The Circle is Complete

We decided to spend a few more days in the Solent - having seen the Needles countless times from the water, we thought it would be interesting to see the same view from the land.  Yarmouth is one of the few places we'd not visited, its close to The Needles, so that was our destination.


Yarmouth has new walk-ashore pontoons, there is also  a Pier, the only surviving wooden Pier in the British Isles but is apparently under attack by wood eating  Gribbles  - although very much smaller ones than the Gribble Seat!!!

We took a bus to Alum Bay where there is a bizarre visitors' centre complete with glass blowing and sweet making opportunities along with a chair lift down the cliff to the water's edge - we resisted these temptations and set off for The Needles.


Unfortunately the weather was not kind.  There was not a needle to be seen - only fog.


As we had time on our hands, we walked back to The Needles the following day, by then the Summer Season had officially ended, so sweet making etc was off but the sun was out!

The Needles - with and without fog.

Back in the 1950's, the UK was at the forefront of the Space Race - the cliffs by The Needles were apparently perfect for rocket engine testing, the rockets being tested were initially Black Knights  (Nuclear Warhead Technology) and later Black Arrows (commercial Satellite Launcher).  These were then dismantled and shipped to Woomera in South Australia where 22 of them were launched into orbit.

Interestingly, Rocket Testing was abandoned in 1972 when the Government declared that they could see no future in launching satellites into space.... Oops.

Alum Bay - North West corner of Isle of Wight - can't quite see it,  but there is a chair lift there.

We walked along the cliffs on the South coast to Freshwater bay - the same route that we had taken the day before in the fog.  Not sure that we'd have felt so comfortable with this route if we'd realised that there were styles to the cliff edge along it!

The clocks have gone back, and its's time to go home - despite the lovely weather in the Solent, we can't escape the fact that it's now officially winter.  

Even the Yarmouth Mooring Buoys have been lifted out.

November Sunshine in the Solent

We had company for the final leg from Brighton to Eastbourne:  Mike and Taryn to sail us back, and Pete to look after Zilla.  A brilliant ending to our travels.

The Beachy Head lighthouse must be there somewhere.

Sunset as we reached the Sovereign Harbour entrance.

The last few minutes of the journey.

And some celebratory Champagne in the lock - thank you all for your contributions!

And to finish - some photos of us sailing a couple of weeks ago.

So we have come to the end of a fantastic 6 months on the sea - living in a space the size of your average bathroom. 

TV watching was replaced with planning the next leg of the trip, the British obsession with weather reached OCD levels, catering with a pressure cooker, tiny fridge,  and only buying what you could carry back to the boat became the norm.  Could be a reflection of my cooking, but we spent £236 on gas and £231 on diesel - we really did sail most of the way round the UK.

So what's next?  After 4 months I finally had to agree with Ian that a J-109 is not the ideal boat for an ocean crossing:  It's fantastic in light winds, can cope with any sea and wind conditions, but it is not comfortable - sleeping and cooking at 40 degrees is not easy.  The 85 litre water tank is not enough, there is limited convenient storage space, although the spinnaker pole did make a good temporary drying rail it wouldn't be ideal for more than two crew and one dog!  I hate to admit it, but I can now understand why people have cruisers.

Watch this space ...  And thank you for reading the blog.

Sailing in the Solent



In the Solent, practically in home waters with the journey nearly over we were able to meet up with a fellow Eastbourne Sailor, Peter Dickens who had just taken delivery of a new toy:  An Elan 37.  Undedterred by the 25kts of wind we set off for Cowes Yacht Haven under #4 headsail only and arrived a couple of hours later - to see the Yacht Haven as never before, empty!

Having only previously visited Cowes in the summer when boats are rafted 6 deep on the pontoons it was a very different Marina at this time of year.

Cowes promenade - not a beer tent or yacht to be seen. 

Having met up with Peter we decided to sail in convoy to Buckler's Hard the following day - a favoured destination of all RYA Practical Courses as the entrance is very tidal.  There was very little wind and we had to repair our #2 headsail before setting off.  As it's only a couple of miles we motored and caught up with Peter in the entrance.  We motored up the river for about 40 minutes - this is Zilla's kind of sailing!

We tied up alongside the pontoon in Buckler's Hard.

The Dinghy Pontoon - and a lot of mud!

We took Zilla for a walk up to Beaulieu, a few miles inland along the river.  Now that we are back in 'home waters' there is an obvious change to the wildlife - no more dolphins, porpoises or seals,  instead we have ponies grazing on the river banks.

A reminder that we are in the New Forest.

The birds have also changed - gone are the diving gannets and guillimots, instead we have the mud loving varieties:

Curlew

And the Little Eagrets.

All this mud was not good for Zilla - the only option was a shower before she could even be let on the boat

Bucklers' Hard, with the new  'Perches' used to mark the deep water channel drying in the background.

The next day we motored back down the Beaulieu River - much better sailing conditions this time and an opportunity to see the new boat in action:

Looking good!  The Bavaria sail is just to confuse -  It really is an Elan 37!

We wedged ourselves into Gunwharf Quays Marina - a quick round of Retail Therapy followed - and as if that wasn't enough, we met up with Debbie, Abbie and Chelsea for an early birthday meal for Steph.  A perfect day!

Wedged into Gunwharf Quays, next to Peter's Boat.

Spinnaker Tower, and one of the more unusual Trimarans we've seen for a while.

The next day we crossed the river to Gosport Marina - best showers in any marina we have visited to date - and met up with more friends!  This time Richard and Joan Buckland who live nearby.  All this socialising is at least some compensation for being nearly at the end of our trip.

The MoD real estate - in a very prime location  on the banks of the Solent.  All boarded up.

But the final treat ...

A submarine!!!  Admittedly it did look as if it had washed ashore in some freak weather accident, but it was impressive none the less!

Off to Yarmouth so see the Needles from the Land for a change.

Jersey

We had dinner with our daughter Clare in Poole, then made a passage plan for Jersey, with a Plan B for Alderney, and a Plan C for Guernsey.  We left at midnight in order to catch the tide in the Alderney Race.

It was one of the best night sails we have done - a clear starry night, big bright moon and 10 to 12kts breeze for the first 60 miles.  All went according to plan until we got to The Race - no problems with the tide, but no sooner had we committed to continuing on to Jersey when the wind dropped, and kept on dropping.  There was hardly a ripple in The Race, we motored for 5 hours, the excitement only just keeping us awake after a night of virtually no sleep!  The wind finally picked up as we rounded the Corbiere Lighthouse, but by then the engine seemed the way forward!

The Alderney Race

We arrived in St Helier Harbour just as the sun was setting.

The tide on the Passage Cardinal, just outside St Helier.

St Helier Breakwater.

The sun melts into the sea off Jersey.

Our first mooring in Jersey, in St Helier Marina - until the Harbour Master noticed we had a dog with us!  In the nicest possible way - we had to leave!  Luckily a space was found for us in the Elizabeth (No Visitors) Marina, and we were instructed that Zilla was not allowed to place her feet (or anything else) on the pontoons.  Luckily she's not a St Bernard!

Elizabeth Marina is very high spec, with immaculate pontoons and excellent facilities and also just as convenient for the town.

Jersey has not managed to escape the 'Dodgy Art' that seems to exist in many harbours - this Steam Clock, a full scale replica of the central section of a Paddle Steamboat, occupies rather a prime location and would appear to be universally despised by  visitors and locals alike.

We preferred the bronze Freedom Tree - 'planted' by the Queen in 2005 and marking the 60th anniversary of the Liberation from the German Occupation.


There was also the interesting interpretation of the Beaufort Wind Scale, carved in Granite and set into the pavements round the harbour.

Just outside the harbour - Elizabeth Castle - construction began in 1594 - although you can walk there at low tide, you can also go on the 'Wading Vehicle' in order to visit the Jersey Royal Militia Museum in the castle.

Both harbours have tidal cills  with a holding pontoon outside. The cill makes an impressive sight with the 12m tidal range in the Channel Islands


The old drying harbour was a study of interesting old dinghies

With the #1 Place definitely going to this one:

We spent a lovely few days on the island, dragged my sister Rose Anne out for a sail.

Caught up with the family:

Rose Anne was all ready to get her own back and take us surfing but the weather had other ideas - with 30 to 45kt gusts forecast for the next few days we decided to head North across the channel whilst we still could.

All was calm and peaceful as we went outside the  Corbiere Lighthouse on its rocks - having heard my Mother's story about how she and my Father won a sailing race having interpreted the Rule prohibiting the use of the Corbiere Inner passage by using the Inner Inner Passage, the next photo is for her!

A gentle sail which then turned into yet another motor through the Alderney Race followed - arriving off Alderney at sunset.

They do a good line in Sunsets in the Islands

We arrived in Braye Harbour well after dark, pumped up the dinghy to take Zilla ashore and saw nothing of the island.  Oh well - having waited over 50yrs to visit Alderney, I'll just have to wait for another year to actually see the place!


We left Alderney at 0400 and headed back to England - the sailing was worth the early start:  we hoisted the Spinnaker at first light, and took it down as we got to the Needles - must be our longest ever Spinnaker leg!

And now we are in Lymington - re visiting destinations for the first time in 6 months - only a couple more weeks and it really will be time to go home.  And plan our next adventure.

Lymington Harbour in the background - in the foreground - the alternative view of Lymington!