River Deben, Suffolk, UK to Audierne, France
Hello again readers of this blog. Jeremy and I are on the water again in our Westerly Solway, Sal Darago. Here’s a quick overview of the winter months of 2026.
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| Norwich Cathedral |
In January, we had our annual meet up with Graham and Val. This time we met at Norwich Cathedral, which we explored, followed by a long, catch-up lunch in a nearby pub.
Our local river, the Deben flooded in February, making country walks impassable. Jeremy and I gave a talk to the Westerly Owners’ Association East Coast Group. We showed slides and videos about our trip back from Australia in 2022-2023. Jeremy became one year older, Valentine’s Day was celebrated and we enjoyed days out with Emily, Ben, Ellie and Sophie. Our American granddaughter, Ramona, celebrated her 5th birthday.
March was still cold and wet. Sal Darago was visited and some winter maintenance completed in the boatyard at Melton. Sophie reached double figures on her birthday and Nina in America, became 7 years old.
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| Thurnham Hall, Lancaster. Our accommodation before going to the Isle of Man |
Serious work started on Sal Darago in April before we went to visit family in the Isle of Man and then on to the Isle of Mull to spend Easter with our Suffolk family. Once we were back in Suffolk, we prepared Sal Darago for launching on 27th April. Our first trip was downriver to our mooring at Ramsholt, where the wind blew at 20 knots and the boat heeled on her mooring!
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| On holiday in Mull |
On Friday 1st May, we left our house in the care of our daughter and the neighbours. Sal Darago was to be our home again. That evening, Jeremy replaced the head of the log. There’s always something that doesn’t work! The next day, we met Em, Ben and the girls at the Ramsholt Arms for lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach in the sunshine. On Sunday 3rd May we left the River Deben and motorsailed for two and a half hours to the River Orwell. We anchored for the night at Stone Heaps off Shotley. The next day Jeremy weighed anchor at 0500 hours for our passage to Ramsgate in Kent. The navigation lights didn’t work (they worked well when tested previously in the boatyard) and triggered the circuit breaker. Otherwise all went well. The cooking gas conveniently ran out later when we were berthed in Ramsgate Marina.
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| Sunset on the River Deben |
Tuesday 5th May saw us leaving Ramsgate for a short passage to Dover. There was a smell of gas outside on the deck. The regulator to the gas bottle was leaking. Jeremy changed the regulator. Then there was a smell of petrol. The tank in the dinghy’s outboard engine was leaking. This took a bit longer to fix. As we had arrived in Dover in the morning, I suggested a walk to the Western Heights described as “easy.” Well it would be if you drove to the car park and walked along the white, cliff top but not if you walked from sea level as we did!
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| Kathy on the Western Heights above Dover |
Our next port of call was Eastbourne, where we sailed for three hours in a fresh ENE wind. The rest of the passage was a motorsail as the wind eased. We locked in during the afternoon, topped up with diesel and fresh water, provisioned at Asda and ate out at the Harvester pub.
From Eastbourne, we motorsailed in light winds to Chichester Harbour, anchoring for the night at East Head, off a spit of land called Ella Nore. It was raining when Jeremy called Chichester Harbour at 8.15 the next morning. We could tie to their waiting pontoon for 4 hours and pay for a short stay. This would enable us to go to Force 4 Marine for a new Nasa wind speed and direction indicator. We were advised to wait until 10.30am before motoring up the channel, as the it was close to low water for the tide. We decided to try our luck at 8.30 and arrived at the waiting pontoon at 9.40, only touching the soft, muddy bottom once.
Force 4 Marine kept their last wind instrument for us. We bought it and quite a few other items as sailors do when visiting a chandlery. Our rucksacks were bulging as we boarded a bus back to the marina. After lunch, we left for the Solent anchoring for the night at Newton River on the Isle of Wight. We informed UK Border Force of our intention to leave the UK the next day. Then we informed French Border Force of our intention to arrive. This was done online. We attached a copy to an email and sent it to Chantereyne Marina in Cherbourg.
We’d had a good run with mainly moderate wind in the right direction. The forecast warned us of a change to come “later”- easterly winds gusting to force 7 – i.e. a near gale. Jeremy was confident we would make it to Cherbourg in plenty of time. I wasn’t so sure. As it happened he was right, but it was very worrying hearing both Solent Coastguard and the French equivalent, broadcasting strong winds and a near gale all the way across to France. I took Stugeron to be on the safe side. At 1810 on Saturday 9th May, we tied up to the visitors’ pontoon in Chantereyne Marina, Cherbourg Harbour. The strong winds arrived in the night and continued throughout Sunday, moderating by Monday morning.
Checking in at the marina was easy. No passports were requested, no need to see the police, every marina had their own method of checking in, we were told. We stayed for two nights.
On Monday 11th May the wind was still blowing, but not as hard. We went to the fuel berth first and filled up with diesel. Then we left the massive harbour at Cherbourg and caught the fast moving tide around Cape Hague followed by the Alderney Race. The sea was rough at first, then calmer as we went between Guernsey and Jersey on our way to the Chenal de Four. This was our first overnight sail of this trip and the winds were largely fresh from the N or NW. Jeremy became convinced there was something on the propeller, so we hove to, slowing down dramatically, and he went over the stern wearing a snorkel mask. He pulled a large circle of seaweed and fishing twine from the prop.
By
sunrise the winds were calmer and the sea was more comfortable.
Unfortunately, the preventer line, which prevents the mainsail and
boom blowing hard across the stern when downwind sailing, caught
under a solar panel on our bimini and ripped the tape loop off that
holds the solar panel in place. Another sewing job for Jeremy,
pushing a needle and thread through several layers of canvas. At 11am
we anchored off Porsmageur to wait for the tide to take us through
the Canal de Four. This was a recommended anchorage in our cruising
guide. The bay was sheltered with a sandy bottom and a fair number of
small boat moorings inshore. The anchor dragged straight away. Then
it held but the bottom felt more like rock than sand.
Anse Ste Evette
We
enjoyed our four hour stop. We had lunch and caught up on some sleep
until it was time to go. The anchor was stuck fast. In trying to free
it, the anchor windlass broke. The anchor came free and Jeremy hauled
it on deck by hand. We continued our journey, passing through the
Canal de Four, which is the inshore passage between the island of
Ushant and the French coast, and the Raz de Seine in one strong and
fast moving tide. We anchored for the night in Anse St Evette. Jeremy
started working on the broken anchor windlass. After much hammering
and brute force, he took it apart and brought it into the cockpit in
pieces.
Jeremy behind a wind break taking the anchor windlass apart
Audierne Marina. Can you spot Sal Darago?
There
was much discussion the next day, but eventually it was decided to go
up the nearby river to Audienne and berth in the marina. The wind was
gusty but Jeremy managed to haul the anchor up manually between
gusts. We tied up in the marina and learnt it was a public holiday
for Ascension Day the following day. All workshops would be closed.
To find out if the anchor windlass could be fixed you’ll have to
wait for the next blog.
Kathy's birthday lunch - Moules Frites
