After all we have to say that the process with purchasing our new boat and put her up our sailing standard has been quick. It is not more than 3 months since we sailed under the Golden Gate after returning from Hawaii, and a couple of days ago we left Gosport sailing east on the south coast of England.
We have started the process of getting to know our new boat, and the boat type. We are sailing very carefully concerning sail setting, but at the same time we are surprised about the potential. The boat is easily reaching 8 knots of speed and it is normal to see 10-11 knots of speed on the instruments too. This is not on full upwind, but we do not need to have more than 12-15 knots of true wind to experience this. Taking in to consideration that there is a big potential regarding the sails, we are very happy with how the boat preforms.
We have sailed from Gosport – Brighton – Sovereign harbor – Dover. The temperature has been very close to freezing point at night, but better at daytime. We find all the English towns very nice and it is a lot to see and do. Now in the wintertime it is of course not everything which is open, but it is definitely an area we can recommend for cruising. The Premier Marinas have taken very well care of us. Since we had paid for 3 months in Gosport and only used 2 of them, we could stay for free both in Brighton (which is the biggest marina on the coast) and in Sovereign harbor which is one of the nicest marinas we have been in. You must go through a lock to get in to the harbor, but once you are in, it is of course silent waters, all facilities and opportunities.
We cycled up to Beachy Head, so now we have seen this landmark both from the ocean and from the top. This white cliff was for many of the air warriors from the second world war the last sight of England, but for the once returning, also the first to see. Today we had a nice walk in the city of Dover, to the castle on top of the town and to the white cliffs on the north side of the harbor. A lot to see, and yes – it is very typical English.
In a couple of hours, we are leaving England, crossing the Channel and the course will be set for Ijmuiden (or Scheveningen). It is a lot of ship traffic here but leaving now makes us pass the Europort were it is most ships in daylight. During the night we will have a “super full moon”, apparently the moon is at its closest to the Earth now, so it is 17% bigger than normal. Hopefully, it want be too foggy. For those who follow our progress we are tracking here on our blog, and on Marine Traffic you can find us as Nuvola, as we have not changed that yet to OctoPus.