Journey Home: Part 2

Continuing east, we set off from Portland, making for Lulworth Cove. This was to be a very short sail of less than 10 miles.

Lulworth Cove is world famous for its unique geology. It was formed by the combined forces of the sea and a river swollen by melting ice at the end of the last Ice Age. It is a small, almost circular, cove surrounded by sheer cliff faces.

Whilst the cove is very popular for day trips, it is not usually recommended for an overnight stop. As it is small, it has limited swinging room for boats at anchor which can be dangerous if there are significant changes in the wind direction. Also, the swell channelled through the narrow entrance can make it extremely uncomfortable. On a bad day, a stay in the cove has been described as ‘like being in a washing machine’. Even knowing all of this, we still chose to visit the cove, as the winds were forecast to be very light and from the north. This meant that the towering cliffs would offer us good protection.

As we approached Lulworth, we were called up on the VHF radio by the Lulworth Cove Firing Range Safety Boat. This vessel patrols the bay when the range is active, ensuring that passing boats stay out of the firing area. It was a welcome and very polite conversation, checking our intentions and requesting that we radio them the next day to confirm our route and check how far we need to head offshore before turning east. It was comforting to know that we would not get fired on!

From Lulworth Cove, we continued east aiming for Southampton (about 50 miles).

It was a windy day with a consistent north easterley wind of Force 6 (22 – 27 knots) with gusts of up to 35 (Force 8). This made for a great sail, but not in a straight line! We took longer than expected and arrived at the entrance to the Solent as it was getting dark. Navigating the Needles Channel, between the Needles and Hurst Point, is interesting in any condition. But arriving in the dark and navigating by spotting pin pricks of flashing lights was another level. This wasn’t helped by the fact that this was exactly the point when our chart plotter decided to stop working. Luckily, we had backups on the iPad and paper!

It was a very long day (70 miles and 15 hours), but we eventually anchored at Netley (just down from Southampton) at midnight. We were definitely ready for bed!!

A snapshot of our day’s sailing – complete with ‘bucket needed’ warning for Elaine!!