Circumnavigation completed

Leaving Ramsgate early on Monday 13th, the wind took us down the Kent coast of Foreland, close under the White Cliffs of Dover and into the Tidal Marina in time for breakfast.

The weather forecast was not encouraging so decided to make the most of our enforced stay in Dover by visiting the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club, situated in a splendid Edwardian (?) terrace on the Esplanade, overlooked by Dover Castle above.

The same afternoon we climbed the hill to the castle. Quite a climb but well worth it as it turned out. English Heritage manages the castle and its environs and have made an excellent job of restoration and preservation. One of the most interesting parts of the visit was to the secret wartime tunnels, deep in and under the white cliffs, from which Operation Dynamo - the rescue operation from Dunkirk - was master-minded. A visit to the Castle is highly recommended, even if you have no interest in wartime memorabilia, as The Great Tower will appeal to anyone with a sense of history. In it Henry II's royal palace from 1180 has been recreated in all its glory. Climbing up to the roof also yields some wonderful views, looking east towards Calais (see the ferry in the photo below) and west out over the harbour.

Eventually the gales calmed down and we were able to depart from Dover at 05:30 on Thursday 16th. Now desperate to reach Chichester where we had arranged to have the radio fixed, we decided to sail all the way there without stopping in Eastbourne, which was where our circumnavigation began last year. First we passed Dungeness Point. Then, shortly before passing Beachy Head, west of Eastbourne, our circumnavigation was completed, a year and 15 days later at 15:00 hours on this sixteenth day of May 2013. Satisfaction!

Arriving in Chichester Harbour extremely late, eventually got to bed 22 hours after leaving Dover - another exhausting day but at least the sea was smooth. Only down side was that there was very little wind so we had to motor-sail all the way. However it was all worthwhile since radio engineer collected the radio at 08:00 on Friday and returned it duly fixed at 18:00 the same day. Brilliant! Apparently it was the crystal which had given up the ghost and is straightforward to replace. So Friday evening we welcomed our weekend visitors, Ivor and Marina, relaxed in the knowledge that communications were up and running again. Saturday morning saw us sail out into the Solent, across to Osborne Bay on the Isle of Wight for lunch at anchor, then into Cowes - never seen so many boats! - and up the river Medina to spend the night near the Folly Inn (pure coincidence of names) berthed on one of their mid-river pontoons. Unfortunately many other people had had the same idea.

Not only that, the Folly was closed for refurbishment! So instead the Skipper took the opportunity to climb the mast in order to effect some running repairs. Phew it's a long way up ... and Ivor was in control.

Now we are back on the mainland, berthed in the Royal Clarence Marina in Gosport where tomorrow we have arranged to have a Bimini fitted, anticipating lots of sunshine in Brittany. Hope we are not disappointed ...

Weather forecast for next few days is looking promising for crossing the channel to France. All being well we will leave here on Wednesday, bound for Cherbourg. So my next post should be from France.

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