aboard Emma, Wayfarer 247

Reflections on a cruise from the River Orwell in Suffolk to the Beaulieu in Hampshire, via Calais, during the summer 2000

Experienced cruisers tell us that you never set off to ‘go to’ a particular destination, but that you should ‘head toward’ somewhere. If the weather, conditions or some other chance event should cause you to change your plans then you simply head toward another port.

“Down the river and turn right,” was our standard reply to those who asked where we intended to sail this summer. We did have plans, but were reluctant to state firm goals, only to disappoint ourselves later, frustrated by wind or tide. In fact, we managed to sail nearly 370 miles from Woolverstone on the

River Orwell in Suffolk, to Buckler’s Hard on the Beaulieu River in the Solent. Most of this was new water to us, a genuine adventure visiting new ports like Rye, exploring new places like Fishbourne Roman Palace and meeting many friendly, helpful and interesting people on the way.

Looking back on the cruise, three months later, it is easy to see those plans which were met and those which were abandoned. Many were modified, once underway. However, because we had no set destination to reach, we can look back on the cruise and enjoy the achievement of what we did, without any disappointment about places not visited. After all, they are still there to visit on another cruise.

We began with the DCA Righting Rally organised by Peter Small at Alton Water reservoir. Being just before our planned departure, we were reluctant to capsize with all our cruising gear aboard as we should never have time to dry it thoroughly. We were keen, however, to experiment with webbing loops attached to the thwarts as aids to recovering the crew. After eight capsizes and rightings both boat and crew considered themselves well-tested. It was good preparation for the cruise, gave us added confidence in the boat and, fortunately, we never had to put our new found skills into action.

We set sail on Tuesday 25th July and headed south. On our way to Ramsgate harbour our plans were modified several times: our departure had already been put back a day due to gales; then, instead of making Queenborough in one day, we took two because the wind died and we couldn’t row fast enough; plans to sail up the London River were postponed (again!) as the tides were now less favourable; and we encountered an unexpected thunderstorm off Whistable — a new experience for us at sea.

We were made very welcome at Ramsgate and enjoyed a rest day planning the next leg of our cruise. This was to be the most exciting part of our summer adventure — a visit to France.

We had always thought we could cross the channel. Now was our chance to prove it.

Navigation in an open Wayfarer can be awkward at sea in some conditions. Hence, our passage planning and preparation must be very thorough. Careful use must be made of the tides. In advance, we calculate tidal times, heights and expected streams along our intended track. We note the bearings and character of buoys, lights and other navigation marks. Port entry details and VHF channels are discovered. All is recorded on a page in our log for easy reference. Under way we sail largely by dead reckoning with mental adjustments for tide and leeway A hand-held GPS provides reassurance and is a measure of our speed over the ground.

Despite all this, the forecast wind can still die, and it did just that as we made our way down the inland side of the Goodwin Sands from Ramsgate Harbour. With a spring tide ebbing against us we were forced to ferry-glide to the Deal shore and feverishly tack along the groynes making painfully slow progress past the pier and west toward South Foreland. Dover began to look an attractive alternative to Calais.

Here our fortunes changed, the wind revitalised and in a steady southerly wind of force 3 to 4, we reached toward the SW Goodwin cardinal and the shipping lanes. Crossing the TSS proved less frightening than we had imagined once confidence grew in using the hand bearing compass to assess potential danger. The west-bound lane was the busier and we bore away to avoid three large ships. Fortunately, the ferries, hovercraft and HSS heading to and from Dover remained well to starboard. As we passed MPC buoy in the separation zone, we took in a reef as the wind had increased to force 4 or 5. Our bearings were accurate and we cleared the TSS just where we expected. Here we found ships in the inshore traffic zone far less predictable and needed to keep an even more careful watch.

Off the Calais approach, the seas grew quite large as we tacked around waiting for a gap in the ferry traffic to cross to the shore side. The frequency of this traffic made it the most nerve-racking part of the sail, and we breathed a collective sigh of relief as we turned to run under genoa alone along the shore toward the harbour entrance. Crossing from S. Foreland had taken only four and an half hours. Rustler’s Moon from Burnham followed us into the harbour and we moored alongside her until the gates to the marina opened at 2200. Experienced cruisers, the crew kindly towed us in and showed us a small berth to moor up. The tent was up and we were in our sleeping bags by 2330 having left Ramsgate at 0800. We were tired but far too excited to sleep, and made a serious dent in the wine box.

Exploring Calais and taking in the sights was much more enjoyable knowing we had sailed there ourselves, and we had a wonderful time following the history trail and sampling French food and wine. We found Fanara, a cruising yacht from our club on its way north to the Dutch canals. They kindly offered us a tow out of the harbour when the gates opened at midday the following morning.

Our departure was in a choppy force 3 to 4 and we sailed with one reef and jib. The strong spring tide pushed us north as predicted, and we shook out the reef to try and improve our speed across the ground. By the time we crossed the TSS, with the wind increasing and the tide easing we took in the reef once again and crossed swiftly to the East Goodwin light ship. In a wind of force 5 and the English Channel rolling heavily across the Goodwin Sands to port, we dropped the main and ran under jib at up to 5 knots towards the Ramsgate approach. Emma showed us just how good a boat the Wayfarer is as she surfed happily along the waves. Apart from the gulls, gannets and a sole shearwater we were entirely alone amongst the waves.

The return trip took only seven and an half hours in total. Several people came over to us at Ramsgate to enquire if they had seen us at Calais earlier in the day. It felt good to reply, “You may have. Have you sailed over too?”

After a couple of days’ rest we continued our exploration of the south coast — next stop Dover. We had a wonderful reach from Ramsgate to Dover, averaging 5.5 knots. On arrival, Dover port control were very friendly and helpful, providing an escort to see us safely across the harbour as we sailed in beneath the famous white cliffs. From here we sailed to Rye. This is a charming port, despite its fierce 4 knot current in the river 2 hours before high. Drying out on Strand Quay in the centre of the town was a new experience. We rose and fell some 3 to 4 metres with each tide, and tended our mooring lines very cautiously. Rye was celebrating its medieval festival, a pageant of skirmishes, music, food and old ale. A truly memorable visit.

Along the exposed south coast, the marinas at Eastbourne and Brighton provided welcome shelter but in total contrast to Rye. A tented Wayfarer seemed somewhat out of place here, but we enjoyed the walks inland up to the South Downs and visiting Brighton’s famous pavilion. It was so calm off Beachy Head we had to row past the lighthouse, it was also frustratingly calm heading for the Looe Channel to round Selsey Bill. We knew we had to make the tidal gate into the Solent only to find ourselves rowing for 5 hours after leaving Brighton. We arrived late, but in a light breeze, managed to beat up the shallows against the flooding tide and just clawed our way into the Solent. We ended our longest day anchored off East Head in Chichester harbour, rowing and sailing for over 14 hours to cover 36.5 miles. As we put up our tent, we found ourselves anchored next to another cruising Wayfarer, and spent a most enjoyable evening exchanging tales as the sun set on this lovely anchorage.

Our cruise ended at Buckler’s Hard on the Beaulieu River, as the forecast predicted a longer period of less settled weather. Using various combinations of foot, bus, ferry and train, we returned home to collect the car and trailer, recovering ‘Emma next day.

There are lots of special memories after a long cruise. We are still in touch with other sailors we met from Essex, France and Belgium. We have several photographs to prompt us about things we saw. However, it was the experiences of settling down in the boat, under the tent after a satisfying sail that we cherish most. Calais, Rye, Ramsgate and East Head were very special evenings. That is what makes dinghy cruising so special for us.

It is very difficult to summarise 3 weeks sailing in such a short article, so if you are interested in finding our more about our travels, a more detailed account of our journey including charts and our deck log has been sent to the librarian.