Hastings to Eastbourne and an imaginary armada

This voyage was a pleasant short trip along the South Coast of England, with no dramatic headlands or races to avoid. The start was St Leonards-on-Sea, just west of Hasting, and the finish was Eastbourne

The white line is the route taken by PicoMicroYacht

I launched off a pebble beach, which was steep as it met the sea. Waves were breaking quite sharply, with a distinct undertow. I waited for the larger waves to finish and then pushed PicoMicroYacht quickly into the sea so as not to get tangled up with the breaking waves.

I tried to leap aboard at the last minute, but my timing was wrong, and I ended up in the water.  I hauled myself over the side, grabbed an oar and paddled away quickly.

Looking back, I saw the Royal Victoria Hotel, built originally in the Georgian era, subsequently made famous by the visits of Queen Victoria, when St Leonards-on-Sea was a fashionable resort for the rich.

Although the weather was settled and calm, mists blocked the sunlight and gave the coast a somewhat mysterious air.

I began to imagine the approximately 700 ships that arrived on this coast when William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, picturing a huge armada of Viking like boats appearing out of the mist. I found out later the boats were beached on arrival, and a garrison established to guard them whilst the army went onwards.

The tide started to flow west, aa I could see this from the various buoys I passed.

It did not seem so long before PicoMicroYacht was at Eastbourne’s Sovereign Harbour, where boats were going in and out.

This included a Canadian cat rigged yacht, who sailed across to chat to me and ask whether I was going around the UK.

A brightly coloured fishing boat steamed past in a hurry, lit by the sun as the mists started to disperse.

In the distance was Eastbourne with the Pier and behind it the distinctive Beachy Head cliffs, where the South Downs meets the sea. The dreamy misty look was worthy of an impressionist painting.

As I got closer to my destination, the mists were clearing and a bright blue sky was pushing through. An outer reef helped break the waves slightly, so it was an easy landing on the beach.

The tide was fully out now, and it took a long time to drag PicoMicroYacht up the beach to the sailing club.

PicoMicroYacht celebrates Morris K Morris after nearly 96 years

Mostly I row in PicoMicroYacht, but last Friday I had the privilege of visiting London Rowing Club at Putney for a rowing eight outing. The scratch crew consisted of four members of my extended family, with other oarsmen from London Rowing club completing the crew.

The purpose was to commemorate Morris K ‘Geoff’ Morris, a relative who won the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta nearly 96 years years ago, and whose photograph was being unveiled in the club house.

The rowing journalist Tim Koch had organised the event and brought together the Morris family either to row or to watch.

Timothy Koch in the foreground, who coxed the scratch Morris and London Rowing club eight

Morris K Morris won the Diamond Challenge Sculls in sweltering heat, unexpectedly beating off the competition in only his fourth formal racing event. He was so tired at the final finish that he fell in and had to be rescued.

Morris K Morris goes on to win the final of the Diamond Challenge event, beating D H L Gollan

The newpaper account of MK Morris being rescued

In our scratch rowing eight, three Morris’s combined with Jeremy Fisher Smith, whose father was a step son of MK Morris. 

The Morris/ London Rowing Club scratch rowing eight. Jeremy Fisher Smith is number two, Robin Morris number three, Ed Morris number four and Sean Morris, the veteran rowing champion, is number seven.

Together, we found that we could still row roughly in time with sweep oars and sliding seats, with only one slight crab occurring in an hour’s rowing despite a lively breeze and messy water. After the row we went to the club for the unveilling of the photograph. The average age of the crew was nearing 70 years old.

The photograph being unveilled

The Fisher Smith website, with a photograph of a rowing skiff built by Jeremy; note the diamond shape used in the insignia design, a nod towards MK Morris winning the Diamond Challenge event.

It was my first meeting with Jeremy who is an expert boat builder, who crafts superb classic wooden boats as well as running a boatyard near San Francisco. It was a privilege to meet Jeremy and chat about all things boating, including the fun we both have sea adventuring in small open boats.

It was two days before the Oxford and Cambridge boat race and we shared the club with the Cambridge men’s boat crew, discretely ignoring them so as not to interfere with their coaching.

This made it more special when today Cambridge won the boat race, their number two oarsman being James Cracknell, the oldest person to row in the boat race by 10 years and following recovery from a serious brain injury.

Cambridge win by a length in a tight race