Concerto
Well-known member
This will be the penultimate report with only a summary to follow which will include costs, as I am now back in my home berth.
After checking the tides, it was pointless to leave immediately after the engine was repaired as I would be punching the tide all the way home. So I had a lazy late lunch and then moved to the fuel berth to fill the tank as it was down to a quarter. Ended up chatting there for about half an hour as he was interested in my trip, subscribing to my YouTube channel and will be registering on this forum. So in the bright sunshine and light wind, I called up Port Control to access the Wick Channel to the main harbour. Permission was immediately granted and as I was wanting to leave by the Eastern Entrance (used by the ferries) told to call again when at the Knuckle lighthouse. Whilst motoring along, there was sufficient time to remove the fenders and warps. On my final approach I could see a ferry was approaching and listening on VHF channel 74 two ferries were perparing to leave. As the ferry entered, I contacted Port Control and I was given permission to leave as fast as possible. I left the habour at 15.50.
Once clear of the harbour I was almost head to wind, so I raised the full main and continued to motor to South Foreland. As I rounded the headland, the wind stayed on the bow and I motored very close to the wind and tacked towards North Foreland. The tide was pushing me northward at about 1½ knots, so progress was good. Closing on North Foreland the sun was setting and I took a number of photos with the strongly coloured light.
The tide was turning southward before low water and for the next two hours, I had to punch ½ to ¾ knots of tide. Unfortunately as I turned to pass on the south side of Princes Channel, the wind shifted with me. That is an almost 180 degree shift since leaving Dover. I ended up motor sailing all the way home.
Off North Foreland there were 8 ships anchored, which is far more than the usual 2 to 4 ships. There was a constant flow of commercial traffic along the Princes Channel, so I stayed just outside the channel. I kept checking Ship Tracking app on my phone to see the types of ships and where they were heading. I passed to the north of the Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm and then south of Red Sand Towers. As I passed the wind farm I saw on the chart plotter there was an unlit buoy which I dodged, but could not see. It was only a bit later I realised there was no buoy, it was the number 4 for 4m depth with the course to the waypoint masking the bottom of the 4. Being tired and the chart plotter being 6ft away is my excuse for this daft mistake.
The Ship Tracking app showed a tanker was heading for Thamesport and 4 tugs were dispatched from Sheerness. It did not follow the route up the Thames as I predicted, then I remembered the old Isle of Grain site in the Medway had been renamed Thamesport. I remained outside the channel as this massive 293m x 46m x 11.4m tanker approached at 14 knots. I kept a listening watch on VHF 74 and heard they were advised I was ahead. I kept close to Garrison Point and passed close inshore to the tug stationed at the point and then along the dockside. It was interesting to see how the tanker's speed dropped. She never caught up with me, but I watched from a distance as they turned her before berthing her.
Just before 2 am, I contacted Chatham Marina and they prepared the lock so I could enter as I arrived. Once in the lock, it only took a few minutes for the water levels to equalise as it was close to high water. When the lock opened and the bridge was raised, I slipped round to my berth. Fully moored by 2.30. It took a while to unwind before I went to bed. I slept from 4 till 9.30 and then again from 10.30 to 11.30, I had 5 hours 38 minutes. That was fairly good for me. During the trip my sleep per night dropped from an average of 5½ hours down to nearer 4½ hours. No wonder I have been feeling a little tired.
I have been aboard most of the day and will be here again tomorrow as my wife has been busy today and again tomorrow with her parents. So anyone local is welcome to come and have a chat tomorrow on Concerto in berth B4. You do not have to be a berth holder, just let the marina office know you are visiting me and they will allow you into the car park and on to the pontoons. Hopefully there may be a bit of a party feel as a number of berth holders should be visiting as well.
No matter how disappointed you may feel my posts of this trip are ending. I will do a review of the trip, with some of the best sailing bits, places worth visiting. the great people I have met and one place I would never return to, plus all of the costs of the trip. Yesterday I was showing the videos and photos of Fair Isle to the engineer fixing the engine, and this has motivated me to get back to editting the next parts of the trip for YouTube. If you subscribe to my channel you will be notified when new parts are loaded.
In the future I will post about the talks I will be giving. If you want I could write about some of the upgrades I have or will be doing to Concerto. Next year I will do a similar series of going to the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly as I am planning a shorter trip of 6 to 7 weeks.
South Foreland
It looks like an old shaft in the chalk
Looking astern at Dover
St Margaret's Bay
Dover Patrol Memorial
South Foreland in the distance
Ramsgate on the left as the sun sets
North Foreland ahead
Clouds made warm by the setting sun
Interesting radiating clouds over South Foreland
Looking up the Thames close to North Foreland
For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1
All the links with place names are in my about me page available from my avatar.
After checking the tides, it was pointless to leave immediately after the engine was repaired as I would be punching the tide all the way home. So I had a lazy late lunch and then moved to the fuel berth to fill the tank as it was down to a quarter. Ended up chatting there for about half an hour as he was interested in my trip, subscribing to my YouTube channel and will be registering on this forum. So in the bright sunshine and light wind, I called up Port Control to access the Wick Channel to the main harbour. Permission was immediately granted and as I was wanting to leave by the Eastern Entrance (used by the ferries) told to call again when at the Knuckle lighthouse. Whilst motoring along, there was sufficient time to remove the fenders and warps. On my final approach I could see a ferry was approaching and listening on VHF channel 74 two ferries were perparing to leave. As the ferry entered, I contacted Port Control and I was given permission to leave as fast as possible. I left the habour at 15.50.
Once clear of the harbour I was almost head to wind, so I raised the full main and continued to motor to South Foreland. As I rounded the headland, the wind stayed on the bow and I motored very close to the wind and tacked towards North Foreland. The tide was pushing me northward at about 1½ knots, so progress was good. Closing on North Foreland the sun was setting and I took a number of photos with the strongly coloured light.
The tide was turning southward before low water and for the next two hours, I had to punch ½ to ¾ knots of tide. Unfortunately as I turned to pass on the south side of Princes Channel, the wind shifted with me. That is an almost 180 degree shift since leaving Dover. I ended up motor sailing all the way home.
Off North Foreland there were 8 ships anchored, which is far more than the usual 2 to 4 ships. There was a constant flow of commercial traffic along the Princes Channel, so I stayed just outside the channel. I kept checking Ship Tracking app on my phone to see the types of ships and where they were heading. I passed to the north of the Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm and then south of Red Sand Towers. As I passed the wind farm I saw on the chart plotter there was an unlit buoy which I dodged, but could not see. It was only a bit later I realised there was no buoy, it was the number 4 for 4m depth with the course to the waypoint masking the bottom of the 4. Being tired and the chart plotter being 6ft away is my excuse for this daft mistake.
The Ship Tracking app showed a tanker was heading for Thamesport and 4 tugs were dispatched from Sheerness. It did not follow the route up the Thames as I predicted, then I remembered the old Isle of Grain site in the Medway had been renamed Thamesport. I remained outside the channel as this massive 293m x 46m x 11.4m tanker approached at 14 knots. I kept a listening watch on VHF 74 and heard they were advised I was ahead. I kept close to Garrison Point and passed close inshore to the tug stationed at the point and then along the dockside. It was interesting to see how the tanker's speed dropped. She never caught up with me, but I watched from a distance as they turned her before berthing her.
Just before 2 am, I contacted Chatham Marina and they prepared the lock so I could enter as I arrived. Once in the lock, it only took a few minutes for the water levels to equalise as it was close to high water. When the lock opened and the bridge was raised, I slipped round to my berth. Fully moored by 2.30. It took a while to unwind before I went to bed. I slept from 4 till 9.30 and then again from 10.30 to 11.30, I had 5 hours 38 minutes. That was fairly good for me. During the trip my sleep per night dropped from an average of 5½ hours down to nearer 4½ hours. No wonder I have been feeling a little tired.
I have been aboard most of the day and will be here again tomorrow as my wife has been busy today and again tomorrow with her parents. So anyone local is welcome to come and have a chat tomorrow on Concerto in berth B4. You do not have to be a berth holder, just let the marina office know you are visiting me and they will allow you into the car park and on to the pontoons. Hopefully there may be a bit of a party feel as a number of berth holders should be visiting as well.
No matter how disappointed you may feel my posts of this trip are ending. I will do a review of the trip, with some of the best sailing bits, places worth visiting. the great people I have met and one place I would never return to, plus all of the costs of the trip. Yesterday I was showing the videos and photos of Fair Isle to the engineer fixing the engine, and this has motivated me to get back to editting the next parts of the trip for YouTube. If you subscribe to my channel you will be notified when new parts are loaded.
In the future I will post about the talks I will be giving. If you want I could write about some of the upgrades I have or will be doing to Concerto. Next year I will do a similar series of going to the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly as I am planning a shorter trip of 6 to 7 weeks.
South Foreland
It looks like an old shaft in the chalk
Looking astern at Dover
St Margaret's Bay
Dover Patrol Memorial
South Foreland in the distance
Ramsgate on the left as the sun sets
North Foreland ahead
Clouds made warm by the setting sun
Interesting radiating clouds over South Foreland
Looking up the Thames close to North Foreland
For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1
All the links with place names are in my about me page available from my avatar.
