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!

Quick stop in Eastbourne

Leg 2: Eastbourne to Ramsgate

Storm (well squall) approaching
End of a long day
Rainy day in 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.

Home safely