Yachting

MAY 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 59

I passed under the Queen
Elizabeth Bridge and
contemplated the traffi c roaring
above me and below in the
Dartford tunnel. The river starts
to narrow at this point but leisure
users are safely out of the main
shipping lane. I passed Tilbury
docks with a listening watch on
the port operations channel, then
it was time to let London VTS
know I was 40 minutes away from
the Thames barrage. I was told
which span to pass through. It’s
quite a sight – well worth a photo.

Beyond the O2 arena the

skyline is dominated by the

skyscrapers at Canary Wharf but

it was great to sail past the Royal

Naval College at Greenwich. On

arrival outside St Katherine’s

marina lock, I tied up at one of the

waiting buoys and enjoyed the

unusual view of the city.

The entrance to the marina

lock was almost the trickiest

part of the trip. Having avoided

all of the fast ferries, leisure and

commercial boats, there is a

two- or three-knot tide across the

I felt I had learned a number

of things from my year

single-handing a yacht.

■ Don’t fall overboard.

Getting back on board is

very hard and stopping the

boat is even harder

■ Always wear a lifejacket

with EPIRB or PLB attached

and carry a VHF radio

■ Don’t go below while

under way unless it’s totally

unavoidable

■ Prepare food in advance

and make allowances

for pitstops

■ Over-dress. It’s easier to

cool off than it is to warm up

■ Plan everything and share

your plan with someone

ashore who is able to

confi rm your location

■ Practise using a line

on a midships cleat (or a

genoa track) for springing

off and coming alongside

singlehanded

■ Be especially conservative

when anchoring. Leave

plenty of room. Allow for

wind and tide

■ Stay up to date with

battery, engine and all other

maintenance

■ Let everyone you

encounter know that you are

sailing solo. They will help!

Lessons learned

entrance to the lock. It feels a bit

like driving your car into a garage

at 30mph – it’s a small space that

needs to be approached ‘smartly’.

The return journey was broken

with an overnight at Limehouse

Marina as St Katherine’s doesn’t

lock out before about 0800,

followed by a long and uneventful

journey back to Ramsgate.

Finding myself stuck in Dover for

a day, due to high winds, was no

issue as there is plenty to explore

at the castle.

The fi nal hour of the fi nal leg

from Eastbourne to Portsmouth

was in the dark and rain, but I

was glad to be back in familiar

territory. Arriving home after six

days and 460 miles, I felt a huge

sense of achievement and a sense

of having totally cleared and

cleansed my mind.

Richard, 49, lives in Farnham, Surrey and works in IT

and telecoms. Having learned to sail Laser dinghies on

Rutland Water, his fi rst yachting experience was an Irish

Sea crossing in a Force 8. After a decade and a half of

chartering he bought Sugarwing, his Moody 42, in 2011

and keeps her in Gosport. Richard passed his Yachtmaster

Offshore in 2012 and has since cruised the Channel

Islands, the Isles of Scilly and the South Coast of England.

Richard Hales

On my way into

London I passed

the Dome

The end of my journey. I had

fi nally made it to Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge at night was an amazing sight