Tuesday the 3rd of April
A late start predetermined my next destination so with the mainsail reefed; I set off at midday for Hastings in (surprise surprise) blustery North Easterlies. Near Beachy Head conditions could only be described as awful. The wind frequently gusted to Force 7 and I was forced to motor around the headland under bare poles in the short heavy seas. Eileen does not have a spray hood so the water splashing over the deck equated to plenty of water splashing over me, my eyes and inevitably my clothes despite having appropriate foul weather gear.
Pocket warmer
I spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between regret for not having brought a ski mask to self congratulation, for having brought my pocket warmer (a must if you do not use LP gas, see http://www.hakkin.co.jp/)
With the safety line securely fastened I motored on, trying without much success to dodge the larger waves, a strategy that did little to ease the rollercoaster ride. Eileen apparently likes to bob around like a cork. Unfortunately this motion was making me decidedly queasy and I was not happy about going below to plot my hourly fixes on the chart. I was also unhappy about approaching Soverign Harbour by night, especially at low tide, but these concerns abated when it was clear I’d reach the safe water mark just before sunset. The marina office has a camera trained on the buoy marking the entrance channel and I’m sure Eileen made a sorry sight bobbing about there in the twilight. As I called up on the radio the duty officer was quick to give useful directions and before long we had entered Soverign’s impressive lock.
Lock
Interestingly, I found another Yarmouth 23 “Moo of Cowes”, berthed in the marina. I had seen her at Yarmouth Marine Services a few weeks earlier so apparently I was not the only one making an early start to the sailing season (unless she had made the trip on a trailer). For those planning to come this way, the marina hosts an excellent web site (see http://www.premiermarinas.com/pages/Sovereign_Harbour).