The town Quay marina in Poole was one of the most expensive ones I've used. The woman in the office blamed it on the harbour dues.It was good to be so close to the town centre and to have the supermarket next to the pontoon.It was starnge having to cross the road to use the toilet/shower facilities though.
there was plenty of wind in Poole harbour and it appeared to be coming from the NW, which was a helpful direction to get to Weymouth. Once out of the entrance, Old Harry's rocks stand at Handfast Point at the end of Studland Bay. The water is petty deep next to them, so its possible to get in close.
From there I passed Swanage, then turned right at the next two head;lands, with a significant race of the last one, St Alban's Head. This may not be as turbulent as Portland, but it seems to extend out about 5 miles.There is an inshore route, but I took the long way round.
Having passed around the end of the race, I tacked back towards the coast to be able to go in close along this scenic bit of the Dorset Coast.The wind was now from the south west and changeable so I kept swapping headsails. Today I could have done with a roller reefing system.
The entrance to Lulworth Cove is marked by the cliffs dipping toward the entrance, but it doesn't give much of a clue to the gem of a place that is inside. The sloping rock strata is amazing though.
Next was natural arch at Durdle Door. Its difficult to get a sense of the scale of this thing, but I have sat on the beach and watched kids jumping off it and then it seems pretty high up.
This part of the coast is used by the military as a practice firing range, but they seem to take a break for August, so yachts are free to move around without having to check their schedule. All the way across the bay, Portland stands out looking like an island. It is connected to the mainland by the end of Chesil Beach. I thought I couldn't be the only mariner contemplating having to go around the end that maybe digging a channel through the land connection might be preferable.
Weymouth is one of those busy harbours you need to radio the harbour master to request entry. You also ask for a berth at the same time. I was told to go alongside a boat called Tuli.This was a coincidence because I'd been rafted up to this Westerly in Yarmouth. It would be good to say hello again to the chrmimh family who own it.They had come straight here from Yarmouth and had spent today visiting Portland on the bus to see the race. It is one hell of a natural spectacle. They noted just how many lobster posts that were positioned in the narrow inner route.
Once ashore I went to the" Seagull" chip shop, which was selling mackerel baps, following the campaign by Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall (sp?) to get people to eat local fish. It came with a choice of tartar, or horseradish, sauce and tasted delicious. At £4.50 with a big portion of chips it was good value too.
On the pontoons next to the town quay, you feel even more in the middle of things than at Poole, plus the place seems to have more character.
Weymouth is another town to claim to have discovered sea bathing. Whether it was Scarborough or Brighton doesn't seem to matter much now. Its certainly a lively place, with something for everyone. I reckon it has the best sand artist of anywhere I've been. This piece is of the mad hatters tea party. It has a net over it to stop people throwing things at it.
The live band has just started up in one of the bars on the quay. I don't think my earplugs are going to keep that out, so no early night tonight!
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