Woke up to no wind and warm sunshine. No whistling and smacking ropes, what a pleasure. There is probably a nautical term or definition for ropes smacking yacht masts (??). I have a number of personal definitions as well as remedies, but at the risk of incriminating myself in a crime I haven't committed, I will keep them to myself.
We planned to leave at about 12h00 and while there is very little wind, we will be motoring alongside the shore and cliffs the whole way to Eastbourne so we expect it is going to be a bumpy ride. This is normally the case with the water rebounding off the shore. Patrick went off to the local chandlery to “get his fix” and I started to prepare the boat for the trip. I am getting quite slick at this now and can stow away all the moveable bits pretty quickly. We took a quick walk to the marina office to pay for our stay and to throw away the old ladder. This ladder and I have had a love-hate relationship since we bought Deux Poissons. It folds in an awkward way, which I never got the hang of - the handles hooking me almost every time I try to move it. It also ALWAYS seems to be in the way. So I was happy to get rid of her, but still a little nostalgic as I threw it deep into the wheelie bin – I think this was the last of the original boat bits we would be getting rid of.
Patrick sat in the galley and did a little work. Sounded more like chatting to his colleagues about the trip so far…..
We left our mooring at 11h55 and out of the mouth at 12h00. It is about 2.5 hour run. And as predicted – lumpy and rough. But Deux handled it all like a pro although the autopilot decided it had had enough and changed course. So Patrick had to switch it off and do all the steering himself. The chalky cliffs, which ran along the whole way, were so impressive. We saw a number of para-gliders jumping off the cliffs. Patrick said they were motorised gliders, so it felt like cheating but still crazy scary I am sure. Once we got round the point, Beachy Head, the sea state was calmer. Eastbourne Marina (Souverign Marina) has a lock which operates on a half hour cycle. We missed the 14h30 so we had to wait for 15h00. Patrick took advantage of the time and fiddled with the autopilot and then recalibrated it. This involved going round and round in circles. This was while I was on the deck putting down fenders both sides and getting lines ready!!. We were not sure what the lock was like inside, so “be prepared”. Finally they radioed to say proceed and we approached the lock in calm water. 4 boats went in and we rafted to an interesting couple who dive shipwrecks (for fun). It took about 20 mins to get through the lock, so we we had a good chat.
We were onto our mooring by 15h30. Semi-unpacked the boat as we are planning on leaving at 04h00am for Dover. We had a walk around the marina and a drink at the pub. Then back to the boat for dinner and a shower. Patrick did some fuel “tinkering”. We have two fuel tanks of 400 litres each. They are not connected but fuel can be transferred via a pump/filter system. We have had the delightful experience of diesel bug before, so now we keep our fuel tanks separate. For now Patrick set it up that the engine draws from the starboard tank, so he ran the pump to transfer some fuel over from the port to starboard tank, to keep the boat balanced. Lights out by 22h00 with alarm set for 03h15 - yuggggg.
