Transiting Dover.

[ex-Gladys]

One local is a Shepherd Neame pub, can't begin to like the beer, or tell any of them apart...

 

[johnalison]

View attachment 122600

The last time I visited there, which is a few years ago now, maybe 2012ish, they had had to downsize and only occupied the ground floor, but it was only the 3-story elevation on the left of your photo that was the club. A similar thing had happened in Weymouth to the Royal Dorset YC the last time we visited.

 

[oldgit]

Came past Dover around midday on passage from Brighton to the Medway , loads of pots especially off Sheppey.
An absolutely stunning day with a rather feeble attempt by the N. Foreland weather pixies at a pretty feeble wind over tide IMHO for mile or two.
Flat as pancake for rest of entire entire trip.
For the rag and string merchants, filled up at Brighton on departure with 400 litres and again with another 400 litres at Ramsgate.
Suprisingly few boats around on such a glorious day.
Ramsgate were prompt and helpful on the radio , merely monitored Dover , only spotted 2 ferry movements in the half hour or so it took to pass Dover.
We did not spot a single rib or inflatable in our entire trip but did spot the BF cutter in Ramsgate .

 

[RivalRedwing]

800L of diesel, Brighton to Medway, ouch! or kerching! if you are BP

 

[Bru]

800L of diesel, Brighton to Medway, ouch! or kerching! if you are BP

More likely kerching for Esso 'cos the fuel probably came from Fawley*. BP don't have any refining capacity in the UK and actually get** their UK sold fuel from several refineries owned by other companies - in the Midlands, for example, mostly from ConocoPhilips on Humberside (cos there's a pipeline from there to the major BP oil distribution depot in Northampton, I used to work next door and then later worked for a BP outlet supplied from there).

* Of course, the crude refined at Fawley didn't necessarily come from Exxon / Esso owned extraction facilities. BP do have those so it might have been at least partially BP oil - what you get at the retail pump could have ultimately come from just about anywhere (and is basically the same stuff regardless of the brand. The additives make the difference (if there's really any difference). The BP distribution depot at Northampton was, when I worked next door, supplying Tesco forecourts for example and they didn't have separate storage tanks for Tesco petrol and diesel!

** I say "get" rather than "buy" advisedly. The business of buying refined fuel and delivering it gets way too complicated for my last remaining brain cell.

 

[oldgit]

Forgot to mention, pod of dolphins right outside Brighton Marina possibly 10 -15 of them.
Magic start to the day.

 

[Gary Fox]

Forgot to mention, pod of dolphins right outside Brighton Marina possibly 10 -15 of them.
Magic start to the day.

That seems an unusual place for them

 

[oldgit]

That seems an unusual place for them

about 1 km from marina .
Ice blue sky, clear water, gentle warm"ish" breeze, and dolphins all round the boat.

Last time that happened was on trip boat out of Tenerife many many years ago.
..................and no spending 5 hours in metal tube with 180 possible donors of various diseases

 

[Daydream believer]

I find standing 2 miles off Dover harder than going in close. If one imagines the ferries fanning out from the harbour entrance they can go in any direction. This means that whilst one is transiting the 2 mile limit one is going to cover a distance of approx 2 miles in which one has to look out for ferries. ( yes! one always has to look out, but this area is more intense). With 2 exits to Dover that could be 3 miles ( Not 4 because the areas probably overlap) because the western exit may have a cruise ships etc leaving.
However, The entrance may be , say 100 yards wide. So if one crossed only 200 yards away the ferry crossing zone might only be 300 yards & it would be easy for the port control to guide one whether to cross or not.. Then repeat the exercise for the next entrance/exit.
Total danger zone 600 yards in which one might not mind starting the engine to speed up the process.
A similar situation happens at Zebrugge although that is only one entrance. There is still a lot of ship movements & they turn quite un announced soon after exiting, or suddenly when they want to go in, so can catch one out.

 

[Tomahawk]

If you just transit Dover, you miss the RCPYC and the lovely curry house in the basement of the grand villas.

 

[Daydream believer]

If you just transit Dover, you miss the RCPYC and the lovely curry house in the basement of the grand villas.

I have been to Dover many times on my way to the Channel Islands, or short hops to Boulogne, Dieppe etc.. However, I would not even consider muck like curry. Walk to the square, bear right walk up the street & get fish & chips. Far more civilised.

 

[Tomahawk]

I have been to Dover many times on my way to the Channel Islands, or short hops to Boulogne, Dieppe etc.. However, I would not even consider muck like curry. Walk to the square, bear right walk up the street & get fish & chips. Far more civilised.

Each unto their own.

 

[oldgit]

Each unto their own.

Fish from Iceland , Oil from Spain and Potatoes from Egypt... a tradtional English staple dish. ??

 

[Tomahawk]

Fish from Iceland , Oil from Spain and Potatoes from Egypt... a tradtional English staple dish. ??

Methinks you need to be pointing that out to Daydream. I quite like curry.