Day 43 Gosport to Brighton

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 them they only had one berth free which they couldn't reserve for us. So should we battle on to Eastbourne? No, we were too hot and tired and needed a rest. So Lunar Sea did a U turn and we headed for Shoreham, who could take us. 


Shoreham harbour and the pub

We had bad memories of Shoreham last time we tried to get in there many years ago, but we were pleasantly surprised.  In the lock everyone was very friendly, and we chatted to some local fisherman who rafted next to us. They warned us of the washing machine effect of this particular lock, and they weren't wrong.! The harbour master met us as we moored and welcomed us to Shoreham. "Come up to the shop when you are ready". It turned out that the chandlers on the little quay doubled as the harbour masters office. The two harbour masters ran the chandlery, and they were both called Julian, so when I told them my name was Julia they laughed and said they could feel a Monty Python sketch coming on!



Swan family with four babies and token duck!



They obviously like their swans in the harbour, and we saw a couple with four cygnets, a successful brood. Someone had built the swans a nesting site and there were a couple of notices up around the harbour aimed at protecting them. 

We had a delicious meal at the pub on the marina, I had fresh grilled mackerel, lovely. It has been a lovely stay in friendly Shoreham. It was also a place of contrasts, as the opposite side of the river is quite industrial. 

Lunar Sea moored in Shoreham

A lovely little marina we would recommend, we both agreed it turned out to be much nicer than Brighton marina.







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