24th May
Our next port of call was Brixham, but to go there we had to negotiate the Portland Bill, which has the reputation of being one of the most complex tidal gates in UK waters. This is because three strong tidal streams meet at the end of the Portland Bill causing a tidal race in excess of 7 knots with violent turbulence. Timing is the key and after a lot of planning we decided the time that we needed to be at the end of the Bill.
As we left Weymouth three other yachts were also leaving taking the same course as us, which reassured us that we had got our sums right, although I still let them go first. We kept close to the shore and when we approached the tip we were less than 50 metres from the rocks and then swept round being pushed with the slack tide. Our compass course was then set for 260 degrees on the way to Brixham.
Shortly after the Bill the mist started to get thicker and soon it became fog, with visibility down to no more than 50 metres. I switched on the auto fog horn (new toy this year) and set the auto helm as the passage was going to be a tad tedious to say the least. As we left Weymouth I had put my fishing line out behind the boat, although Carole did suggest that I should bring it in before going round the Bill but I thought it would be ok. Well, most of it was still there when I checked it except for the big red weight at the end of the line. Carole just smiled! Need new fishing bits.
We arrived at Brixham which looked very spooky with the last of the summer sun above the sea mist in the harbour. Strangely, there was also a small fleet of sailing yachts having a race in one and a half knots of wind! We called Brixham on the VHF and were allocated a berth for the night.