The end of October was approaching fast and the weather was becoming increasingly unsettled, so we decided to speed up our journey home. We planned a voyage of three legs: the Solent to Eastbourne, Eastbourne to Ramsgate and Ramsgate to Ipswich.
Leg 1: the Solent to Eastbourne
Considering Reeds Alamanac, the distance for this leg would be about 70 miles, making a 10 to 15 hour journey. We wanted to reduce the distance to travel in one day, so we headed to the northern side of the Isle of Wight and anchored just before the pier in Ryde. This gave us a 15 mile (2-3 hours) head start the next day.
The forecast was for S/SE winds of Force4 (11 – 16 knots) with gusts up to 21, increasing throughout the day to Force 5 (17-21 knots) gusting up to 28. This meant we would have strong winds, but a good wind direction for sailing east.
For once, the forecast was spot on and we managed to sail the whole way with a reefed main and reefed Genoa.
The journey was 64 miles which we did in 9 hours – excellent speed!
Leg 2: Eastbourne to Ramsgate
Having visited Eastbourne on the way west, we had no need to explore. That, and the fact that the weather was closing in with storms forecast, meant that it was important for us to get to Ramsgate.
The day saw a forecast of a southerly Force 6 (22 – 27 knots) with gusts of up to 31. This was definately the beginning of the predicted storm coming through and we needed to seriously consider what to do. We were heading east and the bad weather was coming from the west, so we calculated that we should make it to Ramsgate ahead of the bad weather. Obviously, if it moved quicker than predicted, we would be in for a rough day.
We weighed up the facts. We knew our boat well and she would have no problem with the forecasted wind. We decided that it was important to have experience of the stronger winds in a place that we knew fairly well, so we set off.
Leaving the lock at Eastbourne, the harbour master radioed to let us know that the wind and swell outside the harbour were worse than forecast. He suggested that we head straight out past the clear water buoy before heading east. He also said it would be advisable to contact the Solent Coastguard to inform them of our plans. This was excellent advice, as once out of the shelter of the harbour, it was pretty rough and we were kept busy preparing the boat for a choppy day’s sail.
Just as we were about to contact the coastguard, we received a radio call from them. They had been alerted by the harbour master that we were heading out and they were requesting information about our intended passage and number of people on board. All of this initially seemed a little concerning – maybe we shouldn’t go? However, the coastguard just wanted to check our intentions and asked us to notify Dover coastguard once we were safely in Ramsgate. All of this was actually very reassuring – someone was monitoring us.
It was a very windy day with consistent wind of Force 6 (22 – 27 knots) gusting Force 7 (28 – 33 knots). It was so windy, that we sailed most of the day with just our Genoa and even that was reefed to the second or third reef.
We arrived safely in Ramsgate after 9 hours underway having covered 63 miles – another speedy day.
Leg 3: Ramsgate to Ipswich
The strong winds came as forecast, gusting over 40 knots. Even in the marina, it was very bouncy and we had to use twice as many mooring lines to keep us attached to the pontoon. It was definitely not a day for sight seeing, so we battened down the hatches and stayed inside. We did manage to spend some time catching up with our friends Janice and Andy (from Destiny) who has just completed a yacht delivery from Glasgow to Ramsgate.
As forecast, the storm blew over, so the following day, we set off on our final leg back to Ipswich. It was a superb day’s sailing with SW winds at Force 3 or 4 (7 – 16 knots). Full main and Genoa today – 43 miles in 9 hours.
Finally, we arrived back in Fox’s Marina.
We had been away for 47 days and covered 884 miles.
We had done 170 hours underway in all kinds of conditions.
We had had a great time visiting new places and, more importantly, we had learned so much about our wonderful boat and how to sail her.
Thank you Escapade for keeping us safe.
Great fun to read your exploits I am very jealous of your travels. Although I am 55 and within retirement age, I still have 3 of my 4 children at home, 2 at secondary school and 1 awaiting a place at drama school. I think I am going to need the dosh for at least 3 or 4 more years. Stay safe you two.
I have just spent the best part of 20K on a newish caravan. We can’t pick it up just yet as we are in lockdown. I will send you a picture once we have.
Stay safe,
Steve x
Hi,
Great to hear from you. Hope you are all keeping safe and well.
Your time will come. Don’t wish it away. Enjoy your family and see them ‘set up’, so you can travel without worrying too much about them. No harm in doing a little research though!
Good news about the caravan. That will be good practice for your motorhome when you retire. Look forward to seeing the photos.
Hope all is ok at work.
Stay safe
Caron xx
Well done both of you good experience for whats to come and we got to spend some time with you both on and odd the water, time to complete preparations for this year’s adventures..
Yo ho and a bottle of rum ⛵⛵
No time for a bottle of rum….Martin is making me work too hard!!
As you know, we had a great time on our adventure and learnt lots. It will mean that we are better prepared for future travels.
Hoping to see you again soon.
Take care
Caron and Martin
xx
Question ….
In those stormy conditions, out of 10 how safe do you feel sailing in them ?
I assume this is preparation for the big journey where you will be out in the middle of nowhere in those conditions potentially !!
John
Hi John and Heather,
Good question!
One thing I have learnt is that it is not just the wind strength that matters, but also the wind and tidal flow directions. On our journey back, the wind was from the side of the boat for most of the time, which is a good angle for sailing. So, although it was a strong wind, when the tidal flow was with us, the journey was quite stable and not too choppy. The movement of the boat is then quite regular and, once I get used to it, it is not too scary – probably a 3/10. However, when the tidal flow is against the wind, it creates higher swell which is (for me) scarier – 5/10. Added to this, there are squalls (sudden heavy rain) which brings with them stronger winds and sometimes direction changes. This makes me more nervous (7/10), but luckily they are usually short lived.
The time I was most scared was rounding the headland from Dartmouth to Salcombe. We had tidal flow against the wind. The wind was gusting over 40 knots and the swell was huge. This lasted for about an hour and made steering the boat quite challenging. It was definitely white knuckle time and I reckon it was 11/10!!! However, we survived and we know that Escapade will keep us safe. Also, Martin is much calmer than me, so he doesn’t get as scared. He reckoned it was ‘an adrenalin rush’!!
Definitely good practice for us…
Take care
Caron
Hey you sound like real sailors now. Well done. Are you still camping on board in this cold weather or have yo moved onto dry land? All the best. David
Hello to you both,
I am not sure about real sailors, but definitely much better than we were!!
Yes we are still on board. The cold has not been too much of an issue as, at the marina, we are plugged into shore power, so can run our air con/heating. This makes us quite toasty! however, we are very much looking forward to things warming up as we have plenty of outside jobs which need doing.
Best wishes to you both and hope to catch up with you when we are back on the south coast.
Caron and Martin