my around the Bill and across the Looes, an area of shallows SE of Selsey.
A fair bit of the passage was done under power due to lack of wind. I even stopped to see if I could feather up some fresh mackerel for tea but didn't have a sniff.
A bit of a breeze sprung up in the afternoon and I was able to sail the last 20 miles or so and it was tea time by the time I was off of Brighton. I called up the marina and arranged for a birth before starting the engine and stowing the sails.
Unfortunately there is a bank of mud just inside the entrance, just passed the dredger [ this should have given me a clue ] and I ran straight onto it. A very helpful lady managed to haul me off with her winch. I tried to help by waggling the rudder back and forth with the engine in full reverse. With a loud crack I manged to snap the tiller, luckily with the one rope and the help of a gallery of onlookers I got along side. I remembered there was a spare tiller in the cabin and it was a 20 minute job to fit it.
My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin came down to visit and Peter [my Uncle] stayed over as he was going to accompany me on the last leg of my journey. The weather was visibly deteriorating as we ate our nando's chicken with the wind picking up accompanied by some drizzle. We turned in ready for the next days sailing.
My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin came down to visit and Peter [my Uncle] stayed over as he was going to accompany me on the last leg of my journey. The weather was visibly deteriorating as we ate our nando's chicken with the wind picking up accompanied by some drizzle. We turned in ready for the next days sailing.