Week 2 1st to 7th June

We had planned to visit Cowes before heading to Portsmouth. Leaving the pontoon at Yarmouth was quite tricky with blustery NE winds so as we neared Cowes after a very good sail, we decided to continue to Portsmouth in one hop. Was a good decision as we enjoyed a very touristy afternoon visiting HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose exhibition.

We enjoyed a sunny drink at Gunwharf Quay so much that we had our evening meal there also.

HMS Warrior, Victory and Mary Rose

Wind 2-4 Cloudy then sunny

We had visited Brighton by land many times so chose to go to Shoreham as we had never been there before. After a cloudy start out of Portsmouth the sun soon broke through. It was quite a calm crossing with the engine going most of the time. We had our first view of an offshore wind farm, probably the first of many. An interesting harbour entrance at Lady Bee Marina Shoreham. We briefly glimpsed a dolphin as we lined Captiva up with the power station chimney near the harbour entrance. We had to contact the harbour master for access to the sea lock, which is opened every half hour on request. Good practice for when we navigate the 29 locks of the Caledonian canal.

Entering Lady Bee Marina Shoreham

We had a 40 minute walk into Shoreham town from the marina on Saturday morning then walked along the Adur river. We met Gillian for lunch and Duncan for a late afternoon beer. It’s great meeting people we know who live near to the places we are visiting.

Wind 2-4 Sunny

A good sail, tacking close to the wind, able to switch off the engine. Varied coastline views of Brighton, Newhaven and dramatic chalk cliffs towards Beachy Head. Arrived mid afternoon at Sovereign marina, a modern marina with good facilities. We were able to tackle the laundry heap.

Later we met up with Ken and Judith, who lived in Northants then spent over 20 years sailing around the world. They now live in Bexhill and it was lovely to meet up with them again. We enjoyed a nice meal at a mediterranean style restaurant near the marina.

On Monday we enjoyed a stroll to Eastbourne along the promenade. We had a walk along the pier and coffee with scone and Cornish clotted cream (jam first of course). We took a ride on the big wheel enjoying the coastal views. Then a lovely lunch at Bistrot Pierre situated on the sea front (would recommend if you are visiting Eastbourne). A day of 21,000 steps each, so we earned the delicious lunch.

Tuesday was a long sailing day. There are no places to stop between Eastbourne and Dover. We departed from Eastbourne marina at 6am. A bright sunny day with the winds again on our nose.

We kept our distance from the end of Dungeness but still experienced lumpy seas. There were things flying around everywhere below decks. Fortunately Maisie had the good sense to hunker down in a safe corner in her cabin after a kilo of dried cat food rained over the cabin. She is the most amazing cat. After this 12 hour sail she was up and about and playing like nothing had happened. We are very proud of her. She seems to realise that if we lie in bed in the morning she is going to have a quiet day. When we are up and about early she seems to know she should lie down quietly in her cabin.

There were two other boats arriving from Eastbourne the same time as us. We were all quite relieved after navigating the lumpy seas at the entrance, to tie up our boats in the lovely new marina at Dover.

On Wednesday, after a good nights sleep and a slow start, we climbed the hill to Dover Castle. Sue had visited the castle many times, but it was Richard’s first visit. The castle has many layers of history. We started with the tour of the WW2 underground hospital and the Operation Dynamo centre which enabled the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers from Dunkirk. Sue’s great grandfather served at Dover during WW2. It was obviously fortunate that the nuclear bunker built there in the 1960s was not needed, the chalk tunnel walls would not have protected the occupants from radioactivity anyway.

The oldest part of the castle is the Roman lighthouse which stands next to an Anglo Saxon Church. The Norman keep was built in the 1180s. It was adapted for modern warfare during the Napoleonic Wars. The castle remained a military site until the end of World War 2. It is now run by English heritage. More information http://historicengland.org.uk and http://www.english-heritage.org.uk.