Dartmouth to Lymington

After some pretty windy days, a 4/5 looked like a nice forecast. Naturally the prevailing South Westerly wind wasn't happening as that would mean waves from our stern and a nice ride across to the Isle of Wight. Also naturally, the tides were about the worst possible times for this trip so we just had to get going as early as possible. That meant as soon as it was light so we could avoid the pot markers in the entrance to Dartmouth.

A 4:15 alarm was a nasty shock. Heading downriver in the dark was OK but the timing worked really well as twilight happened just as we got to the harbour entrance where we needed it to spot the pot markers.

The weather forecast was perfect. A lovely sunrise:

a following sea with a swell of around 2 metres and a lovely sunny day. Our route was pretty simple:

staying well south of Portland Bill to avoid  the overfalls and then south of the firing range a little further to the east before heading "up" towards the Solent.

The weather men and women were spot on with their forecast too - as we headed east so the wind which was on the nose (yet again) calmed down and the swell height dropped too. All in all very good for motorboating.

We ran at an abnormal for us 1800 rpm as we wanted to get past Portland Bill before the tide turned against us. Ideally we would have left earlier than 5am but as previously mentioned there are often poorly marked fishing pots off Dartmouth so we wanted some light as we headed out to sea. The timing worked OK and we only had to push any significant tide as we approached North Head and the entrance to the Solent between the two forts. As an example, here is the plotter image as we were off Portland Bill:

Plenty of tidal help there (speed through the water was about 7.4 knots). We had the normal dance off Anvil Point avoiding a raft of pot markers. We are not sure what the collective noun for pot markers is but perhaps it should be "a buggeration" as at least half of them were very badly marked. Our lookouts, Kylie the cockatoo and Patrick the penguin, were utterly useless again. No warnings or advice, they just sat and cuddled all the way from Dartmouth until we arrived in Lymington:

We still wonder what a Pengatoo baby would look like. Any good photoshop users out there?

Arriving in the Solent you are greeted by the forts - this low laying one on the spit at Keyhaven:

which herald the busy madness of the Solent area. Far too many boats around for our liking. We were down to 2.5 knots as we pushed through the tides that swirl through the narrows here. Some wing engine exercise, some wide open throttle running and then into Lymington and onto the Dan Bran pontoon. Andrew and Linda on Zephyros were already installed there:

rafted out on another boat. We were given a spot alongside the pontoon despite only wanting to stay for 2 nights compared to Andrew's 10 or so. Sometimes, life is kind to you.

The trip took us about 12 hours and there are no maintenance or other issues to report we are pleased to say. Upon arrival, Dylan the Welsh Terrier who you met a little while ago when we had our canal trip gave us a lovely greeting and then collapsed on the saloon floor:

It is so tiring being that cute all day.