Pulborough to Littlehampton

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.