Page 17 - Yachter Spring/Summer 2022

Ramsholt Sunset
at the new Harbour Office, we were able to look down on the brand new, but currently virtually unusable marina. Apparently the swell modelling proved incorrect, leading to a very unpleasant and potentially hazardous motion on the pontoons, which efforts are ongoing to rectify. Until this is resolved, the planned closure of Granville dock has been delayed and the new marina remains purely skeletal.
We took another afternoon tide the following day from Dover to Eastbourne, listening to much VHF traffic about small boats seen in the main shipping channels, and saw a number of empty small boats under tow as well as one abandoned red rubber boat which had made it to the shingle beach at Dungeness,near the former nuclear power station which struck us as
a very remote and strange place to claim asylum.As the wind dropped, we passed the trading schooner de Gallant, who we had seen landing cargo in Ramsgate, tacking backwards and forwards very slowly off Fairlight. About an hour after sunset, we
locked back into Eastbourne, ahead of the next weather system.
Strong winds from the west, accompanied by lively seas and at times very heavy rain did not encourage us to continue west, so we had a prolonged stay in Eastbourne.This gave us the opportunity to catch up with Cathy’s aged aunt, who delighted herself with managing to climb over the guard rails onto Wild Rival, after 18 months of minimal activity and minimal contact with others.
Finally, the weather abated and we had a lumpy motor towards Beachy Head, with leftover seas, which improved once the headland was rounded, giving us a fine
sail back towards the Solent and back to Gosport, via the Looe Channel, inside the Owers.Leaving Gosport late morning the next day, we crossed to the Island shore into the last of the foul tide and then carried the tide all the way to Poole, albeit beating all the way. Realising that we would not make the last daylight bridge lifts to our berth, and would be faced with another 2 hours wait, we managed to get a berth for the night at
Recovered rubber boat – Dover
PooleYacht Club.There we ate ashore in the Club and were walking back to Wild Rival, watching fireworks off Poole Quay, before we would have managed to reach our own berth, so it seemed a wise choice.The next morning, we returned to our berth at Cobbs Quay.
Our cruise lasted just under 6 weeks, and saw a very modest 500nm, and 5 Suffolk rivers explored. Once east of Selsey Bill, the traffic density drops off significantly.The rivers were very pleasant, predominantly rural, and generally with plenty of depth, so long as you timed your crossing of the bars appropriately. Ashore, there were interesting places to visit, with a wealth of history ranging from Roman and Saxon times, throughTudor andVictorian reigns to more recent WW1,WW2 and cold war eras. For the gourmand, there were plenty of good eateries and fine victuals to be found. All
in all, a great place to cruise....just don’t tell everybody!
Steve and Cathy Lacey
CRUISING REPORTS 17