Portsmouth Bound Prt 7 Lizard Point to Portsmouth

So I have finally got round to writing the final instalment of our journey from Isle of Man to Portsmouth.

We had a fairly uneventful journey from Lizard to Portland Bill across Lyme Bay. However the wind picked up to approx F5 to F6 on approach to Portland Bill which gave us chance to kill the engine and enjoy some great sailing for a couple of hours albeit at 2am in the morning.

We decided that after having sailed for 2.5 days solid we would take a refuge in Portland to get some well early rest and take a hotel for the night.

So come the Thursday morning we enjoyed a good breakfast and set off for the last stretch to Portsmouth. We knew we were looking at about 12 hours on the engine as the wind was forecast to be on our nose all the way or with very little strength.

We managed to buck the tide out of Portland bay and headed for Lyme Bay. We managed to escape Lyme Bay before a live firing exercise so thankfully we were stayed on route.

Again everything was uneventful until we reached St Albans Head as we were crossing the depth very quickly dropped away to as low as 2M on the depth gauge. So a very quick change of course to Starboard and heading due south quickly saw the depth return as quick as it had dropped off. The races around there on a easterly tide un predictable thats for sure and this was a start reminder to us how quick things can change.

So finally we set our heading for the entrance to the solent, we had a very clear day whilst bright was still chilly.

At this point in take I would like to introduce our auto helm who we affectionally named Keith after Brother Jack’s previous owner. We only saw it fit that “Keith” steer us onto our final leg.

So I think the photos below will say what I cannot put into words as we approached the Solent from the west under the guidance of “Keith”

Entrance Buoy to the Solent approach with a moon rise over the Needles.

So finally to say I called Keith on the Isle of Man just after this photo was taken to let him know we had made it into the Solent. He did a stunning job in getting Brother Jack into a condition that allowed us to sail her over 400Nm in sometimes quite rough conditions.

This was the motley crew who undertook the last leg.

All tied up along side at the top of Portsmouth Harbour about 8pm in the evening.

Finally there is one photo that I would like to post and that is this.

My mum bought me this ensign for my birthday in July 2016, she passed away in March 2017 just before we set sail for this adventure. Suffice to say I felt she was with us all the way and was our guardian angel. RIP Mum. x

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