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There was very little wind today so no chance of sailing. There is so much to see in Dover that we took the chance to visit firstly Dover castle, then the WW2 underground hospital in the cliffs, and the war rooms from which operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk, was conceived and overseen. Also in the grounds, there are the remnants of the Roman Pharos. the oldest Lighthouse in the country and the beautiful Anglo-Saxon church St Mary in Castro.

Later visiting a free museum in the town where the only example of a Bronze Age boat is on display.

Then a coffee and a piece of cake on the beach. The pigeons are particularly brave here, this one wanted to eat my cake before I’d had the chance. He was playing statues, sneaking forward every time I looked away. He even stayed dead still on one leg while I took the photo from about a foot away.

Finally we went back to the boat for some small maintenance jobs, followed by a glass of wine before dinner and bed.

Day 8 May 6th Dover to Ramsgate

The trouble with planning too far ahead is that the number of variables becomes too great and you start vexing over things when you needn’t. For instance last week I looked at the weather for todays journey.

This was the forecast for Ramsgate when I looked on the 27th April. Doesn’t look too good does it!

Then this is the forecast on the day. A bit different!!

We left at 1230 when the gate to the marina opened, There was a bit of a delay while port control stopped us from leaving while two ferries came and went.

The light breeze and fair tide sped us along nicely and in just over 2 hours we were approaching Ramsgate. The last mile was a bit wild as the wind suddenly rose and the waves built, and we were rocking and rolling our way through the entrance.

After tying up we headed for the town to stretch our legs. There we were greeted by Caroline and Adrian Savage who had seen us arrive and were interested in our journey. (They had clocked our logos on the boat). Caroline is a trustee of Kidney Research UK. They both live and sail on the east coast and did their own round Britain trip in 2018. We had a pleasant chat and got some local knowledge for places to stop.

Looks like we might stay another day here as the weather (wind) looks better on Sunday for the next leg to Brightlingsea.

Trip 13 Total so for 177 miles