There was still a bit of a wave outside and the wind was blowing force 5. Since we had the waves on the beam it was a bit uncomfortable but soon got better as wind and waves diminished towards sunset. We went past Brighton and Beachy Head. Then it it became dark but the moon came out. It was a lovely sail. I had expected having to motor for at least the second half of the night but we were able to sail all the way to the western entrance of Dover harbour.
My radio calls were answered immediately and we were guided to the new marina and allocated a berth. I had been here before but everything around the marina had changed. I liked it. But I was pretty tired because I hadn’t been able to go to sleep on the way. So I only made a short excursion into town.
On the way here one of the mast winches had stopped working. Also Amy’s waterline looked like a forest. So the next day was scheduled for getting Amy back in shape. The winch was easier to repair than I had feared. Now came the swimming and diving part to clean the hull. I was not looking forward to this at all with 16º water temperature but it had to be done. After 90 minutes I couldn’t feel my fingers and I was getting very dizzy every time I went under. It was time to stop. I think I got most of it clean. I took a hot shower and went into a pub.
The next morning I woke up with a bit of a cold. I bought some groceries and then decided to take a walk to the white cliffs. It was a long walk and the weather was incredibly beautiful. But I was a bit tired, not very fit. I went to bed early. The next morning I would have to wake up at 0330 to make it out of the harbour at 0500 and catch a favourable tide and to have enough water under the keel when crossing the sands in the Thames estuary.
