10th June 2016
We had set our alarms for 06:00 so as to leave at 07:00, but stirred before they went off. We got ourselves organised and were soon out of the lock. We followed three other yachts out of the Western Entrance after requesting permission from Dover Harbour.
The wind was light so we had to keep the engine running. The sea was very calm and the tide just turning to help us on our way to Sovereign Harbour near Eastbourne. We had breakfast on the way and a few snacks. The wind started to pick up a little but the most we had was 6kn which was not enough to keep us going if we wanted to get to our destination on time. At least the sky was bright and the air warm. Carole continued to read her book and I occupied myself by tracking other boats on the AIS.
We eventually could see Sovereign Harbour. We remembered from our previous trip that its Safe Water Buoy is very difficult to spot from the east but it was plotted in our systems so all was well. The Locks open every 30 minutes. Today our timing was very good and we went straight into the lock. Soon we were allocated a Berth “Bravo 8” and were safely tied up and off to get showered ready for a relaxed evening aboard.
PS Comment re Coastguard.
We heard the yacht Falcon make a radio call to Dover Coastguard to report his arrival at Sovereign Harbour but they got no reply, even after several attempts. This has become a worrying issue for yachtsmen, as the Coastguard services have been re-organised and now cannot cope. Perhaps we were spoiled before with the high quality of the service, but we all hope this service improves soon.