Shoreham Cruise Report

17 April 2016

After a great deal of organisation and negotiation by Chris and Jenny Leach, and a useful pre-cruise briefing on Friday evening, the Arun YC fleet of 5 boats left Littlehampton at 0830 Saturday morning for the cruise to Sussex YC at Shoreham.

The fleet comprised Murphys Law, Free 'n' Easy, Johanna, Fidelio and Elsa with additional 'stowaways' Chris aboard Fidelio, Jenny aboard Elsa, and commodore Stuart aboard Murphys Law. We had a light westerly force 2 right behind us most of the way so it was a gentle sail, some of the more competitive boats were gybing and goose-winging to get best speed. Johanna broke out her cruising chute.




We were all within sight of each other all the way and the voyage passed peacefully until we were about 30 mins away from our destination. We'd noticed a black cloud coming up behind us but we were all unprepared when the wind suddenly shifted about 90 degrees into a northerly and we were hit by a massive gust probably F5. We all got a bit out of shape but regained control, and we called ahead to let Shoreham Harbour know we were coming in under sail and would sort ourselves out in the shelter of the harbour. We'd almost lost sight of the entrance as visibility had gone right down and we were hit by hailstones just to cap it all off!

Once inside the harbour we had about half an hour of gentle milling about with engines in neutral in calm water while we waited for the lock. We were grateful for the chance to rest and recover!



We knew we'd be using the bigger shipping lock and we'd devised a plan - the bigger boats went alongside the lock wall and the smaller boats rafted out from them, we could all help fend off and handle ropes as the lock filled and we rose past the iron and the barnacles.


































Our hosts from  Sussex YC were there to greet us and help us into their visitors berths outside their old clubhouse, and we were all safely tied up by 1400.

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A pontoon party kicked off as we shared wine, beer, coffee and snacks and all got our breath back. We had a couple of hours to rest and freshen up before we made our way to Sussex's new clubhouse where we were warmly welcomed. Other AYC members had arrived by road to swell the numbers. We had a fantastic evening with great company, the beer was good as well as reasonably priced, and we had a smashing dinner with many of their club officers and other members joining us. They told us our locking fees, harbour dues, and visitors berthing had all been taken care of and even paid for our taxis back to the boats at the end of the evening. Sadly we had to have an early night as we had to be up around 0500 Sunday. The stowaways returned home leaving Fidelio and Elsa to return single handed. 

After a peaceful though slightly chilly night we all managed to rouse ourselves and get ready to leave the berths at 0545 Sunday morning, ready to lock out at 0600 so we could get back to Littlehampton around high water. The sun was just rising as we left the lock and we found blue skies and a light northerly wind. 



It was a cracking sail back to Littlehampton, on a fine reach then closehauled as the wind shifted a little onto our noses. We were making 6 knots over the ground for a while with the tide helping us, though the wind did drop away and some started engines after a couple of hours. The sun shone most of the way and spirits were high. We'd all arrived back at Littlehampton right on high water around 0900.

Roger and Karen had a pot of coffee waiting for us and we all agreed it had been a great weekend, not just the sailing but especially because of the warmth and generosity of our hosts at Sussex YC. We look forward to welcoming them at Littlehampton later in the year.

Alistair Tyrrell

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