A Year On.....

Brown Eyes on the Orwell last night

It's almost a year to the day when we brought Brown Eyes around from Southampton to Ipswich and one of the places we stopped along the way was Ramsgate.

Back then, Brown Eyes was in poor condition and the engine packed up as we entered the marina there, so it was with some trepidation that I pulled into Ramsgate this evening, having just sailed single-handed across the Thames Estuary.....but all was fine and that is where I am now sat typing up this blog entry.

I had left Ipswich yesterday afternoon and picked-up a buoy (no comments please) down near Levington, ready to get an early start and catch the tide this morning.

You can see the waypoints of the route I took on my 'plotter' (Harwich to Ramsgate)

Crossing the Thames Estuary can be fraught with hazards such as moving sandbanks, heavy shipping and wind-farms.  So I chose my route carefully and headed out around everything; a slightly longer route, but I think it paid off.

As far as the eye can see....

The last couple of hours of todays trip was in the rain and I had to motor-sail much of the way, but when I did have the opportunity  to switch the engine off, Brown Eyes handled well.  Today has been a good 'shake out' for both me and Brown Eyes and there are a few jobs to do on her that need my attention tonight.




Anyway, that's the start of this circumnavigation of the UK; stay tuned for the next instalment.......   

There are thousands of wind turbines in the Thames Estuary!!