I left Newhaven this morning and made good progress initially with the wind and tide behind me.
Most days on the water so far, I’ve seen a single porpoise – it’s easy to imagine that it’s the same one following me round.
After passing Brighton and Worthing, the wind changed, the tide turned and I slowed down. I stopped near Littlehampton, feeling pretty tired and thirsty as I’d run out of water.
I spoke to a nice couple on the beach, and asked then if they knew where I could find a tap. A few minutes later, they returned with a bag full of water bottles and mars bars. Brilliant – thanks Sandra and Paul !
It’s great to finally have some warm weather, and I enjoyed cooking supper barefoot in the evening sunshine. While I was eating, I noticed a jet-ski in the distance, and I just as I was thinking they must have turned their engine off to appreciate the tranquillity, an RNLI rib arrived to give them a tow.
The wind dropped this afternoon, and I had a lovely paddle from Norman’s Bay to Newhaven. This meant paddling against the (neap) tide, giving me plenty of time to admire the cliffs and cumulus filled sky.
There was a bit of swell, so I landed behind the shelter of the Newhaven harbour wall. This is the steepest beach yet – with the bow of the Taran on the beach, I stepped out to find that I was still out off my depth. Oops.
On Monday, I left Dungeness early in the morning to pass the Lydd Range before it opened. Conditions were a bit choppier than expected, so I didn’t take any pictures, and I had a headwind the whole way, so I was pretty exhausted by the time I was off the water.
Salt caked, but happy to be having a shower.
I’m now at Norman’s Bay a little bit before Eastbourne. I couldn’t land where I had planned as surf dumping on the beach looked too ferocious, so carried on another mile down the coast, until I found a spot where a large groyne provided a little bit of shelter. As luck would have it, there was a campsite right where I landed, so I’ve been enjoying hot showers and clean laundry.
The wind is ferocious today, but the forecast looks good for the next few days, so I’m hoping to cover some more miles.
Early yesterday morning, the wind dropped for a bit, which fitted with the tide and allowed me to pass the Hythe range while it was closed.
I was on the water at about 5:30am and off again by about 9am. I stopped at Dungeness – before the Lydd range – not many miles, but I was glad to move a bit.
The light was amazing as the sun emerged from behind a cloud, but there was a headwind all the way (Easterlies – where are you now ?) Not long after I got back into my tent, heavy rain started, then strong wind returned and I was glad to be off the water.
I like Dungeness – a beautiful spot with a couple off porpoises near the beach when I arrived, friendly wardens and residents, and nice beach houses. Thanks to the mystery person who left me some chocolate biscuits by my tent !
I slept well despite finding out late at night that I had foolishly camped near the foghorn. Strong wind meant another rest day today, but the forecast for tomorrow looks more promising. It was quite clear today, and good to look back at the cliffs I’ve already passed to the East.
The weather seems a bit crazy at the moment … there has been fog, sunshine, strong winds, and heavy rain all in the last 24 hours. I suppose that means spring has arrived.
Looking at the map from xcweather, it looks like I’m in windiest part of the UK at the moment. I’m hoping to leave in a small weather window early tomorrow with the tide, (unless the forecast changes again). I won’t be able to paddle for long before the wind gets up again, but at least I should get past the Hythe range.
I’ve just had another two days of paddling, and am now onto the south coast. On Tuesday, I left Reculver around lunchtime, and made good progress with help from the tide. It’s good to be able to paddle close to the coast here, with lots to look at along the shoreline – many buildings seem to be teetering on cliff edges, with all sorts of sea walls and defences in various states of repair.
Passing Long Nose Spit just before North Foreland, there was a bit of a tide race, reminding me that the sea temperature is still scarily cold. I then passed Ramsgate harbour, and stopped before Deal, near Sandwich.
On Wednesday, I left quite early as much stronger winds were forecast for later in the day – this meant slow progress paddling against the tide until Dover. I felt tiny paddling under the white cliffs, with some large chunks of them crumbling into the sea like Caerphilly cheese.
By the time I arrived at Dover, visibility was pretty poor, with frequent ferries appearing suddenly out of the mist. I was quite glad when the harbour control insisted that I wait for the pilot boat to escort me across the harbour entrances.
Finally the tide was helping me, so it didn’t take long to pass Folkestone and on to Hythe. I was hoping to pass the Hythe range while it was closed, but it was late in the day, so I stopped before the range – a good decision as the strong winds arrived just after I got into my tent.
It’s windy today with very poor visibility, so I’m enjoying a day off the water to recover.
It was a good weekend as the easterly wind finally dropped on Saturday, and I was able to cover some miles. The tide was going to be against me for much of the day, but I wanted to get as far as possible on Saturday so I could pass the Foulness/Shoeburyness range on Sunday.
Lunch stop at Chevaux de Frise Point
The conditions on Saturday were calm except for a short section passing The Naze. I stopped for lunch on the beach near Chevaux de Frise Point (Thanks Tim for the tip). Here I found a spot out of the wind behind the sea wall and with the sun out, actually felt warm on the beach for the first time this year.
The heaviest frost yet at Holliwell Point.
I was aiming for Holliwell point at the mouth of the River Crouch, but a few miles before arriving I realised that I was paddling up the wrong channel (looking at the view more than the GPS) when I hit a sand bank on the Dengie Flats. Fortunately as the tide had started to come in by then, so I only had to wait for half an hour before it lifted me over the sand. By the time I was in my tent at Holliwell Point, it was getting dark, and I was pretty tired after covering about 30 NM.
Frost on the foreshore.
It was a very cold night with sub-zero temperatures inside the tent and heaviest frost yet outside. There was even frost on the foreshore. Initially visibility was down to about 20m, and I couldn’t see any boats entering and leaving the river mouth, although I could hear them and see their wake hit the shore. It was all a bit too surreal to really feel the cold.
Once it was just about clear enough to see across the river, I launched, keen to cut across Foulness sands while the tide was in. The conditions were flat calm, and some seals swam past with the surface tension making a smooth bump in the water over their bodies. I didn’t get the camera out in time!
The Red Sands Sea Forts.
It quickly became much clearer, and I could see the Red Sands sea forts from about 6NM away. Definitely the strangest place I’ve been on this trip so far. I felt pretty tired by now, but still had about another 10 NM to get to Reculver. (I’d paddled out to Red Sands fort once last year from the Isle of Sheppey but wanted to avoid the low tide mud this time.)
As soon as I turned at Red Sands, I saw the wind turbines to the west start turning, and shortly afterwards the easterly wind returned, opposing the tide making rather choppy conditions for the last few miles. Turns out there is a sea wall at Reculver, (it just looked like a path on the aerial photos!), making it difficult to get from the beach to the patch of grass I wanted to camp on. Never mind.
Conditions are marginal today, and would have meant paddling into a headwind all way to North Foreland, so I’m taking a day off to recover. It is hard to get fitter when I’m spending so much time off the water!
Not much has changed with the weather – it’s still cold, snowy and very windy – with gusts strong enough to blow a bench over today (twice). So far, I’ve only paddled on 11 days, but spent 22 days off the water.
Fortunately, the current weather pattern is forecast to change at the weekend, so I’m hoping to get moving again on Saturday.
Yesterday, the wind dropped enough for me to leave the beach between Thorpeness and Aldeburgh and paddle a little bit further south to Felixstowe Ferry.
It was snowing when I launched and was a bit choppy for the first few miles with a couple of very cold waves breaking over the boat. After Orford Ness, it became much smoother, the sun came out, and a porpoise led the way for a bit.
Felixstowe Ferry seems like a lovely place, and I’ve been made feel very welcome here by the Harbour Master and the sailing club (and have enjoyed the luxury of a hot shower).
I could be here for a while, as the strong easterly wind is back today and the forecast doesn’t look good. I knew it was going to be a gamble with the conditions setting off in March and in terms of distance covered, it really hasn’t paid off, although I have been able to see a lot of different weather.
Another tent pole had broken, this time I’ve made a temporary repair using some tape and bit of old fizzy drink bottle. Not sure how long that is going to last!
Well, I’m still in the same spot. I thought I might paddle today, but the wind was stronger than forecast locally and the sea looked a bit rough, so I stayed on the beach.
The steep shingle beach here has provided me some shelter from the easterly wind while camped behind it, but looks hard to leave while the waves are dumping on it.
I even thought about wheeling my boat to the other side of Aldeburgh, so I could paddle a few miles on the sheltered River Ore, but I think that would be cheating!
Aldeburgh is really quite a small place – I saw a lost hat yesterday, and I knew who it belonged to.
A tent pole broke last night, so I spent a while making a temporary repair this morning. I hope it lasts until I can get a replacement.
Thanks to Tim who made a visit and shared some of his knowledge of this stretch of coastline – much appreciated!
Lighter winds are forecast for tomorrow, so hopefully I can cover some distance, otherwise it looks like I’ll have to abandon my plans to cross the Thames over Easter while the Shoeburyness/Foulness range isn’t being used. Fingers crossed !
