Littlehampton 2007

Date: ??
Boat: Blue Scherzo, Sadler 32

Trip: Portsmouth; Littlehampton;

Days: 2
Skipper: Gerry Raby
Crew: Jennifer, Doug,Val Dibble

Right: Val hands Gerry the provisions:






A weekend trip from Portsmouth to Littlehampton and back turns into a one way trip to littlehampton and a train back as the weather intervenes.

An eventful trip started with a fine spring evening down at Hardway making Blue Scherzo ready as we waited for sufficient tide to get away from the pontoon. Gerry called a crew meeting following the usual safety brief and suggested we could set out tonight if we wished on a night sail to Chichester and anchor in Bracklesham Bay or pick up a sheltered buoy in Ichenor depending on the weather and sea state. This option would not only give us some more night hours and experience but also allow us to meet the Chichester club boats for the sail up to Littlehampton the following morning. We decide after much discussion to go and we exit the main entrance to Portsmouth Harbour at dusk and head up through the submarine gap towards Chichester for a brisk dash up the coast. I decide to spend most time below to brush up on my Navigation which of course is much more important when the familiar visual views of the coastline are denied by the darkness.

When we arrive at Bracklesham Bay conditions appear ideal for a night at anchor, flat sea, light offshore breeze and consulting the chart we find a good spot with plenty of sea room but well out of the main channel. My only concern is that the chart does not show any anchorage points in the bay. It's pretty obvious why - rapidly shallowing waters that dry in places and several old wrecks marked, clearly not a place to be when there are onshore winds blowing. However the wind is light and offshore, the sea is flat and the weather forecast shows nothing to worry about. We find our spot with the GPS, check against the bearings of the navigation lights for the entrance to Chichester, test that the anchor appears to be set ok and settle down for the night. A few hours later we find another reason for there being no Anchor areas marked as a steady light swell has the boat rocking uncomfortably from side to side all night long. I didn't get much sleep rolling about in my bunk. Dawn was a welcome sight and I went on deck to observe the exposed wreck of a part of the D-Day Mulberry harbour complex as it was just past low water, happily it was exactly where it was expected to be and a quick check of the GPS and chart showed that we had not moved. It was a good exercise in both navigation and anchoring, but if the motion is that pronounced in such benign conditions I wouldn't recommend anchoring here even in excellent conditions unless you can sleep in a washing machine.

Saturday morning we set off for Littlehampton via Selsey Bill and the Looe channel.
The weather has deteriorated slightly and we sail in sun, rain, gloom but fairly steady winds. On checking the Almanac for the harbour I find a warning of strong tidal flow across the entrance at our approximate arrival time. When we reach a couple of miles outside Gerry decides that since I have checked up on the Pilotage I should take the boat in. I check the Almanac again and take a deep breath as I have little experience of helming a boat into a busy harbour and this one is quite narrow with a strong tide across the entrance. I am nervous inside. I get out of the way of an incoming fishing boat and take up position to account for the tidal flow and turn up towards the entrance. All is going well and as the end of the longer harbour wall to port slips by I begin to wonder what all the fuss in the Almanac is about as I haven't had to correct and we are not being pushed across the entrance in any significant manner, easy!. The next thing mentioned is a sandbank that piles up against the port side wall just about opposite the end of the much shorter starboard hand wall. Now perhaps to a more experienced sailor this would have been a clue, but not to me. A boat is coming out and moving over towards me to avoid the sandbank. The channel is now getting quite narrow for two boats to pass, but I can't do anything now other than keep well to starboard but we should clear him quite comfortably. It's at this point we see what almost appears to be a veritable whirlpool dead ahead, the vicious cross tide has appeared! and it is also obviously responsible for the sandbank. - As they used to say in Cathphrase (should I admit to knowing this) "The clues are there". The water is suddenly very choppy and the boat is pushed sideways towards the path of the oncoming boat. I pull the tiller over but we are still moving towards the middle of the channel. I pull the tiller hard over and the boat is now heading directly at the starboard harbour wall but still slipping sideways. Gerry, the skipper is on the foredeck and pointing frantically to starboard with that "oh shit" sort of look on his face but I don't have either the time or the inclination to tell him that the tiller is already hard over. I reach down and apply a few more revs and finally she comes over and the outgoing boat passes with plenty of clearance. Fortunately I remember to straighten her up again quickly before we go on to ram the harbour wall. Once inside the protection of the Starboard wall it all calms down. A bit hairy for a while but all is fine and I take the boat up to the new town pontoons and raft alongside Taransay Moor. I am glad to kill the engine. Later I am glad to hear all the other crews remarking on the difficult entrance.

Gery takes advantage of the sunny afternoon to fix his wind instruments and we winch him up the mast so that he can change the windex. A small crowd gather to watch him dangle precariously form the masthead, but all work is completed without bloodshed and we all enjoy a warm sunny evening.

On Sunday the crews of Blue Scherzo, Taransay Moor, Summer Song and Lady J take a local river boat up the river Arun to Arundel where we spend the day sightseeing, or in the case of myself, Betty, Colin and Sandi, at he pub. We take a walk up to the Black Rabbit for some lunch.

The plan is to leave on the early tide at around 3am Monday morning to return to Portsmouth but unfortunately the weather forecast is not good, Force 6 to 7 possibly gale force 8 imminent is the evening report and sure enough a walk to the end of the harbour wall shows that the wind is already building significantly. We have a conference and decide to defer the decision and see if it has blown through. We get up at 3am and the wind is howling in the rigging. A call to the local coastguard reveals that the sea state is rough to very rough, a gale force 8 warning is about to be issued and that the entrance to the harbour is considered dangerous in such conditions. We inform them that we will be staying put and return to bed.

We now have another decision to make - virtually everyone has to return to work tomorrow so we must sail on the next tide to get back in time. We wait to see if conditions abate but by noon its obvious that we must bite the bullet and return to Portsmouth by train and attempt to recover the boats the following weekend.
Thus a motley bunch of grubby yobs appear at the local railway station toting bags and as much other kit as they can carry for the ignominious trip back, cursing the unpredictable English weather.

Below: A delightful sunset gives no indication of the weather to come: