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A sail from Starcross Yacht Club on the Exe via the inshore passage at Portland Bill and on to Weymouth.

Because Portland Bill sticks out into the English Channel and has a shallow underwater ledge that "squeezes" the currents, it has a somewhat fearsome reputation (see here for a Youtube video of when it was "angry" at the end of a storm). Therefore, we needed to be off the end of the Bill at the right time for mostly slack water and a "lift" up the eastern edge. That meant setting off at the hideously early time of 04:30 to allow some contingency for being off the end of the Bill at 14:00. Given that we had to sail and motor (against the easterly wind) over 35 nautical miles, we were pleased to be off the Bill at about 14:15.

Going round the Bill was happily uneventful but the large number of appallingly marked lobster pot buoys still means that great care is needed. The photos show us rounding the end of the Bill with the front obelisk aligned in the nearly in the middle of the red band of the lighthouse (as recommended). On the eastern side of the Bill, the 5 metre depth contour is typically a good guide to avoiding the race / overfalls.

A sail from Weymouth round to Poole Harbour.

With the winds continuing to be easterly, this was a combination of sailing and motoring. The two main challenges on this stretch of water are the military gunnery range at Lulworth and overfalls / race at St Albans Ledge. The army claimed to be firing on this day so we went as far as Durdle Door and then went offshore to avoiding the firing range.

At the end of the range (at St Albans Head) we took the unconventional choice of sailing alongside St Albans Ledge in the overfalls (and right past naval gunnery buoys "B" and "C" but happily there was no navy about this day)! This made for quite a bouncy journey.

Anvil Point and Perveril Point were fine and then we sailed past Old Harry Rocks and into Poole Harbour and the most expensive (read "overpriced" given the state of the washrooms) marina of the trip.

From Portland Harbour, round Portland Bill to Starcross Yacht Club on the Exe.

As ever, a rounding of Portland Bill by the inshore passage required careful planning. In our case, this meant that to get safe and helpful tides we had to be off the end of Portland Bill at 16:30 - a late start given the long sail to the Exe after the Bill.

As we left the excellent Portland Harbour there were fleets of Oppies and Toppers training. We then closed the Bill near Grove Point and the tide helped us speed down the 5 metre contour line to round the Bill. Again, we had the obelisk at the end of the Bill lined up with the red band on the lighthouse (meaning we'd be far enough off the rocks but - usually - not too far off to be in the race).

The biggest challenge - once again - was to avoid the swarms of tiny appallingly marked lobster pot buoys that appeared to be laid out like some minefield grid!

After passing Pulpit Rock on the west side, we started heading off towards the Exe. With the late start, this meant that we'd be going up the Exe in the dark. However, it also meant that we decided to sail in the light winds after it got too dark to see the lobster pots also scattered in Lyme Bay.

The trip up the Exe was OKish. The lights in the fairway are better than when I last did it in the dark - maybe three years ago - but there are still two unlit buoys (numbers 14 and 21 IIRC) in the Exe itself. Additionally there are a few large metal mooring buoys that encroach too far into the marked channel meaning a risk of a serious "ding" to a boat's gel coat without local knowledge and/or someone with a decent light on the front of the boat to spot them. Back on the mooring at SYC at 01:30.

From Studland past St Albans Head to Portland Harbour with a stop at Lulworth Cove.

We weighed anchor early at the Studland anchorage to be able to get past the Lulworth Gunnery Range before the army started firing at 09:30. This meant an inshore passage past the St Albans Head. While not in the same league as Portland Bill, St Aldhams Ledge does have a bit of a "reputation" and the inshore passage doesn't always exist (see here and here for a couple of fun Youtube videos of yachts rounding St Albans Head). In our case we were crossing about mid tide with maybe a F4 against the tide so we could have expected some lumpiness. In fact, it was a pussycat - no idea why! Then on to the circular inlet in the cliffs that is Lulworth Cove. When we dropped anchor there we were the only yacht there - the benefits of early season cruising! Then on to Portland Marina. Built for the 2012 Olympics the place is huge.

A sail from Lymington out of the Solent past Hurst Castle, past Christchurch Harbour and on to an anchorage at Studland.

After leaving Lymington we sailed past Hurst Castle to leave the Solent and enter Christchurch Bay. We sailed past Christchucrh Harbour - where I learnt to sail 40 years ago - and on past Hengistbury Head.

As we sailed over Christchurch Ledge we encountered a small patch of overfalls. These were no problem in a 32 foot Westerley Fulmar but the experience was somewhat different when I encountered overfalls for the first time at this spot about 40 years ago in my parents' Wayfarer!

We then sailed on past Boscombe and Bornemouth (taking photos of what has now replaced my parents' hotel on the cliff above Boscombe Pier) and then we set a course for an anchorage at Studland.

As we were nearing Studland we encountered three black RIBs with dark clad men on board. Shortly after, a large military helicopter joined us overhead and started transferring men from the speeding RIBs to the helicopter. Although Poole is a major Royal Marine base, I would guess these might have been from the Special Boat Service.

A short sail round from Bucklers Hard on the Beaulieu River to the Town Quay at Lymington.

We left the peace and tranquility of the Beaulieu River and after a short sail reached the yachting mega-centre that is Lymington. Because we were so early in the sailing season we were able to tie up at Lymington Town Quay without rafting. Derek's brother and family were keen to try some sailing on his yacht so he took them out for a sail towards Yarmouth. Then a very pleasant dinner at Stanwell House Hotel.

From Wooton Creek, past Cowes and Fawley and into the Beaulieu River.

We left Wooton Creek and sailed across the Solent to the Beaulieu River. We motored up the river past Bucklers Hard and towards the top of the navigable river. We then moored up at Buckers Hard marina (which we feared would be frighteningly expensive but was actually quite reasonable when compared with the Poole marina and given the excellent facilities).

Lunch and dinner at the Master Builders and a visit to the rather good Bucklers Hard museum.

From Newtown Creek passing Cowes and on to Wooton Creek.

Another sail and motor, leaving Newtown Creek and sailing round the top of the Isle of Wight and passing Cowes. Then on to Wooton Creek and a gentle motor up to the top of the navigable part of Wooton Creek. We then moored up alongside a pontoon at the very friendly Royal Victoria Yacht Club.

Much of Wooton Creek dries at low water and in this case the pontoon we were moored to had a shallower "draft" then the yacht so it was quite a climb back on to the yacht at low water.

From Yarmouth marina round to an anchorage in Newtown Creek.

We left Yarmouth Marina just after the Junior Offshore Group fleets left. We sailed for a bit in very light winds. The light winds gave us a chance to try out Derek's symmetric spinnaker for the first time. It flew! Albeit that the light winds meant that it didn't completely "fill". Then on to the splendid Newtown Creek for an overnight anchorage.

With a reputation for being very busy at the height of the summer, there we only three other boats in the anchorage we chose. Lots of fading memories triggered as I was last at Newtown Creek maybe 40 years ago when myself and three school friends sailed my parents' Wayfarer over from Christchurch Harbour - it's surprising looking back at it that our parents were so laid back about a bunch of 15-16 year olds doing this!

A sail up through Keyhaven marshes and then across to Yarmouth on the Isle Of Wight.

We weighed anchor and then followed the channel through Keyhaven marshes to the end of the navigable water at Keyhaven itself. Then it was a short leisurely sail across to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

Shortly after mooring up at the surprisingly unbusy Yarmouth Marina, everything changed as dozens of yachts from the Junior Offshore Group arrived (and ended up rafting up 4 deep).

Best food of the entire trip was at the Cucinaio restaurant - a sort of bouillabaisse like fish stew).

From Poole Harbour into the Solent to anchor up at Keyhaven.

With the easterly winds continuing, this sail and motor took us out of Poole Harbour (past Brownsea Island and the Sandbands/Studland chain ferry). We then past Bournemouth, Boscombe (where the cliff top hotel I grew up in has been knocked down) and Christchurch Ledge. We took the northern channel into the Solent going past Henry VIII's Hurst Castle and The Trap.

We anchored off Keyhaven to wait for enough tide to allow us to get into the Keyhaven anchorage (which is just north of Hurst Castle). A stunning location, we were the only boat anchored there!