11th August 2018
We woke with a 6.15 alarm and readied ourselves and the boat for a lock-out at 7.00. Once Carole had sorted the lines and stowed away the fenders, she disappeared below decks to prepare our snacks, etc for the voyage, while Chris took the helm to steer us out of the river. Once we passed the buoy at Landguard point at 9.30, there was sufficient wind to get the sails up and turn the engine off. Chris had plotted our course today to go through the London Array wind farm at Fowler’s Gat and this we did without any problems. We have listened to many negative opinions about the wind farms, but we both feel quite positive about them. They are quite majestic in their appearance and provide clean energy and the industry itself brings many employment opportunities in areas that would otherwise struggle.
While Chris was on the phone to a friend, Warwick, the wind decreased to just over 2 knots and he was listening to Warwick’s tale of strong, gusty wind coming in to Harwich and bemoaning the fact that we had virtually none. Be careful what you wish for! Just before we passed North Foreland and without warning, the wind increased to 22 knots and the sea became a mass of white capped waves. We continued motor sailing until just off of Ramsgate, by which time the sea had calmed down a little. After a brief discussion, we decided to carry on in to Dover, where we would be better sheltered than in Ramsgate. Carole called up Dover marina and asked what time the Granville Dock gates would be opening and if they had room for us inside. 21.20 was the next opening and they had a berth for us and if we arrived early, we could wait on pontoon B hammerhead until the gates opened. All good news, conveyed by a very professional, friendly member of the Dover marina team (as always). As Dover is a busy port, not just for us leisure boats, but also for ferries, wind farm boats and fishing boats, it is a requirement that you radio in for permission to enter port once 2 miles off and then again at 200 metres from the entrance. Carole did this from the main radio below decks to avoid the noise of the wind over mike. We had to wait to enter as two large ferries were arriving at the same time as us, but once they had passed us, we were allowed in and eventually after another call, made it on to a waiting pontoon, where we tied up and had a light supper and a hot cuppa. On the dot of 21.20 the gates opened and we proceeded to get tied up safely after getting ourselves in a right pickle. We put this down to a few things, one of which was the inconsiderate behaviour of a speeding Dutch boat in the dark and tiredness and disorientation of skipper and crew. Apart from a couple of marks on the boat from the rubber edge of the pontoon and a very dirty rope from falling in the water, we got off lightly. It had been a long day and we were looking forward to our beds.
12th and 13th August
We had a relatively good night’s sleep and woke to a bright, but breezy day. After breakfast and showers, we took a walk into the town to see if there had been any changes since our last visit. Dover Harbour itself is undergoing a massive redevelopment to include a new marina. Since we came last, there has been a new shopping area opened, which include a cinema, M & S and other usual high street names. Unfortunately, this leaves the other shopping areas looking decidedly tired and as with a lot of coastal towns, relying on more charity shops to fill the gaps. Dover’s old leisure centre and swimming pool is also being replaced with a brand new one, so we will look forward to going there next year. We were keeping a close eye on the weather as we wanted to move on to Eastbourne as quickly as we could, but with a prevailing SW wind forecast of 4-5+, neither of us were keen to spend a long day under engine bashing through the waves. As things turned out, we spent three nights at Dover, filling our days with short walks, reading and when Chris had to do some work remotely, Carole did a bit of cleaning and tidying. On one of our short walks out, we got caught out by torrential rain on our way back and reluctantly sought shelter in one of the large portaloos that have been erected for use by the general public and site workers. Luckily, it was both clean and sweet smelling and saved us from getting completely soaked. We were in there long enough for Carole to do a complete set of her daily stretches, so it wasn’t all bad. On our third evening, the forecast did seem to have improved, so we prepared ourselves to move on to Eastbourne the next day. Carole set her alarm for 04:45, as the Grenville lock gates were due to close by 05:50 and the marina staff advised us not to leave it until the last moment. When we awoke, Carole put the kettle on and Chris did a final check on the weather. We were good to go.