Lunar Sea around GB

Lunar Sea and her crew back in Ramsgate  Dear Readers, we finally arrived back in Ramsgate five years after setting off on 1 May 2017. The weather then had been atrocious, but it couldn't have been more different for our return. It was promised to be the hottest day of the year, so we had plenty of sunshine and not very much wind. lt did pick up to about 12 knots as we approached Ramsgate, so we managed to get the sails up and the flags flying for our entrance to Ramsgate.  Leaving Dover, heading for the Eastern entrance,  on our way home now. It had been an uneventful 4 hour trip from Dover to Ramsgate, but for some reason the unusually hot weather had created an optical illusion and we had a really clear view of France as we passed Deal. Perhaps it is the high pressure, not sure why?  France, shall we go there instead? We had Josh's daughter Jo on board and Owen and Jordan, two of Josh's grandchildren, joined us in Dover for the day sail. When we got to the approac...

  Passing Dungeness Dear Readers, a brief blog today as we are in Dover and just about to leave for our final leg to Ramsgate, which will be day 48 of this leg of the trip. We had a pleasant and uneventful motor sail to Dover, but it was a long trip of 9 hours. The time does go quickly when you are at sea, so it didn't seem so long. We had a couple of visits from porpoises, but they don't come and play around the boat like dolphins do.  Yacht trying to fill it's spinnaker, Eastbourne We had an exciting lock out of Sovereign harbour because it was very busy, so we had boats of all shapes and sizes jostling for position. We passed the remains of a wreck just outside the harbour, only the boilers remain and the birds seem to like it as a perch! Dungeness nuclear power stations. We passed Dungeness which is always interesting, as you get a good view from the sea of the two nuclear power stations, and the two light houses. There aren't many fishing vessels left on the beach,...

  Me and Josh and Lunar Sea, Sovereign Harbour Eastbourne, nearly home! Dear Readers, our stay in Eastbourne has meant many visitors, and it has been lovely to share our experience with them all. Yesterday morning my cousin Andy and his lovely wife Julie came on board, and as they had travelled down all the way form Redhill to see us they were rewarded with bacon rolls on board and a glass or two of champagne! It was a hot day, as we are having a heatwave at the moment. Josh remembered the bimani, which he rigged up over the deck, so that we had a welcome sunshade but still had a good view of the comings and goings int he harbour. We all enjoyed the morning together on board. We have been seeing a lot of Dutch boats over the last couple of days, there were about half a dozen sailing boats in Shoreham and about a dozen mainly motor cruisers here. They were obviously part of a flotilla, and it is great to see European boats back in our waters again.  Some of the Dutch boats in t...

The Seven Sisters approaching Beachy Head Dear Readers, we left Shoreham on the 8am lock out, in the big ship lock. That was interesting, as there was no where handy to tie up to and we scraped against the concrete walls leaving a scratch along the hull! We also had to leave behind a very long line, but the kind harbour master retrieved it for us and dropped it off as we left the harbour. (We did go aground slightly in the process though!) However, by using the big ship lock we were able to get on our way with tide with us for the 26 miles to Eastbourne, which should take us 5 hours. We had the wind and tide with us and were sailing at over 6 knots, which was lovely and meant we were making good time, as we base our timings on an average of 5 knots.  We passed the 000 degrees point at Peacehaven, so we are now East of the meridian for the first time this trip, having been West up to this point. We also saw a lone porpoise passing us in the other direction, which is always an exciti...

Sunrise Portsmouth as we were leaving  Dear Readers, firstly a correction, as I discovered that Cowes week is not until Saturday 30 July, so not sure which event the racing yachts were taking part in on day 41's blog. Either way it had been a lovely sight.  Spinnaker tower early morning. So at 5.30am on 13th July we left Haslar Marina, Gosport headed for Brighton. It was going to be a long trip of 9 hours and we had to catch the tide, so off we went at this very early hour, but there was a wonderful sunrise as our reward for the early start. We made good progress doing 6 knots through the Looe channel, the narrow channel out of the Solent. However by 10am the wind had dropped and it was flat clam and getting very hot. About an hour off of Brighton marina I rang the marina to ask for a berth, to be told that there was no room for visitors because all the visitor pontoons had been taken up so that dredging could take place. We thought about going to Newhaven, but when I rang the...

  The Lightship in Haslar Marina, Gosport, now a bar and restaurant. Dear Readers, day 41 is a rest day for us, so we decided to take the 10 minute ferry ride to Portsmouth. We then headed to Southsea, because Josh is having a special birthday in September and we have booked a family weekend celebration there. We caught the no 1 bus to Southsea, and had a coffee stop in the Canoe Park, with some rather old fashioned but charming pedalos. I don't think the real swans were impressed! I had to have a swim in the sea on the East beach by the pier, while Josh had an ice cream. It was very cooling for both of us, which was needed as we are having a heat wave at the moment. We walked along the seafront and came to the D Day Story, which we visited for several hours, it was very interesting, clearly explained and full of personal stories of the D day landings. The tour starts on a Landing Craft and then leads you back into the building for the rest of the experience. Well worth a visit....

  Dear Readers, no prizes for guessing where we are now! Leaving Ocean Village, where we felt that Lunar Sea didn't fit in!! We left Ocean Village in Southampton Water at 12.30, looking forward to moving on to Portsmouth. We had a very pleasant sail, in light winds and sunshine. We did a quick detour up the Hamble to see Warsash, where Josh did his officer training for the Merchant Navy.  It was much quieter in the Solent, but there were still a lot of sailing boats around, obviously racing because they were all going in the same direction. We also saw two lovely old racing yachts, possible J class boats, and then it dawned on us that it is the start of Cowes week! Racing in the Solent, Cowes week We still had to contend with ferries, both going to and from the Isle of Wight, including the unusual sight of a hovercraft. There is also  Brittany ferries going to France, container ships and the possibility of naval vessels. What is interesting is that the harbour master for ...

  Dear Readers, congratulations on still being with me on our sailing adventure, nearly there! We spent day 39 in Lymington, and I caught the dear little one track train to Brockenhurst and changed there for a delightful journey through the New Forest to Christchurch. The little Lymington train has three stops, it goes out to Lymington pier for the connection to the Isle of Wight ferry to Yarmouth; Lymington Town and Brockenhurst, where you change for the main line. The ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth I went to spend the day with my son Joe and his lovely wife Anita, who were staying in our caravan at Mudeford. My sister came too with Bliss the dog, so it was a real family reunion.  Dee and I went for a very refreshing swim in the sea at Avon Beach. She has got the sailing "bug" so she is going to get up early tomorrow morning to join us in Lymington for our 8.30 departure to Southampton tomorrow, day 40. We loved Lymington, it is a lovely friendly marina, close to all ameni...