SEA BEAR

 

A sailing blog about a skipper and his yacht

Southampton to Pin Mill

by | Jul 24, 2020 | Voyage Logs | 1 comment

Sea Bear arrived back in the UK at Southampton docks and was unloaded from the ships deck into the water. Stepping aboard I motored the short distance to the marina. Here I set about preparing her for sea again.

Sea Bear on ship

Re fitting the running rigging, bending on the sails, refitting the canvas work, up the mast to refit the wind instrument and lazy jacks, generally checking things over and a bit of cleaning and all the other odd jobs that needed doing.
After several days of bad weather, gales, high winds grey cloudy skies and rain, which kept me marina bound, at last the weather looked to be improving. I was up and away from Ocean Village by 05.55 to catch the ebb down Southampton water. I skirted the edge of the channel on the mainland side to keep clear of ferries and the like. Calm at first but a light breeze from NW sprang up so up went the main & yankee. It was fairly busy passing Portsmouth with both IOW and Normandy Ferries but was able to keep clear easily. Past the Horse Sand Fort and I set a course for the start of the Looe channel. I was now catching the flood up the channel which I was able to carry almost all the way to Newhaven where I entered the harbour and tied alongside the visitors pontoon. A long but satisfying day, 63 miles 12 hours.

Sea Bear in Newhaven

Leaving Newhaven

A later start next day as I waited for the tide, My sister who lives nearby visited in the morning and we had a socially distant re-union, nice to meet up after being away for over a year and a half. I slipped away just after 10.00. I passed the notable landmark of Beachy Head and then I passed inshore of the Royal Sovereign Shoals. Off Hastings I hove-to to chat to a 40’ Motor cruiser who had put out a Pan Pan with engine failure. Assured myself they were OK, weather was fine, they had an anchor down and were quite content to wait for an arranged tow back to Bournemouth, so I carried on. Past Dungeness and so to Dover. Tricky to enter the marina of the inner harbour with the sun sun low and on my eyes. 56 miles 10 hrs

Approaching Beachy Head

Next morning I had a grandstand view of the Border Force doing their thing with what turned out to be a record number (over 180) of  immigrants or refugees crossing the channel in rubber dinghies. Again waiting for the tide for an afternoon departure for the short hop up the coast to Ramsgate. 15 miles

Border Force rescuing immigrants

Border force towing in rubber dinghies

An early start from Ramsgate the next day to catch the tide up past North Foreland and then catch the ebb across the estuary. I decided on the route up past the Tongue Deepwater anchorage then through Foulgers Gat through the London Array wind farm. Strange this to be sailing between the wind pylons. Thence up the Black Deep and across the Sunk, across the Gunfleet sands and so to the Medusa channel up to Harwich and so up the Orwell to pick up Sea Bear’s new mooring at Pin Mill. 48 miles 10 hrs.

Butt & Oyster from the hard at Pin Mill

So now I can look forward to exploring an area steeped in yacthing history which is new to me.

Recent Posts.