Portland to Poole - Day 75

Portland to Poole - Wednesday 20th July 2011- Day 75

Portland Harbour is where the National Sailing Academy is based and next year's sailing events for the Olympics will be held in this area, therefore there is a lot of work going on building new facilities and a village for the competitors.  I had breakfast in the same bar I used last night and on the next table but one sat Ben Ainslie, the UK's number one yachtsman with others from the GB racing team.  I thoroughly enjoyed being in such illustrious company and the best of luck to them all next year in their respective races.

I left Portland at 11.30 it was a wet day with very little wind though in the harbour there was a wind-surfing race going on.  To get any movement from the boards the racers where waggling the sails from side to side and with their many different colour sails, it looked like a load of butterflies on the water.

This part of the country has the famous Jurassic coastline but with the rain and heavy shower clouds it was difficult to see as with the little wind just kept motoring along.  There is also the Army's firing range at Lulworth with its very distinct yellow marker buoys out to sea and there is a fast patrol boat keeping any stray boats out of the area.  I did not hear any firing as we skirted past the range markers.  At 17.00 the tide turned and was now against and just on the coast there was beacons for a measured mile, so I used them to plot my progress.  It proved very helpful as the tide coming out of the Solent was pushing me in an arc which was very distinctive on the chartplotter with its ants trail showing the boat going in a straight line then bending like the top of a shepherd's crook.  It was a combination of genoa and more engine power which got me out this foul tide.  The photo shows the last headland you come round into Poole Bay, the rock pillar at the end is known as 'Old Harry'  

 





Sandbanks Ferry

There is a small entrance into Poole which is the biggest natural harbour in the UK.  You have to first get past the chain ferry which runs between Sandbanks (the most expensive real estate) and the spit of land on the other side.  To let you know it is on the move it shows a storbe white light at night and raises an anchor ball during the day.  Once past the harbour opens up as you follow the channel markers, this is a commercial port with ferries and fast craft using it daily.  There are small boat channels for the many yachts and other craft to use as you wind your way upto the town.  By 22.00 I was safely in the Town quay marina.