Anchoring in Swanage was very peaceful until the wind got up around 2:30 causing the anchor chain to rumble, which for me in the forward cabin was like someone pouring rocks in a wheelbarrow just beside my head. We were both up at various times checking our transits to make sure we weren’t dragging but all was well and I also had the GPS on the iPad as a second check. Pulling the anchor up when we left I could see why we were so steady if was set in good Swanage mud and had a big lump stuck on it to prove it.
The wind was blowing a SW 5 /6 as we sailed out of Swanage we knew the tide was still against us but I hoped we could still hoped to make a southerly course. I should have listened to Eddie, he said it wasn’t possible. In reality with the wind and tide we could barely make SE so after nearly an hour of sailing we then had to motor sail back in and hug the coast and so after 2 hours we had made only 1 mile towards our destination.
Catching the tide past Portland Bill was absolutely critical, we had left early knowing we would be against the tide and should have motored from the start. The new plan was to motor until the tide change then sail and trust the tide to counteract the leeway and push us forward faster. Well it sort of worked but we’re still 12 miles off the bill with only 3 hours of tide left so we decided to motor sail through the inner passage. The trouble was we were on a track to sail the outer passage so had to cut back avoiding the Shambles Bank back onto the inner passage route. This meant cutting through some pretty rough water but from a distance it didn’t look to bad so we went for it. On other sails I had only seen the Bill from a smooth inner passage so this rough, confused water was quite a sight. There were waves for several angles tossing the boat around and we had one break in to cockpit. All very exciting but not to be repeated and thankfully over in 5 mins. If that was just a small taste of the Bill in action I for one learnt a valuable lesson, respect the Bill, listen to Eddie when he says motoring is the only way.
The change once we were on the Lyme Regis side couldn’t have been more pronounced. Smooth sea and force 4 wind allowing us to sail straight for Lyme. Our last night time sail and very calm and pleasant it was.
We entered Lyme harbour around midnight and tied up on the pontoon where we had protection from the SW wind. A long day for what was a pretty small sail and only one small hop to get home in the morning. To celebrate and finish off the stores we had a midnight supper and a bottle of wine.
Two Old Men In A Boat 