From Dartmouth, we sailed a long day to Lymington, arriving Sunday late afternoon after 12 1/2 hours on the water. A daylight arrival in Lymington required an early start, and it struck me that some might consider arising at O'Dark hundred hours to be underway at 4:30 AM on a cold, wintry January morning might be considered to be daft by casual observers. None-the-less, we were up and out and I was dressed for bear against the cold. After a bumpy start with wind against tide exiting Dartmouth in the dark, we had a fantastic sail most all the way to Lymington. The sunshine almost made it feel balmy, layers came off, and we sailed from dawn to 2:30 PM when the wind eased and we motor-sailed to keep speed.
Berthon at Lymington was quite posh. No pictures though, as the fog set in the next day. Jo and I had been here last September, and I remembered it well. A nice town with an incredibly old waterfront area, we ended up spending a second day in Lymington waiting for heavy fog to lift. We departed mid-morning yesterday for Hamble; it was still quite foggy and most of the 16 mile motor to the River Hamble felt like a July day in Maine, but the fog cleared as we entered the river and entry was easier.
This entire area is called the Solent, a large area bounded by the southern mainland and the Isle of Wight with the fabled harbour of Cowes. It is a bit like Newport or the Vineyard/Nantucket axis and I had hoped to spend a few days, but weather conditions are preeminent and decision has been made to push off today for an overnight to the Thames Estuary and Medway anchorage, preparing for a sail up the Thames to London on Friday.
Sailing up the Thames is another notable event, and much preparation is in order. Along with Tony's help and local knowledge, Gus Wilson who is the London OCC Port Captain has been incredibly informative and has provided a Thames guide; we also have "official" transiting documents and recommendations for our reading pleasure.
More from the Medway.
Bill
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