A Cautious Evening Voyage to Hove

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