The blog records the voyages of PicoMicroYacht, a seaworthy small sailing dinghy converted for rowing long distances. This includes the 26th July 2012 crossing of the English Channel, as well as rowing along the south coast of England, down the river Thames, around London and across Ireland. PicoMicroYacht is a converted Laser Pico Sailing Dinghy, with a sliding seat, riggers and cleaver oars, fitted with a shortened main mast and a mizzen mast and can be set up as a reduced rig sailing boat.
PicoMicroYacht was launched off the beach in Hove for a short hop to Brighton Marina.
I was helped into the sea by Jim, one of the 'fourdaysrunning' charity fundraisers, who was running 120 kilometers along the South Downs. Remarkable fit, he seemed not to be bothered by walking down the beach after a long run.
The bank holiday sun had brought people to Brighton in droves and it was a little more peaceful out at sea.
The sun was setting as I passed the funfair at the end of Brighton Pier, listening to the screams (editors note - I have suggested this should be qualified - everything was alright).
On reaching Brighton Marina I called up on Channel 80. I found out they do not take craft without engines so PicoMicroYacht was beached just to the west of the marina.
I looked back and saw Brighton Pier silhouetted against an orange sky, the end to a fantastic day with the fourdayrunners and my little voyage along the Brighton seafront.
The video below shows the launch at Hove, the Brighton Pier and the end of the voyage (Steve Reich's 'Piano Phase' is used as the background music).
PicoMicroYacht was to go east from Littlehampton to Hove, this part of the coast sheltered from westerly winds by Selsey bill.
I found the hourly tidal streams for the east English Channel on visitMyHarbour.com.
This indicated the tide would start going east about five hours after high tide at Littlehampton. However, there was one snag. To take advantage of the tide would mean going against the advice for first timer's to enter and exit the harbour at around high tide.
The entrance to Littlehampton is not to trifled with. At spring tides the ebb can accelerate to six knots. and tidal streams sweep across the entrance. Just outside the harbour the bar is thought to dry to one metre.
As the tide rushes out of the harbour it meets the cross tide and any swell in the English Channel. At low tide there is the danger of breaking waves and insufficient depth over the bar.
This boat got it wrong and ended up perched on the training wall ....
I was somewhat overcautious and decided that it would be best to launch from the beach to the east of to the harbour. To make this possible I went slightly early, because the beach can extend to about a third of mile at low tide over softening sand, making launching more arduous.
Before I left I looked over harbour and saw that the tide seemed fairly benign. But I had decided to be cautious this time.
PicoMicroYacht was deposited by the sea and then dragged the last few feet for launching.
It was an evening row, planned to take five hours, starting at 5.30 pm. The sun would set at about 8.00 pm, which would give a further hour of twilight and an hour and a half rowing in the dark.
A large Union Jack flew over the beach as PicoMicroyacht departed.
Rowing along this coast is fairly straightforward. I had to look out for shallow water extending quite far from the shore and went aground on a few occasions. I keep the daggerboard kept down so it can be readily used to right the boat if it capsized. The PicoMicroYacht is very strongly built so it can survive a few groundings without damage. There were also the odd obstructions to avoid and many pot markers to enjoy rowing round.
Buoy marking a large metal obstruction between Littlehampton and Worthing
As I reached Worthing Pier, the sun set.
I enjoy evening rowing in good weather. There are no substantial noises or obstructions to interfere with the sunset and the twilight fades gradually over an hour in beautiful grey blues and oranges.
Then the sky shows the brightest starts or planets and as the sky darkens I can look up and observe the constellations. All this takes me closer to the physical world, in a little boat.
By the time I had reached Shoreham it was dark. I crept round the harbour entrance going slowly in case another boat exited at speed. Glancing round I saw right in front of me the silver appearance of a thin line obliquely crossing the boat. Just in time I was able to row backwards to avoid damaging someones fishing tackle.
The final row to Hove involved staring at the beach to make out the buildings that would mark my destination.
It was a long but relaxing row.
There is not really anything to see in this video but I like the music
Over the next few days PicoMicroYacht will be voyaging from Littlehampton to Eastbourne. So the weather has to be good enough and it seems to be.
There are light winds, the tide is turning to neaps and in this part of the English Channel there is no residual swell.
Of course it is always good to follow the Shipping Forecast, but I enjoy looking at other websites, such as the surfer ones. If it is bad new for surfers, then it is good new for PicoMicroYacht. Saturday to Monday looks particularly dismal for the surfers, but not for PicoMicroYacht.
So it won't be like this as I row along the coast.....
From MagicSeaWeed
More like this, as on the beach filmed near Brighton .....
PicoMicroYacht is now at Littlehampton, having reached the sea. It is time to turn left and row up the English Channel to Eastbourne.
PicoMicroYacht is to diverge from the route that J. B. Dashwood used 151 years ago, as described in his charming waterways travelogue 'The Thames to the Solent.'
J. B. Dashwood had wanted to turn right to reach the Solent in time to see the display of the Channel Fleet at Anchor, this huge fleet assembled to be inspected by the Royalty.
His original plan had been to go along the Portsmouth Canal, which started from the River Arun at Ford and went Chichester. As indicated in a previous post, he was thwarted by the canal having dried up.
An old map showing Selsey Bill in relation to Littlehampton - dangerous shoals make it difficult to pass round the Bill safely in poor weather conditions
Consequently, J B Dashwood had to go by sea round the dangerous Selsey Bill, but was strongly advised against it. His American designed Una boat was not really constructed for proper coastal sailing and the open deck would have left it vulnerable to swamping. Nevertheless, he persevered and rounded the Bill unscathed. Either daring or foolhardy, he nearly came to grief in high seas on reaching the the Solent.
A Una boat sailing in front of the Royal Yacht about the year that Dashwood went by boat from London to the South Coast via the Wey and Arun Canal
He was delighted to get to the Solent in time to catch views of the Channel Fleet as it assembled. This fleet was there to protect England from attack by the French. Huge steam and sail powered ironclad ships were at anchor, such as HMS Penelope.
HMS Penelope, an ironclad corvette designed for shallow sea sailing, built in the year Dashwood saw the Channel Fleet Display. The black hull is clad by an iron belt, up to six inches thick.
As he wrote:
'On rounding the point we espied in the distance the Channel Fleet in 'beauteous order range.' It was a most imposing sight, these magnificent ships, all getting up their steam for a rehearsal preparatory to the grand review.'
Later on they had another chance to see the fleet:
'The fleet was now returning to Spithead with a full press of canvass, which had a very grand effect, and it was excessively interesting to watch these great ships each drop into their respective place, and then at once come to an anchor.'
J B Dashwood's boat Caprice viewing the Channel Fleet
At last PicoMicroYacht was set free to go down the River Arun to Littlehampton to reach the sea. The 'Lost Route to the Sea' was nearly complete.
PicoMicroYacht was to be launched at Pulborough, about 20 miles upstream from Littlehampton. As the map shows, the 'Lost Route' originally joined up with the Portsmouth and Arundel canal at Ford, but this canal dried up and was abandoned in the mid 19th Century.
When I got Pulborough, I realised the slipway was too steep to trailor PicoMicroYacht down without it careering out of control.
The solution was to tie a rope to a ring at the top of the slipway and then use my weight on the way down as a counter balance. Our weights almost exactly balance and so I was able to rope down gradually and reach the bottom without mishap.
When I got going I found the overcast day meant that that there was little light for photography, but the river was peaceful and calm.
Gradually the tide took hold and time went quickly as I reached Arundel, four miles from the sea.
Arundel Castle appeared as I turned a bend in the river
The tide seemed to accelerate through Arundel bridge and I could see waves breaking in front of it. I spotted a gap to the left of the stream, which lessened the impact. But the water was troubled through the bridge..
Emerging the other side, the remainder of the voyage went even more quickly. The weather was deteriorating and I was glad to be in Littlehampton.
'Sail on silver girl Sail on by Your time has come to shine All your dreams are on their way See how they shine'
Paul Simon, 1970
A note on the tides in the River Arun
The River Arun is tidal for over twenty miles from the coast, with a drop of only about 16 feet. The tides run fast, up to about five knots, so you have to be careful to avoid going against it in places.
Height map of the River Arun surrounding geography, showing also the gap in the South Downs, letting the river through
The tides need careful consideration. An incoming tide takes a while to reach inland. For this reason high tide becomes later and later further up the river, such that high tide is four hours later in Pulborough than Littlehampton.
I set off from Pulborough well before high tide, stemming the tide as I rowed downstream. However, a mitigating factor was that further up the river there was less tide. After a while the tide turned and accelerated all the way until I reached Littlehampton.
Another aspect to watch is the way the tide accelerates as the river narrows, particularly when going through bridges, as in the video above.
Astute post readers will realise that PicoMicroYacht has been left stranded as I have taken the land route along the remains of the Wey and Arun Canal as part of the London's Lost Route to the Sea Journey. I had reached, or had been landlocked, at Loxwood.
The best part of the canal is at Loxwood, where this stretch is lovingly resorted and navigable for three miles. However, on this occasion PicoMicroYacht could not get launched since I did not have the special permission to navigate the locks.
Two centuries ago the canal made Loxwood prosperous and now the canal provides pleasure to many in the form of boating experiences. What better way to enjoy an afternoon but be ferried along the canal in one of the fleet owned by the Wey and Arun Canal Trust? I introduce:
Zachariah Keppel:
Wiggonholt:
Or perhaps Josiah Jessop taken over by Pirates for one of the Trust's events:
Leaving Loxwood, I set off for Pulborough where I could be reunited with PicoMicroYacht and row down the Arun River to the sea.
In between there was the beautiful Sussex countryside.
It was time to move on from Shamley Green. As I went onward along the tracks, between the yellow green grass I would see glimpses of the canal.
I passed where the canal opened up into pool in the middle of a wood, providing a turning place.
Eventually I reached the place where the canal remnants pass through Sidney Wood, on the Surrey and Sussex border, where canal's watershed exists.
Old map showing in the centre Sidney Wood, with the Wey and Arun Canal winding through the wood to reach Loxwood.
The woods yield a rich history, including the lives of the charcoal burners and the glassblowers who used their charcoal. The glassblowing is reputed to have started in Roman times and continued until the 1600s. Sand was brought from Hambledon, and ash for flux was obtained from bracken and lime was imported. Until comparatively recently, fragments of fireproof crucibless used as furnaces could be found in the woods.
Smuggling occurred in the 18th and early 19th century in which the ruins of the glasshouses were used to store smuggled goods.
The tradition of glass work lingers on, and, on another occasion, I was able to buy a beautiful vase made nearby at the Smithbrook Kilns.
The track took me into the woodland and inevitably I got lost. I continued to follow the track, the direction of the sun telling me that I was at least going roughly south.
I kept going in hope that something would turn up, but time was moving on and I was becoming more disorientated. Eventually I had to admit I was lost.
Just as this thought occurred I looked to the left and saw through the undergrowth the canal - I had found again London's Lost Route to the Sea.
It stretched out in a south easterly direction, guiding me. The mossy banks of the canal led me onward between trees towards my destination.
