Blog
We got up at 5 a.m. The anchor went up at 5:30 and we were underway. The forecast was for force 3 out of the west at first and then becoming very light. We wanted to catch the wind and the tide. We got both and it was great sailing in the rain and fog. On the way we were accompanied by three dolphins who put on a little bit of a show until they got bored with us and left.
The forecast was for force 5 to 6 from the west. That meant having the wind from aft of the beam almost all the time and it was only a short sail anyway. The anchorage that we had chosen was supposedly very well protected from anything out of the west.
Casting off the lines from the Mary Winnifred by myself was a bit daunting because the tide was already running fast but in the end it turned out to be rather easy. I was passing the pier on the shore of the river on a sunny day with kids saluting and waving. It felt great.
After having passed the bar the sails came up and we were able to go in the desired direction with a nice breeze from the northwest. The sea was smooth except for a large swell coming out the southwest but that didn’t bother me. We were making 6.5knots through the water and close to 8 with the tide. It felt like the first really nice sailing day without having to beat into the wind and pound into the waves… It was exhilarating. The Isle of Wight was on our starboard beam, I had never been this far west into the English Channel with Amy and things were looking good.
