The weather was set for Easterly or N/E winds but nothing too strong, so I set off again for Harty Ferry and then hopefully onto the River Crouch later. First thing I saw after coming out the dock was a Seal.
The trip down to Garrison point went well and even as far as Red Sand towers I was still making progress. But then the tide turned and I was getting nowhere fast. So I flashed up the engine and started to make progress under motor and sail. As I was getting closer to the wind farm I caught a glimpse of the closest turbine and then that too disappeared. The sun faded away and I became enveloped in fog. Fog at sea is just a uniform greyness, there is no distinction between sea and sky. The light was fading fast, the sea was now following and Blue Venture was wallowing like a drunken matlot. Keeping a close eye on the GPS plotter and the echo sounder I worked my way up the Swale to Harty Ferry. It took a good few goes to find and hook onto the buoy and by the end my GPS screen looked like a plate of spaghetti .
The trip down to Garrison point went well and even as far as Red Sand towers I was still making progress. But then the tide turned and I was getting nowhere fast. So I flashed up the engine and started to make progress under motor and sail. As I was getting closer to the wind farm I caught a glimpse of the closest turbine and then that too disappeared. The sun faded away and I became enveloped in fog. Fog at sea is just a uniform greyness, there is no distinction between sea and sky. The light was fading fast, the sea was now following and Blue Venture was wallowing like a drunken matlot. Keeping a close eye on the GPS plotter and the echo sounder I worked my way up the Swale to Harty Ferry. It took a good few goes to find and hook onto the buoy and by the end my GPS screen looked like a plate of spaghetti .
After some food I listened to the forecast, they were still saying there would be fog patches so I decided to give the Crouch a miss. The next morning was cold grey and windy and that's how it stayed for two days. I busied myself around the boat doing chart corrections and stuff.
Friday morning I was up at the crack of dawn and was on my way by 05:30. Although it was not windy the sea was still lumpy and coming out the Swale, past Shell Ness and up to the wind farm was a bit of a slog. But as soon as I put the sails up and syarted heading West I began to speed up considerably. It was the first time I had used the overland passage and four fathom channel across The Cant but with a rising tide I was confident enough to give it a go. It saved a lot of time. There was a partial eclipse while I was making the passage. It was gloomy and grey so impossible to see. I was back in the Medway in no time and had to wait for the tide before I could get into the dock . So I had a go at sailing with just the Genoa and getting the boat to lie hove to. Then it was back along side. Not a bad trip although laying on a buoy for two days was a bit dull.
Friday morning I was up at the crack of dawn and was on my way by 05:30. Although it was not windy the sea was still lumpy and coming out the Swale, past Shell Ness and up to the wind farm was a bit of a slog. But as soon as I put the sails up and syarted heading West I began to speed up considerably. It was the first time I had used the overland passage and four fathom channel across The Cant but with a rising tide I was confident enough to give it a go. It saved a lot of time. There was a partial eclipse while I was making the passage. It was gloomy and grey so impossible to see. I was back in the Medway in no time and had to wait for the tide before I could get into the dock . So I had a go at sailing with just the Genoa and getting the boat to lie hove to. Then it was back along side. Not a bad trip although laying on a buoy for two days was a bit dull.