Talora Chasing Tides

It's been a long three months and we missed the dogs dreadfully. Robyn, Ethan and Josh, between them, did a marvellous job of looking after the house and dogs which meant we did not need to worry about them......thanks guys!
So now we are all back together again.

We were so excited to get into the lock at Shotley, our home port. Our adventure almost over. This photo was taken by Dad.

So, at 1430 yesterday afternoon we make it into the lock at Shotley to a very noisy reception as the lock keeper let off the siren to signal our arrival, fantastic! My Mum and Dad surprised us by being at the lock to greet us, perfect, as did Brian, our Day Skipper Instructor, and his wife Ann. I had carried a small bottle of champagne all the way round with the intention of letting it off in the lock. How disappointed was I to find a screw cap rather than a cork when I peeled back the foil, no victory pop for Us! On seeing my disappointment with the champagne, Brian produced a big bottle of the proper stuff and handed it over to us in the lock, brilliant! Last night as we sat having a congratulatory meal with Mum and Dad, Ray took a suspicious phone call from Robyn. He turned to me and said "That was a weird call from Robyn, I think there might turn up here" and with that Robyn, Josh and Ethan walked into the restaurant, the perfect end to a perfect day!
Our final leg from Ramsgate had started at 6am with the most amazing sunrise of the whole trip. We had sailed through a wind farm and over the sand banks across the Thames estuary dodging the large ships. At times the visability had reduced and through the hazy sunshine we struggled to see Felixstowe and, when we did, it seemed to take hours to reach it. As we approached Felixstowe we discussed our feelings of excitement at coming home, our relief at having made it in one piece, and some sadness that our adventure was coming to an end.
Although this blog has been a pain at times because of the lack of internet in many of the locations we visited, it has been a fabulous way to update you all on our progress, thoughts and feelings on the way, and as a record of each leg. Thank you to all of you for watching our blog and sticking with us. Your comments and support have been there when we needed it most. You have been truly amazing!!
Ray, me and Talora have certainly been a formidable team. Talora has taken the trip in her stride and kept us safe in some big and dangerous seas. Ray is my hero! He has, in my opinion, saved my life on at least 4 occasions on this trip; firstly when he put out the fire off Amble and had no choice but to call the lifeboat; secondly when the engine would not start off Eyemouth and had the knowledge to get it started whilst at sea; thirdly in the big seas off Padstow when I was utterly terrified; and finally in the big following sea between Plymouth and Dartmouth when, incidentally I forgot to mention earlier that the sea was so rough the cooker came off its gimble!
So, after 90 days away from home, 38 legs, 10 islands and 5 countries visited, 8 nights spent at anchor, 1 fire and a flood, 1 leaky engine pipe, a new alternator and starter motor, 1 brush with a lifeboat, 1 big Canal, amazing scenery, sun rises and sun sets, 2 night sails, sailing with lots of dolphins, having crossed all the major shipping lanes around the country, sailing the deepest waters in the U.K., meeting some wonderful people and travelling 1600 miles, our adventure has come to an end......... for now!
Photo is our final sun rise off Ramsgate.

Sunday 27th August and yet another glorious day. Steve and Hailey had left at 6am to go south back to Cowes. We left the berth at 7.30am to enter the Eastbourne lock at 8am. It was busy. We were in the lock with 9 other boat!
Half an hour after leaving Eastbourne in brilliant sunshine but with a chilly wind, the fog descended. One of the other sailing yacht from the lock, had come in our direction but they disappeared in front of us into the mist. It is a strange feeling to be sailing along but not be able to see anything around you. It was like the Le Haure, which often comes down on the north Norfolk coast and has been known to stay for days. We started to worry that if it did not clear by the time we got to Dover we could be crossing one of the busiest shipping lanes in the country with zero visability. Thankfully, after about 30 minutes, it lifted and became much more patchy until it eventually completely cleared.
By 1330 we had passed the power station at Dungeness Point and were approaching Folkestone. By 1530 we were at the narrowest point between England and France but we could not see it because of the visability.
At 1620, on our approach to Dover, we were making such good time and lots of carry from the tide so we made the decision to carry on to Ramsgate, another 3 hours. It was a simple journey although by the time we arrived we had been at sea for 11 hours and were exhausted. Ramsgate was noisy for the bank holiday weekend and the Marina was full of huge motor boats with Essex owners, some taking up two berths. Finding a berth for Talora was difficult but we managed to find a spot in the corner. We discussed whether we should push on tomorrow as the weather was again good, but that would mean another 5am start and we were so tired so we checked the weather and agreed to have a day off and leave the following day. We got into bed at 9.30pm and within 10 minutes there was a massive firework display over the Marina. I love fireworks and would normally have made the effort to get up but could not muster the energy. Ray was so tired that he fell sleep so quickly he never even heard the fireworks!
Today we spent the day in Ramsgate. It was so hot. We can't quite believe it but tomorrow will be the final leg of our a adventure, to Shotley. The engine pipe is still leaking a bit and we have developed an oil leak but we should be able to get back and sort it out there. We are so excited about coming home, 3 months is a long time to be away!
Photo is passing the white cliffs of Dover.

Got up early leaving the boys in bed to nip to the supermarket to stock up on provisions. After a bacon butty breakfast, we said goodbye to Josh at the bus stop; he was heading back to Norwich on the train. We would have loved to have him with us for longer but we're grateful he had made the effort to come to Portsmouth. We left Brighton for the relatively short trip of 4 hours to Eastbourne. Again the weather was gorgeous, sunny, warm and a slight sea. Sailing in shorts and t-shirts, we headed for Beachey Head then followed the coastline past Eastbourne towards the Marina. It was such a lovely day and we had made such good time, that we decided to sail about in the bay and just enjoy the day rather than cracking on to get into the Marina. It was lovely and there were lots of people out enjoying the sea in various forms of boat.
The day before we had a message from Steve and Hailey, who we had met in Port Ellen, Scotland, earlier in the trip. They were circumnavigating the other way around the UK and were in Eastbourne. Unfortunately, we could not remember their surname or the name of their boat and Eastbourne Marina is so big we thought we would struggle to find them but, to our delight, as we approached the berth we had been allocated, they were the next boat along.... so lucky. We spent a lovely evening with them, exchanging stories and catching up on each other's adventures. After a couple of bottles of wine, we ended the night by agreeing that we should all be very proud of our achievements and wished each other safe onward passages. Such amazing people we will keep in contact with. Another brilliant day! Photo is us approaching Beachey Head

We woke up at 5.30am to the most beautiful sunshine over Portsmouth. It was going to be a lovely day. With Josh on board, it was lovely to have his company and with a very slight sea it was the perfect trip. Before we left the harbour we took one last trip past the Queen Elizabeth. Leaving the harbour, we radioed for permission from the Harbour Master to cross the shipping lane and head west. There was very little wind but just enough to get the sails up. As we pasted through the narrow channel off Selsey Bill the sea was a little confused but there were surprising no crab pots. We had been warned by friends that some crazy fishermen put their pots in the narrow channel, but not today! The passage and coastline was beautiful in the sunshine. We past along Brighton front and Josh, who know Brighton a little from being at Uni in Eastbourne, was able to identify some of the landmarks and made some entries in the boat log.
When we arrived in the Marina it was so hot, we got out beach stuff and walked to the nearest beach for a dip in the sea. Lovely!
That night in Brighton Marina, we ate out in a bar advertising a starling spectacular and at 7.15pm we were treated to an amazing sight as thousand of starlings gathered on the roof tops above where we sat and swooped down under the harbour wall to roost.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable day!
Photo is the sunrise over Portsmouth.