5th May
Poor sailing conditions kept us in Ramsgate today, giving us a chance to check out the boat after its first proper sail since the winter and stretch our legs round the town, despite the persistent drizzle.
With the kind assistance of the marina staff, we moved to a smaller berth on the inside of the pontoons and had a much more comfortable night.
Fri. 4th May
Like a number of other boats, we decided that we had enough of Ramsgate and with gentle winds forecast to increase dramatically in the next 24 hours, we plotted our course for Dover and set off just after 2:00 p.m. The wind was a gentle North Easterly F3. However, just prior to arriving in Dover, an imminent gale force 8 wind warning was broadcast from Dover Coastguard and we knew we had made the right decision to move onto Dover.
Whilst in Ramsgate Chris had chatted to a couple of skippers, one who was sailing alone (David of Yacht Akira) and we invited him to join us for supper in Dover.
We arrived about an hour and a half before the Granville Dock lock gates were due to open, so once tied up on the waiting pontoon, we set to getting our spaghetti bolognese dinner on the go, so we would just have the spaghetti to cook once we got into the dock.
Once we had tied up Chris went to find the marina office to register for the night in the marina. It took Chris some time to find his way off the pontoon through the maze of gates, only being rescued by the Harbour Master waving his arms! Chris navigated back to the boat without help. We were starving and enjoyed a good supper, glass of wine and chat with our guest.
A good night’s sleep was enjoyed in the much better sheltered Dover marina, but still blowing a bit.
