Ocean Phoenix

[Norman]

Hi All, Portland Bill, suggest take inshore route, Anne and I did so 25 years ago in Rice Pudding 4, en route to Weymouth,we tied up against the harbour wall on the port side, handy for the Pubs !!
Best Regards,
Norman.

[valsimpkin]

Hi Roger - If you, Jane and Karen are planning on getting the train back to Lancaster from Gosport, be aware that there is industrial action on South West trains which may well affect getting from there to London. Jeff is travelling down from Lancaster to Fareham that day and my brother (who he is staying with Sat night) tipped him off. You can check things out on the website https://www.southwesternrailway.com/pla ... ial-action

[davidb]

Talking about trains.....

If you get weatherbound in Brixham, a good day out is to get the bus to Paignton, then get on the steam train to Kingwear:

https://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/explore

Then you can take the foot ferry across to Dartmouth or a river trip up the River Dart or take a pleasant walk up the east side of the river through the woods to Greenway House.

[c.lambert]

Highlan Park going down well

[Roger]

Now in Weymouth marina after rounding Portland Bill at slackish water close in as advised. No drama. Good weather has returned!

[Roger]

Sailed past Lulworth cove and other spectacular geology round Purbeck and into Poole. Good tidal assist inside the overfalls making, at times, 9 knots.

[Roger]

Now at Gosport sat next to Clipper fleet. Motored from Yarmouth today. Home by train tomorrow....

[davidb]

Thanks Roger, well done, its grand when a plan comes together.....

[c.lambert]

Hi David,
Since the last message, on July 30th Roger, Karen, Jane and myself sailed from Brixham to Weymouth, following Norman's advice and keeping close in around Portland Bill. The Jurassic coast is amazing and Weymouth is a very nice mix of a seaside resort and traditional fishing town. The next day we sailed to Poole (vey up market) and then on August 2nd, to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. Yarmouth is a very pretty village and the harbour is extremely well organised; the harbour master met us in a launch and marina staff were ready to take our lines.
On Friday August 3rd, we sailed to Gosport to complete the second stage of our voyage and start a crew change.
On Saturday Karen, Jane and Roger returned to Lancaster by train and on Sunday Einar arrived. Jeff Simpkin, Tony Lamb and Duncan Woods are scheduled to meet us in Brighton on Tuesday.

[c.lambert]

Hi Dave,
Just a note to say that on Monday, Einar and I sailed from Gosport to Brighton. Tony and Duncan arrived at 13.00 so we immediately set sail for Eastbourne. Jeff jumped on a train from Brighton and met us in Eastbourne as we arrived. Yesterday we sailed from Eastbourne to Ramsgate, with a nice F6 off our port quarter. All was going smoothly (foresail and mizzen), when a RIB arrived off Dungeness to ask us to change course, to avoid a live firing range. Unfortunately we had forgotten that Tony was asleep at the bow, so when the course change caused a bow wave to spray across the deck and a lurch to port, you can guess what happened. (no harm done)
Today we are storm bound in Ramsgate. Tomorrow we head for Harwich. 40M, SW F5-6 rain later, departing 09.30
Cheers,
Colin

[c.lambert]

Weather forecasters tell lies. Today was SW8 gusting 9.

The Thames estuary has many sandbanks, which under calm conditions could be crossed at the appropriate state of tide. Today on our trip from Ramsgate to Shottky near Harwich we erred on the side of caution and diverted around the more shallow ones.
Halfway across it blew up and for the next 3 hours, due to the shallow waters, the sea was a maelstrom. As we entered the lock at Shottky marina, continuous full reverse engine was needed to counter the wind. As we attached the lines in the lock, we were soaked by monsoon rains.

As soon as we tied up in the marina, the wind dropped to nothing and the sun came out. Currently we are drying out in the sunshine and looking forward to a pint.

Tomorrow we head for Lowestoft.

Cheers,

Colin

[davidb]

The Thames estuary is, in our mind , the worst part of the East coast passage. Land nowhere to be seen and putting your trust in various channel markers and very shallow murky water. Not good.

If you have time, you could enjoy Southwold on the way past. Cheers David

[c.lambert]

Hi Dave,
Does this link work, showing a video of dolphins in the Bristol Channel?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q3yhdloivhchz ... o.mov?dl=0

[c.lambert]

Hi Dave,
Our summer cruise ended well with visits to Wells-by-the sea, Grimsby and finally Hull.
The entry to Wells is tortuous and shallow and requires a strong constitution on the part of the skipper. Fortunately the harbour master is willing to guide boats over the VHF in real time, using his video cameras overlooking the channel.

The Humber cruising club in Grimsby is very welcoming, with beer at £1.40 per pint. They have a waiting list for new mambers and require new members to deposit a £2500 debenture, repayable when they leave.

Here is a photo of the Glasson lock keepers helping us to escape at the beginning of the cruise
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kxzpso6tocslw ... n.jpg?dl=0

Overall we covered around a thousand miles and are looking forward to completing the circumnavigation next year.

Cheers,
Colin

Here are a few random pictures from the last leg of the cruise

An example of the temperature encountered in Gosport
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hihor352unnfc ... t.jpg?dl=0

Here is the antidote
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1oq11y4sqiz0p ... e.jpg?dl=0
In the background of the above photo, you can see the clipper fleet. Here is a better shot

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1hpgryf8aw4e6 ... t.jpg?dl=0

Beachy Head

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hbz92ual00pob ... d.jpg?dl=0

Dungeness

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1a29r46y5usud ... s.jpg?dl=0


A photo of my chart plotter showing the buoyage across the Thames estuary
https://www.dropbox.com/s/olao9r7i3ktw7 ... y.jpg?dl=0

A horse sculpture at Wells-by-the-sea

https://www.dropbox.com/s/17oqljd7g2bpt ... e.jpg?dl=0

More dolphins

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o17xjcwntbjs9 ... 2.jpg?dl=0

[c.lambert]

A video of dolphins enjoying our bow wave across the Bristol Channel
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q3yhdloivhchz ... o.mov?dl=0

[davidb]

Well done, never thought of Grimsby for a cruising destination. Wells is very pretty and we spent a week there in the barge. There were 2 barges and another big boat came in at the same time, so we actually were honoured to have the harbour launch come out to show us the way in. Old web link: http://toggenberg.co.uk/Voyages/Boston_ ... wells.html

Yes your video came out fine, thanks. David