The Selsey Bill Trilogy: Pagham, visions of angels, Jerusalem and mindfulness

This is the first of three posts describing a voyage from Felpham to Chichester Harbour via Selsey Bill.

My first row was from Felpham to Pagham harbour, just a long the coast, returning to Felpham on the same day.

Felpham is a small village to the east of Bognor Regis. Launching there is very civilised, with a good slipway leading down to hard sand at low tide.

Close to the slipway is the lovely cottage where the poet William Blake wrote 'Jerusalem' with the lines: 'I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand. Till we have build Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land.'

Felpham is mentioned in a Blake poem: 'Away to sweet Felpham, for Heaven is there. The ladder of angels descends through the air.' He claimed to have seen visions of angels on many occasions, starting aged eight years old, when walking from Soho to Peckham in London.

I didn't see any angels but was more preoccupied with launching PicoMicroYacht, having only one hour of fair tide left.

I decided to skirt over the reef at Bognor, due to the calmness of the sea. This reef has the appearance that some giant has sporadically lobbed boulders into the sea. Out to sea the rocks were visible and a threat to any passing yacht.

I moved forward gingerly, on the lookout for submerged rocks and circumventing them when seen.

Although there was some choppiness from the waves, there was no swell. A line of buoys marking lobster pots were at the end of the reef and I noted this for my return.

Further on I saw a post and the remains of a large concrete slab. This had been fabricated in 1944 to be used as part of the Mulberry Harbours to for the D-Day landings. It never made it across the Channel.

A head wind meant it was relatively slow going and the tide began to turn against me as I reached Pagham.

The sailing club announced itself with flags and a sign, easily seen from out at sea.

Beyond the club was the entrance to Pagham Harbour, which I reached at low tide. I beached briefly on a shingle bed in the middle of the channel, having rowed very carefully though sea grass.

The water trickled over the shingle bed .

After a short break I pulled the boat out into deeper water and returned, the wind and the tide making it a quick journey.

It took around two hours to reach Pagham, and the return was in about one hour.

I had captured the sound of the water over the shingle, a sort of mindfulness experience.