Andy Barton

We left Mayflower marinaunder very light winds. Hoisted the main sail in the Sound and motor sailed for the first couple of hours as there was too little wind to make progress under sail alone. The sea state was smooth to slight, but the visibility good. As soon as the wind picked up we put out the head sail and switched off the engine. There was definitely more westerly in the wind than the promised north westerly suggested, so it was a beat rather than the hoped for broad reach, but we were averaging 5 1/2 knots so we're happy. The wind then dropped forcing us to motor sail for another hour or so, to make enough progress so as not to lose the favorable tide, before picking up once more allowing us to end our trip under sail, dropping them to enter the Fal as we were then head to wind. We managed to get a berth on the visitor pontoon at Pendennis Marina.

Left Salcombe, ensuring enough water to get over the bar. Unfortunately the wind didn't pick up and what there was was on the nose and much of the tide was against us so it was another day under engine, but a pleasant trip as warm and sunny. Berthing was made more challenging by a motor boat pulling out of his berth as I prepared to turn into mine, but managed to avoid collision, so no harm done.

The morning started rather foggy with very little wind, which meant calm conditions, but under engine all the way to Salcombe. Fortunately the fog lifted enough to see the leading markers enabling us to get safely over the bar and tied up to a bouy.

Left Torquay at 10.37. There was very little wind and the sea was smooth, so unfortunately it meant motoring all the way. However it was worth it to get a berth at Dart Marina. We did spot a couple of porpoises as we made our way towards the Dart entrance.

We slipped our mooring at 3am, to catch the tides around the offshore route around Portland Bill. Once safely clear, we set a course of 270° across Lyme Bay headed for Brixham Harbour. Winds were very light and the sea calm. unfortunately this meant we had motor all the way. As the winds were behind us, we did manage to try out our new whisper pole and pole out the headsail and motor sail for an hour, before putting it away to play dodge the lobster pots. There was a queue of three other boats at the fuel berth so we moored round to our berth and tied up for the night.

Left mooring and motor sailed out of Solent against the tide. Sea state was slight, and quite foggy for a time outside the Solent. however the wind picked up and we were able to sail, broad reaching and averaging 8 knots. The wind continued to pick up to a force 6/7 by the time we reached Portland Harbour making berthing interesting, but staff were on hand to help with lines.

Slipped mooring and left Brighton Marina at 1am. Fog descended by 2am and visibility was variable between 2 and 6 boat lengths. Bouy spotting proved impossible at times, but fortunately modern technology prevailed and we successfully navigated the narrow channel, 'The Looe' into the Solent. We crossed the main shipping channel to follow along it's edge along the Ise of Wight. Fortunately the visibility improved to the forecast fog patches. The bigger shipping were also very good at sounding their fog horns and using AIS. The fog also deterred the leisure sailor, so the waters were not as busy as they could have been. Due to the lightness of the wind we were unable to sail, which meant we lost more time than we'd hoped and had to motor against the increasing tide from Cowes. It was a huge relief to reach Yarmouth safely and be given a pontoon berth rather than having to raft up. Although it was a challenging passage, it was enjoyable and it gave us a huge sense of achievement.