As planned, we took the 06:00 locking out of Sovereign Harbour and shortly after departure the sails were set and the engine off
It was a fair start to the day with a brisk F4 Southerly breeze and the quartering waves weren't too bad.
As the hours passed, the breeze veered more and more Westerly and picked up to an F5. Moreover, the waves became steeper and steering became harder to the point where the autopilot began to struggle
By the time we were approaching Dover, after a pretty fast passage, the sea conditions were really starting to build even though the wind was barely above an F5 occasionally gusting 6
We dropped the main outside and tried to furl the genoa but only three quarters of it rolled away before the furler jammed
That was enough to enter harbour which was a pretty wild ride. We surfed down waves with the rudder stalling several times during the approach and I was very pleased to make it into the calmer waters of the outer harbour unscathed
We soon sorted out the jam on the genoa furling. Somehow the spinnaker halyard had got caught up in the sail. Easily sorted, just unfurl the sail, get the line secured out of the way and refurl it again.
Then we dropped the mizzen and headed into the marina. By now it was starting to rain as expected but we made fast and had the cockpit tent up before the really heavy rain arrived
A quiet evening on board was the order of the day as it continued to bucket down outside accompanied by very windy conditions
It was a fair start to the day with a brisk F4 Southerly breeze and the quartering waves weren't too bad.
As the hours passed, the breeze veered more and more Westerly and picked up to an F5. Moreover, the waves became steeper and steering became harder to the point where the autopilot began to struggle
By the time we were approaching Dover, after a pretty fast passage, the sea conditions were really starting to build even though the wind was barely above an F5 occasionally gusting 6
We dropped the main outside and tried to furl the genoa but only three quarters of it rolled away before the furler jammed
That was enough to enter harbour which was a pretty wild ride. We surfed down waves with the rudder stalling several times during the approach and I was very pleased to make it into the calmer waters of the outer harbour unscathed
We soon sorted out the jam on the genoa furling. Somehow the spinnaker halyard had got caught up in the sail. Easily sorted, just unfurl the sail, get the line secured out of the way and refurl it again.
Then we dropped the mizzen and headed into the marina. By now it was starting to rain as expected but we made fast and had the cockpit tent up before the really heavy rain arrived
A quiet evening on board was the order of the day as it continued to bucket down outside accompanied by very windy conditions
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