Monday the 2nd of April
At daybreak the wind was still predominantly from the NE, but it had moderated considerably. I took the opportunity to experiment and quietly left the marina under sail. I am no expert with the Gaff Rig, quite the contrary, and a misleading bit of rigging confidently placed by a Dutch colleague (who should have been the expert) necessitated scandalizing the mainsail to tack cleanly. A quick call to the yard sorted that nuisance out as I set a course through the submarine nets and on to the Looe entrance under a combination of motor and sail. Just before reaching the entrance buoys Eileen’s travels came to an abrupt halt as one of the innumerable lobster pots caught hold of the skeg. Thankfully it was not the propeller (My boat is not fitted with rope cutters). Some moving about the boat and plenty of energetic prodding of the float on my part, (with whatever came to hand) saw Eileen freed without having to resort to fastening my bread knife to a broom handle; an exercise that would undoubtedly have left me in the same predicament minus one bread knife.
It was a pleasant sail as far as Selsey Bill but shortly thereafter the winds strengthened and it became a long wet slog under power (wind on the nose) to reach Brighton by sunset. I must say how pleased I was at how well the Yarmouth 23 handles poor conditions (this pleasure is tempered only by how poorly she goes astern), aside from a little propeller cavitation on steep waves, Eileen appeared to be untroubled by the worsening weather. As no response was forthcoming on the radio after numerous calls to Brighton Marina, I simply entered the grey monolithic breakwater and took my place on the visitor pontoon just inside the entrance. The compulsory visit to pay dues at the marina office would have to wait ‘till morning as there was not a staff member in sight.