SUNDAY, 6TH AUGUST – PORT SOLENT TO ITCHENOR
We got ourselves ready to leave at 08:00 via the lock. Our plan was to be at the Chichester Bar just before High Water. We followed our water track back towards Gosport and soon we were passing out of Portsmouth Harbour. The wind was a SW 3-4 gently pushing us along in the morning sunshine. Once we turned past Horse Sand Fort we were joined by a few other yachts as we slowly made our way. We had plenty of time so continued sailing making 5 knotts. We could see the West Pole marker in the distance which was our turning point to start our approach into Chichester Harbour. The Chichester Bar can be very dangerous if there is a strong Southerly wind against an ebb tide, but we were safe due to our timing going through. Once through, the harbour opened up and we could see several dinghy racing clubs crossing the river. We proceeded on towards Itchenor looking for the visitors’ mooring buoys which are white and have a V marked on them. We chose a buoy opposite the Harbour Master’s office near to the walk ashore pontoon. The mooring buoy was big, with a large chain to tie up on. Chris decided to remove our anchor from the front roller and pass the mooring chain through onto our roller. This was a bit of a challenge as our anchor is 25kg and an awkward shape. With a bit of huffing and puffing though (mainly from Chris, as he was doing the lifting) the job was done.
Chris’s next job was to try and catch some fish. Fortunately, we did not have to rely on his fishing skills for our dinner. The sun was warm and we relaxed watching the various boats going about their business. The only downside being there was that most of the boats didn’t slow down much and made quite a bit of wash as they went past. It did not take too long for the Harbour master to find us and relieve us of our harbour dues. (The costs for our stay were £11 Mooring and £6 Harbour Dues.)
MONDAY, 7TH AUGUST – ITCHENOR
The sky was bright when we awoke, so after breakfast, etc we untied our inflatable from our stern and went off exploring further up the river. We had found a pontoon for visitors in the river further up but it did not have any power or water but was an option if we wanted to move off the buoy. Just as we passed the pontoon the outboard engine lost power. A quick check and Chris discovered that the propeller was not turning and had to row us to the pontoon. Luckily we had a small tool kit and spare Shear Pin for the propeller. This took about 10 minutes and then we were off again. The last time we were at Chichester was in early 2012. Then we had arrived late April and the weather was cold and a bit windy, so we did not stay too long. This time the weather was warm and sunny and made such a difference on our impression of this lovely river. We were glad we had decided to stay another night on the mooring buoy as it was a good spot to watch the world go by and Monday was less busy, too. The weather forecast was not that good for the following few days so we decided to visit Chichester Marina a few miles further up the river. We took our tender further up the river to look at the approach channel into the lock. Now we knew what to expect when we arrived with Seaduction.
TUESDAY, 8TH AUGUST – ITCHENOR TO CHICHESTER MARINA
We got ourselves ready to leave at about 11:30. Another yacht on a mooring buoy next to us had also decided to go into the marina due to the weather so we let him go first ad followed through the tight approach channel which was only 12 metres wide. We understood that the lock would be on free flow when we got there but this was delayed so we had to tie up on the waiting pontoon and wait for the other yacht to go through. We were allocated berth I18 for our stay and found this without any problem.
Chichester marina is set in a rural setting with trees and fields surrounding the marina and a canal running alongside. A very peaceful setting, but also not much else nearby. The Convenience shop was a fridge, freezer and a shelf or two in the Chandlers. Once we settled in and Carole had completed the laundry we decided to eat out and found an Indian restaurant towards Chichester. We set off walking and it was about a half a mile walk to the main road then another mile to the restaurant. We noted that the road was busy and unlit and did not have a path so we had to walk on the grass verge. We knew that this would be too dangerous to walk back so we were going to get a taxi. We found the restaurant and luckily got a table. This was one of those contemporary resturants that looked very good, the food was well cooked and the service was fine, but there was something missing as we didn’t feel comfortable here. Funnily enough, on the taxi ride back, our friendly driver more or less said the same thing. We were dropped right back just a few yards from our main pontoon. We watched the 10 o’clock news and weather on the television and not long after readied ourselves for another quiet night, although we fell asleep to the sound of heavy rain.
WEDNESDAY, 9TH AUGUST
Although it had rained heavily during the night, when we first awoke it was dry. After showers and breakfast, Carole wiped out the fridge and checked what provisions were needed when we went into Chichester later. The weather forecast was not good, so we donned waterproof jackets before we walked off to catch the bus. The rain held off until we were walking round the town and so we took shelter in a Pret a Manger and had a coffee and croissant to keep us going. We then pulled our hoods up and strolled round the market streets, enjoying the smells of food cooking in the open air. We bought our shopping and found our bus stop and within a few minutes of standing in the rain, our bus appeared to take us back to the marina. By 2.30 we were back on the boat, peeling off our very damp clothes to dry off in the cockpit. After a buttered bun and a cup of tea (it was too late for a proper lunch) we settled down with our iPads to update our blog. The oven was then lit to cook our jacket potatoes for supper.