ANDY123
Well-Known Member
My wife's uncle was the chief engineer whilst filming the Cruel Sea...He remembers it well...Not too pleased!
I always enjoy a stop in Weymouth when heading west and have always used the inshore passage from there with no problems.
Returning used to be more of a conundrum because the tide across Lyme Bay does not serve to help me arrive at the right time for the inshore passage so I used to head outside and go round the Shambles as advised by the Pilot Books even if heading back to Weymouth.
Then I visited the Coast Watch hut on Portland. It is generally manned by local yachtsmen who told me I did not need to go so far out and could safely cut inside the Shambles. They even suggested I give them a call - on phone - and they would advise me as I approached how close in I could come. I have now learned that in calm weather less than a mile is fine. Closest I've been is about .75m.
Two years ago, when coming from Exmouth, I called them and they suggested that, even though I was outside the advised timings, with an east going tide (Wind W3), I could safely take the inshore passage.
This I did. It did provoke a comment from my wife as we went through "You didn't tell me it would be like this". In fact it was no problem - there were interesting swirls in the horizontal plane but none in the vertical.
Do not mess with the Bill in bad weather! Take an opportunity to go to the Coast Watch Station in a good Westerly gale and they will let you look through their amazing binoculars! It is truly spectacular and you quickly see why Portland Race was chosen as the place to film the storm sequences for "The Cruel Sea".