North Foreland rain

Ramsgate was dreary and wet at nine am as we slowly motored out of the harbour in lumpy seas. We had decided to take the longer but safer route home north of the Margate sands, rather than the oddly named Overland route which takes you through some very shallow bits closer to the land. 

The wind was as promised. A force 5 south easterly. We started the journey rolling like a pig with only the foresail up, and the wind almost dead behind us. Past North Foreland  and north for a long time before we could turn left. 

At last we raised the main sail and started to sail properly. And from then on,  all the way home to Gillingham, we had a cracking sail. 

Sirena IV lifted her skirts and ran with the fine wind. Yes it was raining and the world was grey but our beloved boat showed her mettle.

With the tide in our favour she was racing along at 6, 7 and even 8 knots,  her sails perfectly balanced. Heeled over and creaming through the dark green seas. 

By five we reached the familiar outline of Gillingham, with the blue gasometer appearing out of the drizzle. We filled up with fuel to keep diesel bug at bay, and slowly made our way into our old berth. 

It had been three months and we had been to France twice, Dorset and the Solent as well as doing important work and family stuff.

More lovely days, and some hard, testing days on our beautiful thoroughbred boat. What an adventure we three have had.

S Foreland sunshine

A very pleasant little leg yesterday from Dover to Ramsgate. Blue sky, warm sun, little wind so motored up with the tide in less than 3hrs. The pic is South Foreland lighthouse. 

Dover Port Control have a tough job with frequent Ferries and lots of small boats commercial and leisure.  They very courteously got us straight out before a large incoming ferry and 2 outgoing ditto.

Ramsgate Port Control on the other hand have very little to do as there are no longer any Ferries, just the Wind Farm work boats and people like us who are few at this time of year. You still have to go through the ritual of asking permission to enter and leave the harbour. We were the only yacht to arrive today ... "tie up where you like, mate".  

At 6pm we went up to the Royal Temple Yacht Club for a get.  In all our visits to Ramsgate we had not been. Very interesting history re royalty and the founding of the America's Cup. Stew on board much enjoyed and fell asleep early. 

Long leg to Dover

This is about yesterday 3 Oct.  Left Gosport at 0615 in what passes for dark in a busy port.  The only difficulty is spotting other boats, especially the yacht who had no navigation lights on - we advised him of this quite firmly. 

Passed through the Looe Channel with hardly a ripple at local slack water and the sky lightening. Sails all up and engine off, we had a lovely sail until the wind dropped as forecast. We were mentally prepared for a motoring delivery trip. 

Halfway across the 34nm straight line to Newhaven Lesley had a bright idea; conditions are benign, the autopilot is steering and we are feeling good so why not just keep going to Dover and save a day? A quick calculation of tide times and flows suggested we could just catch the slack point as it moves east up the channel and only have 4 hours of foul tide at the end maybe getting to Dover by 1am. Good call. Sorry Newhaven maybe another year. 

In the end we were just behind the slack, had more foul tide and got in with no drama at 0230. We did 2hr watches and slept during off watch to stay fresh. The wind never came back so the on watch consisted of keeping an eye on the engine and autopilot and looking for fishing boats and pot buoys (in the dark that's hard and impossible respectively).

It was our longest leg ever so far with just the two of us, 106nm in 20 hrs, 8 of which were in the dark. 

The pic is this morning in Dover Marina with lovely weather for one more day. 

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Down to the sea once more

Back to Gosport where Sirena IV has been safely moored (again) in Royal Clarence Marina. There is a forecast rumour that the strong easterlies will finally abate, so we can get her home via Dover to Gillingham. A delivery trip.

Sometimes you have to claw your way out of London though. Left Greenwich at 0830 heading to Waterloo having checked transport status. At O2 Jubilee line halted due to signal failure. Jumped into only cab with ano  chap to go Canary Wharf for DLR but Blackwall Tunnel jammed so jumped out of cab and walked back to Maze Hill. Due to London Bridge reconstruction cannot get train to Waterloo East, so train other way to Charlton to pick up train via Lewisham. Some delays & cancellations, through our own fault got on wrong train back to Maze Hill. Changed at Greenwich onto DLR to Lewisham where we heard that Bank had been closed, so good job we didn't go that way, and delays due to body on line at Waterloo East earlier. Eventually got to Waterloo 1.5 hours later than expected. Sometimes London seems to conspire against you. Luckily we don't have a tide to catch today, just some shopping, passage planning & pilotage, and a nice meal in the Pump House by the marina.


rgds/Nic
Nic Vine - Sent from my mobile

Southampton boat show

Today,  a day off in Gosport,  we trogged all the way to the Southampton boat show in what was a round trip of 4 hours by ferry train and foot. Was it worth it?  Yes because we love seeing masses of boats on the water, though most of them are too modern or ritzy or just big plastic motor boats. 

The Rustler yachts were our favourites. They are solid, beautifully  built boats with a pedigree, that cost an arm and several legs.

We walked miles. Lesley bought a couple of bargains in the sailing clothes line (not a clothes line).

Nic bought a £1 emergency hat as the sun was strong. A little later we were greeted with free prosecco, canapés and - a free peaked cap at the Swallow  yacht stand. It was their press launch and they were being generous... No he didn't take the emergency hat back. 

It's fascinating to see the types of show goer. Many grey bearded chaps haggling over buying ropes, smooth guys with immaculately coiffed wives looking at motor boats costing half a mill and scruffs like us coasting around for fun.

Back at the boat. Having supper at the Pump House nearby and can't wait. 

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Fair wind, foul tide

Another early start,  another glorious dawn. We left Yarmouth at 6.30 with Nic at the helm as a giant Wight ferry and a small Scoot ferry threatened to make us into a yacht sandwich. We escaped unhurt. 

The winds were forecast to be force 4 to 6 from dead ahead. We had all our wet weather gear on. What happened was a beautiful Solent sailing breeze of 10 to 15 knots. Rather than plug through with the motor on,  we took the slow road by tacking, zig zagging under sail across the waters which are busy with tankers, hovercraft, yachts and yes, ferries. The photo shows Nic avoiding a large container ship.

It was a fine sail. By twelve, we arrived back at Royal Clarence  marina in Gosport and slid into a berth to stay here for the next few weeks. 

After hosing down our gear,  the boat and our boots to wash off the salt, it was down to the charming Pump House cafe for tea and cake. More jobs and then a meal cobbled  together of odd leftovers. And dark. And bed. 

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Yarmouth 9 Sep

Rest day in pretty Yarmouth. First shower since France. The showers are really good in Yarmouth. The Army provided much entertainment by loading various vehicles onto a landing craft without sides. They did this very slowly with much signalling. Finally they set off into the tide and wind - the helmsman at the back could not see past the vehicles so another Marine stood on top of a truck and gave yet more hand signals. We had a great view from the pier which is small and v old fashioned. 

Some mooching in shops, a sortie into the hinterland which showed that 50yds from the Square is as far as you need to go. Impulse purchase of hand thrown pork pie and back to the boat to pig out  (pun intended). Yachts come and go in Yarmouth almost continuously, no wonder they have berthing masters in dinghies (who are reliably cheery and helpful). Always something to watch. 

We decided next stop is back to Royal Clarence Marina in Gosport which is only 20 miles down the Solent yet needs passage planning due to strong tides.  Decided an early start with a fair tide is better than a late start with a foul one, plus the forecast F4-6 probably won't have built by then with attendant short chop. So a stir fry on board and early to bed. 

Poole to Yarmouth 8 Sep

(No pics today)

More splendid weather, what a gift this week is, now that we have stopped agonising about whether we can/should head east towards home. Strong easterlies forecast all week have put paid to that.  Woke up on our own off the west end of Brownsea, so peaceful, many others joined us through the morning. 

After an early lunch we motored gently down the Wych Channel and out through the harbour entrance. Had a splendid sail across Poole Bay. Then motored into the Solent and tied up in Yarmouth. Felt pretty tired but decided to hose down the boat because everything very salty. Finished about dinner time so easy decision to walk 150 yds to the Kings Head for fish&chips. 

Perfect day

Woke up after a peaceful night at anchor to a fine fresh morning in Nic 's favourite place on earth. After breakfast we discussed our goal of how to get the boat back home. The weather forecast of strong easterly winds in our teeth means we can't do it this week. Once again we will have to leave her on the south coast. We were disappointed but resigned. 

Meanwhile the beauty of a sunny Studland day was calling to us. We blew up the new dinghy, dropped  it easily into the water and Nic rowed

us into shore. (We had found that the poor old outboard was not working, after 2 years without a service.)

Once  ashore we took our courage in both hands and plunged in for a swim. Well not plunged,  knelt in the three feet of water and splashed happily around. It was bracing.

Next came a walk down the beach to dry off, lunch at the NT cafe and an ice cream. Nic paid homage to the beach hut his family owned for 40 years and we had a chat with the 2 women who use the hut these days. Later we met Des, the maker of kites and his wife Annabelle who are in their 80s and remember Nic and his mum and dad from 50 years ago. 

Nic rowed us back to Sirena IV and we motored gently into Poole Harbour to anchor in the quiet spot off the Potteries. (See pics) A drink in the cockpit as the sun set and a large stir fry ended a truly wonderful Studland day. If we can't get home at least we can enjoy being where we are. 

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Another channel crossing

Came back today because looked like best weather for a calm crossing. Didn't want another rufty-tufty one - leave that to the Fastnet boys. Up at 0430, left just before 0600 as getting light. Half an hour to get out of Cherbourg harbour, inner and outer, including getting full mainsail up. Saw sun rise from the sea as we set our heading for Poole. 

Most of the day was motor sailing using the autopilot to steer our course, so watches (1 hour) were exactly that ... watching for big ships and other boats, buoys and logs. The wind was very light and from ahead.  Managed to slide inbetween the big ships except one that would have been too close for comfort so altered course to let him go first. 

At 1600 the wind settled into West and Force 4, ooh Sirena IV does like 15 knots on the beam! Two hours of blissful sailing as we stood in towards Swanage then Old Harry and finally Studland Bay. The forecast looks ok for anchoring here until tomorrow lunchtime, so here we are.  L went for a swim in the shorty wetsuit we bought recently, just for the hell of it.  Watched the sun set over Middle Beach and cooked a huge stew. 

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Cherbourg alright

We spent Sat 5 Sep in Cherbourg after deciding that moving on to Guernsey was too risky due to a combo of tide timings, shorter daylight and weather forecast. 

Disappointing flea market behind Basilica though we were late. Excellent charity shop. Saw the famous (apparently) parapluie factory- see pic above. Excellent lunch of galettes in cafe with history, only went in to escape the torrential rain. 

In general Cherbourg seems much nicer than our collective vague memories. We would return. 

More agonising over missing Channel Islands but could not make it work at acceptable risk. Planned a return to Poole instead and went to bed early, only to have divers banging against the boat. Got up and swore at them. Fastnet boats tied up all round us,some left in the night. 

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Channel hop

Today,  Friday,  we had a very easy day in Cherbourg. Yesterday was a 16 hour thrash from Royal Clarence marina in Gosport which was meant to be force 4-5 winds and ended up f6-7 with a touch of 8. 

We motorsailed out of Portsmouth and past Bembridge. Away from the Isle of Wight  the wind picked up and we had a wonderful sail  for 5 hours. Then the wind rose and we had to reef. In the end we dropped the fore sail and motorsailed with a double reefed main into F7 in very choppy  steep  waves. We gritted  our  teeth and carried on. Unfortunately we arrived late in the dark and had the rotten job of spotting the entry lights for 3 levels of harbour among the myriad lights of twinkly Cherbourg. It took half an hour to get safely into the marina. But what a relief. We made it, aching  and dog tired.  Here she is. Next stop? Winds and tidal races permitting,  Guernsey.

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Interregnum

A day of preparing to leave the boat for a while as we go variously to London, Lytham & Kirkcaldy for work and family. 

Rob & Hugh at the Royal Clarence Marina are very helpful and we know they will keep a close eye on her for us, as they do all the boats in their charge (and they do have some huge yachts and motor boats). 

So we moved Sirena IV to her allocated berth, cleaned the salt off everything, did the washing, ate as much of the remaining food as possible, packed two bulging rucksacks, battened down the hatches and hiked the 15 mins to the Gosport ferry which whisked us over to the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour rail station. The weather was good enough to rain on us, an attempt perhaps to lessen the sorrow of parting. Now we are trundling through Hampshire, which seems slightly strange. 

We will let family & friends know when this blog restarts. 

Naval berth

We have spent the day lazing in our snug berth in what was the old Navy victualling yard in Gosport. These days it is the Royal Clarence Marina but you can still see the former Granary which was built on stout columns,  presumably to keep out the rats. 

Opposite the marina lie the long grey warships of today's Navy. We deserved a day off after furious efforts to get this far West before our return to London.

We are leaving Sirena IV here for a while.  Later we hope to take her to Nic's boyhood sailing ground of Studland and Poole bay, only 30 miles away.

It's quiet and peaceful here,  very welcome after the horror of Brighton. We didn't give you the full picture in the last blog but here are the headlines. 

We had to wait outside the marina as they hadn't dredged it and it was too shallow at low tide. 

We had to 'raft" on to 2 other boats because it was so full. 

We were swept by tide IN the marina on to another boat. 

Half an hour wait in the office to pay as computers down and chaos reigned. 

Took an hour and 6 people to get us off the other boats in the morning due to tide pinning us down. 

We will never go back to Brighton.  End of. 

The calm and the mayhem

Pics are Beachy Head as landfall and someone mid channel demonstrating that it's not hot on 1 Aug. 

Oops, forgot to blog on 2 nights running ... so this covers Fri&Sat.  First the facts. The feelings (which cover the mayhem) may be in a following blog, suffice to say we will be avoiding Brighton in future! 

Fri: 70 nm passage from Dieppe to Brighton in F0-2 so motor sailing took 13 hrs. Lots of shipping though we managed to thread between them without altering course. The autopilot is a wonderful thing because there is little joy in helming when motoring. Had to wait outside Brighton with 6 other yachts because near low tide there is not enough water in the marina. Then we had to raft, luckily with v helpful Dutch & Belgium. 

Sat: left Brighton asap re tide not least to let others out. 45 nm to Portsmouth with SW F4-5 on the nose and wind over favourable tide so very bouncy. Motor sailing again.  Only took 8hrs as with tide helping we were doing 7-8kns at times.  Went round Owers as the Looe channel would be v unpleasant in these conditions. Went into Royal Clarence Marina this time, the one we did not use last summer - what a revelation, loads of space, very quiet, fine facilities. Zzzzz

Dieppois elan

We emerged from the boat blinking and sore after yesterday's hard journey, into a bright warm day in Dieppe.

It was a late start;  porridge at noon. The facilities sanitaire were a third of a mile from the boat so the walk to the showers woke us up. 

With just a day to savour the delights of the town,  we headed for the chief attraction. Another chateau. But this time, it looked the part with round towers and massive walls. The museum inside boasted a melange of artistic offerings  including Pissarros and Sisleys and Braques.

The view from the chateau across the crooked roof tops of Dieppe was a joy. 

We dawdled in an authentic cafe bar for coffee and baguette while a gaggle of older ladies did a crossword at high volume. 

Then back to Sirena IV to plan the rest of the trip with our huge Channel chart. Tides and distances, vectors and headings. ..you know the thing. Decision?  Back to Blighty tomorrow,  weather permitting. Then work our way West to Poole to leave the boat there for a few weeks. But with sailing,  a plan is only a plan. 

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Thrash to Dieppe

Finally a sailable day, or so we thought from the forecasts and we were very keen now to move from Boulogne. Up at 6 and off the pontoon by 0730 with a passage plan to have foul tide for 4 hours and fair tide for 6, arriving Dieppe 1800 just before the tide turned against us again. We expected to motor sail into the wind for the first leg out to sea to avoid sand banks (alluvial deposits from the Somme and other rivers), and then sail close hauled down the deeper channel (shades of Thames Estuary).

As with all good plans it was a framework within which to manage variations. The seas outside Boulogne for 2 miles were very confused with waves traveling in both directions - almost like being in a race.  Luckily we were smart about getting the main up with 1 reef in whilst still in the outer harbour.   The wind was the top end of the forecast F5 and continued to build through the day to F7.  The direction was not the promised Westerly either, but WSW backing SW as the day went on, so we spent the whole day with the wind too close to the nose to sail free and too strong to set the genoa.  Yes, we need that No 1 jib we promised ourselves, but who thought we'd need it in July. 

10 hours motor sailing into 3m waves was mitigated by the boat which literally rose gracefully to every occasion, and the autopilot which did most of the helming for us. We arrived in Dieppe bang on schedule, very wet from the sheets of spray and not a little tired. Hosed down the boat and all our clothing to shift the salt and fell into the nearest restaurant. 

Chateau chagrin

Having sampled most of Boulogne's charms by now,  we ventured farther afield, on a local bus to Condette which is home to the grand-sounding Chateau Hardelot.  

The bus,  which cost a mere euro apiece, dropped us a kilometre from the castle. As we walked, Nic suffered a bout of dizziness probably allied to Menieres disease. At the same time the French heavens opened. It was a long and trying walk.  We got to the castle with 40 minutes to look around before they closed for a 2 hour lunch. 

So was it worth it? It was hardly your typical Chateau. It was very small.  Bought by an American in 1898 it had been tarted up as a homage to the British royal family and the Enteinte Cordiale! It was positively stiff with photos of the Queen, busts of Victoria and Albert and fans used by princess Alexandra. The decor was William Morris and there was a cabinet of curiosities including a stuffed badger, axe heads and a spiny sea creature. 

Our 40 minutes up,  we wandered into the adjacent restaurant and ordered a beef and Guinness pie (the English connection). The waitress told us the building under construction nearby would be a British theatre. 'The Queen had seen a model' she confided ' and we hope she will come here for the grand opening'. Weird didn't begin to describe our chateau experience. 

We took a 30 euro taxi back to Boulogne, did laundry and had large gins with Carl and Barbara,  a Swedish couple who had also been storm bound in the port. They had done all the Boulogne things we had except for the chateau. We didn't recommend it. 

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Furlough in Boulogne cont.

Oddly, with all this time, I forgot to blog yesterday.  The gales continue and so do our explorations of Boulogne sur Mer. So yesterday (Sunday) we got up a bit earlier and hussled out to the advertised Braderie expecting an antique market with interesting knick knacks from ancient chateaux ... sadly it was mostly modern clothing and shoes with just a handful of car boot stalls. We did get a couple of small things, and the rain held off until we were ready for a grand cafe au lait and brisk walk back to the boat. 

As we are filing these blogs by email we cannot predict the layout of multiple pictures, however I'm sure you can see which one is our French style lunch back at the boat. An afternoon then of little tasks about the boat interspersed with relaxation. As it is the day after, I can report great success with fitting snubbers on the mooring warps plus bits of plastic hose where the lines pass through the fairleads plus relaxing the lines and setting up a new one to hold her off the pontoon ... she rolls as she wants to with no jerking or squeaking, we had a quiet night despite the swell that finds it's way into the marina. 

There is a pic showing the sea breaking over the harbour wall, which is why we ain't going anywhere by boat today. 

Instead we spent many interesting hours in the Nausicaa which is a sea-life centre - great sharks! (See pic) Unfortunately all the small children in the region were there with us, but we rose above it as we trampled them underfoot. 

Now we are sitting in our cockpit watching the marina world go by, drinking tea and eating cake. As I look around, and despitethe extremely stiff breeze, almost every boat has someone huddled with a book and a mug in the cockpit - it's that time of day. 

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One window closes

Our weather window closed today. We are in Boulogne for a few more days as gales stream in from the Atlantic. We pored over tides and charts and weather websites. A small window existed of less awful weather tonight,  either to dart down to Dieppe or back to Dover. We looked at all the risks including heading straight into possible force 6 or 7 winds in rough seas at night. It was a judgement call. We are staying.

We trotted off to the teeming saturday market and bought sausages, roquefort and bread to make our stay in Boulogne more appetising. Sipping a grand cafe at an outside table in the square made the gales seem less terrible. We photographed Sirena IV from above;  after the torrential rain she looks quite clean!  However we bought some 'snubbers' at a chandlers which are giant rubber bands (30 euro each) to wrap around our mooring ropes to make them jerk and creak less. Last night we were both up at 3 unable to sleep because of the racket. The glamour of sailing! 

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Wet fish & Napoleon's hat

We love Boulogne, it's official.  The marina is friendly (perhaps they appreciated our brave attempt at French on the VHF), facilities excellent, wifi & internet PC & elec free. The town a little reminiscent of Ramsgate around the port, slightly run down but still bravely functioning, with new facilities from EU money. 

On the Quay opposite the marina is a row of 20 stalls where the wives of the fishermen sell the fish and crustaceans caught last night (see pic) - just exactly as Tom Cunliffe describes in his most excellent Shell Channel Pilot. 

As you walk inland up hill the shops and restaurants appear, and the old walled town at the top, only 15 mins walk, is a delight of quiet streets, old shuttered houses and small cafes. 

We rewarded ourselves with a slap-up Menu de Mer lunch in the square, a leisurely 2hr feast after which there was much thought of sleep, but no we must go onwards. 

At the top right of the old town is the chateau (other pic), housing an amazing subterranean passage displaying foundation stones going back to the Romans, and a shiny new museum where we discovered a hat and large diamond ring belonging to Napoleon - literally discovered, because the leaflet on the museum makes no mention of the ring, which is splendid, and only passing reference to the hat. 

We fell back into the boat late afternoon with excellent timing, assisted by forecast from xcweather.com, because the rain then descended big time.  We expect a bit of a storm up the channel tonight and tomorrow morning, so plenty of time for reading books ... oops, I mean doing jobs around the boat. Zzzzzz

Boulogne sur Mer

The day came. Sirena's first foreign trip with us as her owners. We left Ramsgate early, motor-sailing in little wind and warm sun. We ran the gauntlet of the Dover ferries and then as the wind freshened began a rollicking sail across the TSS, the two lane motorway for Channel shipping. We took our chances to hare across in between first the ships going left to right, and then right to left. The sun shone,  the sea was opaque green, and the sky a deep blue as we raced along. 

As we approached Boulogne the last 5 miles were lumpy and nasty but once in the large harbour it calmed down. Lesley guided us into a pontoon just under the entrance steps,  noisy but close to loos and other facilities. We walked into town to find a quick meal and lighted upon an eccentric gem called Estaminet Chez Tante Zabelle in Place Frédéric Sauvage. 

It serves massive plats of regional food, amid quirky decorations including vintage underwear hanging from the ceiling. We drank a toast to our lovely boat and to France. 

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Still in Ramsgate

Photo is Ramsgate western marina, with Sirena IV stern on in the middle, name obscured by our defensive ball fender. We left her here for a week and boats, mainly Dutch & German, come and go all the time.

Came back to the boat yesterday (Tue 22nd) on the train, having got back to Greenwich from Lytham cottage the day before, with the intention of leaving for Boulogne at 6am today.

We rushed about buying vittles and doing prep tasks ... while the wind howled and the yachts bounced ... until we read all the forecasts, British and French, and decided we didn't want F5/6 in the channel chops, possibly on the nose.

So instead we've had a gentle day, done some tasks so far down the list they don't normally see the light of day, the wind is howling in the rigging on and off though still yachts come and go through all states of the tide.

Last night we had lengthy chat (mostly listening) to our Dutch neighbour who was thinking about his plan to go across the Thames Estuary to Burnham - they seemed very casual about it, compared to our very detailed passage planning approach. We wished them fair winds though I suspect they got foul with a lot of foul tide and the Thames short chop as well - no doubt they will be tired in Burnham tonight.

So early to bed and up with the lark, the forecast looks better for tomorrow.

To Ramsgate

This is a catch-up entry in this new blog intended to cover our modest cruising in Summer 2015.  The plan is to do a bit of channel hopping.

From Gillingham on the River Medway, all sorties east or south start with a down-tide passage to Ramsgate.

We dropped the hook in Sharfleet Creek on Fri 10 Jul - that place beloved of weekenders, and we have been one such, more than a few times.

Bright & early on 11 Jul, HW-2 saw us up anchor and motor sail against the tide past Garrison Point and out into the Thames Estuary.  We had 18kn of wind briefly through the narrows, then it quickly dropped away and away to nothing.  So we furled the foresail, centred the main and motor-sailed in warm sunshine.  

Due to the clement conditions we took the 'overland' route which goes inside Margate Sands and with only a couple of metres of water under the keel.  Always an interesting exercise during a falling tide as an mistake would leave us stranded for 5 hours at an odd angle.  We had 5 other yachts following us, a rally we think from Thurrock Yacht Club.

Of course the wind got up as soon as we rounded North Foreland, and of course it was on the nose, and of course we didn't have time to waste before the tide turned against us. With the benefit of experience we had already dropped our mainsail when the only wind was of our own making as we motored at 5kn with 2kn of tide.

For once relatively calm conditions as we motored into Ramsgate with a deluge of other yachts and a 58ft motor cruiser up our bum - the marina easily accommodated us, though heard on the VHF from the marina was "you did say fifty eight?".

Sunday was terrible weather, wind & rain - European cousins complaining - had a lazy day and did a few jobs.  Monday was back home to Greenwich via train to Gillingham to pick up the car.  Work & family calls.