Mid August 2021 – Portland, Lymington and Isle of Wight

4th August – Wednesday – Brixham to Portland

At 54 miles, we have a long day ahead, starting at 06.30 from Brixham.  We waited for 3 fishing vessels to exit the harbour before us.  It is only fair, they are working.  Weymouth harbour is pretty full, reports of rafting 4 deep, so we opt for Portland nearby.

It was a truly balmy day, sunny and glassy calm.  It is a perfect Dolphin day and so it proved, we lost count, with some large groups too.  The sun canopy was up all day.

There had been reports of large clouds of flies landing on boats in Lyme bay.  They turned out to be very small flies, but there were hundreds.  I used a fluffy duster to waft them away.  If they catch the wind they disappear.

 

Portland Bill Lighthouse.  We pass three miles off to avoid the over-falls.

Sad to see the fabulous Queen Mary II anchored in Weymouth Bay, with two others.  Good times, can’t wait for our next voyage.

We gently rolled into Portland Harbour at 17.15pm, approx 11 hours since departure.  We entered into the vast harbour, outer wall, via the East entrance as advised by Port Control, and proceeded to the Marina.  No need to put fenders out in the channel, there is plenty of time once through the harbour entrance.

5th August – Thursday

At this point I could write.  Went nowhere for 3 days as it blew a hooley and rained persistently.

Over the next 3 days between showers we blogged, went for dinner at the Marina restaurant (just to get off the boat), Mick went up the big hill for fuel, twice, Lidl, Washing, walked to Castletown in a gale, Mick helped people to save their boat, why on earth did they go out? and walked to Chesil Beach, in a gale.  The boat was never still rocking on its mooring.  Thank goodness we had no visitors.

Portland is an Island attached to the mainland by a causeway.  Famous for Portland Stone, which built St Paul’s Cathedral.  Chesil Beach is on the other side of the causeway from the marina.  It is a shingle beach.  A local told us that all the windows of ‘The Cove’ pub were once broken by the pebbles being blown ashore in a storm.

They still have a sense of humour though.

8th August – Sunday

We had noticed that the Castletown D-Day Centre is closed on a Monday, so it was today or never.

It is a small but perfectly formed museum, relating the story of D-Day from the American perspective and it’s influence on the people of Portland, concerning the build-up and American occupation.

Entrance, don’t miss going up the stairs after viewing the museum.

Replica Spitfire hanging from the roof.  The museum is very hands on and all visitors are encouraged to touch the exhibits and clamber on the tanks, vehicles, munitions etc.  I was shocked at how heavy a rifle of the period is.  It must have been so tiring to carry day in day out.

Picture of Jeep for Jonathan C.

In the harbour at Castletown outside the museum are the two remaining Mulberry Harbour Caissons which were manufactured around the coast of Britain before D-Day.  They are referred to as phoenix’s as they were sunk to be hidden and refloated/risen when required.  148 were used, and they came in different sizes.  They were linked together to form two Mulberry Harbours at Omaha and Gold Beaches.  These are approx 60m Long x 20m Wide x 15m High and weighed 7,700 tons.  They were towed to Normandy by two tugs each at about 3 knots.  They were used for more than 6 months after D Day.  A number were then towed to Holland to re-enforce Dykes which had been damaged.

My lasting impressions were that the museum is heavily biased on the American story of the period.  My Dad who took part in the D-Day landings, and always said ’You would think the Yanks won the war, if you watch films’, and it felt the same here.  However, the effect that the Americans living in the area, had on the local population, is very well documented.  Featuring many locals and their stories.  One lady on a video said, ‘D-Day was the saddest day in Portland, as all our friends left as once’.  However awful, it must have been exciting in this sleepy town.

9th August – Monday

Bus trip to Weymouth.  We caught the number 1 Portland Weymouth Shuttle Bus.  £5 return.  If you catch the bus on the Marina side of the road, you will get a bonus trip around Portland Bill.  Passed ‘The Heights’ with great views, also passed the Detention Centre and Prison.  There is only one road off the island for escapee’s.

Weymouth from the Bridge.  The boats were rafting up around the corner.  The marina was also full.

The town and beach were very busy, so we crossed over the Bridge to the South side, which was a bit quieter.  Sadly the old Brewery Antiques centre only opens at weekend at present, but we found a lovely square with a shady café for lunch.

 

Sadly we missed a message from my cousin Michael and his wife Mandy who were on holiday in Weymouth, next time hopefully.

Sailors Info - Portland Marina

Portland is a modern and well equipped marina, costing £36 per night.  There is a Lidl 10 minutes walk away, and a new garage with Budgens, Costa, Greggs etc due to open soon.

The facilities are excellent, with good powerful hairdryers. Wifi was poor.

Castletown is 15 minutes walk, but has few shops.  Portland Castle is on our list for the next visit. 

The marina has the largest dry stack boat storage building we have ever seen.  You would think it would keep the wind off the marina.

As we were mid-Olympics is was interesting to see the National Sailing Academy, where our sailing Olympians are trained.  The local TV News was full of their success and that of Tom Daley, who is from Plymouth.

Rings from the 2012 Games.  The sailing events were located in Weymouth.

We have not seen Portland at its best and will visit in the future.

10th August – Tuesday – Portland to Lymington

On our 9th Wedding Anniversary we set sail at 05.45 to make the 40 miles to Lymington, in the Solent.  It was a very roly morning until we rounded Anvil Point and the tide made us roll less. 

Exiting the East Entrance at Portland.

We swapped Anniversary Cards at Sunrise.

Hurst Point marks the start of the Western end of the Solent.  Timing is paramount to pass through the narrows at slack water.

We arrived in Lymington at 13.00, only taking 7 hours with the tide.  We walked to town and booked a meal for the following night, we would have been too tired that night.

11th August – Wednesday

Hairdressing for both of us in the morning.  Mick went for Fuel and I went food shopping and had a good look around the pretty High Street.

Lymington Town Harbourside.

A quaint street leading from the harbour.

Up the Hill to the High Street.

The sea drain had been featured on local TV the previous night, so I went to find it.  A pump collecting debris in the harbour.  An experiment, that if successful, could be rolled out elsewhere.

My Anniversary bucket of Sangria, The Stanwell House Hotel’s drink of the day.  It was a long meal for lots of reasons but we had a lovely evening and the food was good. 

Sailors Info : Lymington Berthon Marina

Both the Town Quay and the Yacht Haven were full, so we moored at the Berthon Marina, near town.  We knew it was going to be expensive and at £49 per night it was our most expensive yet.

Needless to say the facilities are the best we have experienced so far.  Vanity area with surround mirrors, the works.  You pay for the location and it was a treat.

M&S Food, Tesco Express and Waitrose along the High Street.  Wifi was Good.  Force 4 Chandlers in town.

12th August – Tuesday – Lymington to Island Harbour, Isle of Wight

We were going to meet up with Ferne and Steve who we had met on our first summer sailing season and several times since.

We left Lymington at 11.00am to make the 12 miles to the Isle of Wight.

This trip would not be complete without a close encounter with a ferry or two.

The break water at the end of the River Medina at Cowes has been completed since our last visit.

The old chain ferry from East to West Cowes has been replaced.  Still scary when it sets off in front of you.

There is ‘No Room at the Inn’ at this Cowes Marina.  It has been Cowes Week and the town is still busy.

While heading down river we encountered this beast called ‘Blade Runner Two’, which transports Wind Farm Blades to site from the factory near Newport.

Entering Island Harbour at 14.00, when the lock is on Free Flow.  The harbourmaster, who is located in the ‘space ship’ shaped tower, is contacted on VHF Channel 80 and advises when to enter the narrow channel marked by red buoys next to the pier.  We are given the green light to pass through the lock.

Arriving at 13.45, we just had time to get ship shape before Ferne and Steve arrived.  They were on a hectic schedule and had been kind enough to visit us for a brew and a catch-up.  We are in touch during the year on social media but it was so good to meet up for real.  They gave us a list of ports to visit after we decided to return to the UK in year 1, 2014, when we met in Concarneau, France.  We then kept bumping into them throughout the rest of the season.  An anniversary meal in Cherbourg with them, Malcolm and Eileen was a memorable highlight.

So good to see you both again and look forward to a French rendezvous in the future.

They told us to take the path to Newport along the side of the river to explore Newport which is the administrative capital of the Island.

One thing we did not expect to see today was ‘The Original Spicebus’ from Spiceworld The Movie, which lives at the marina and is rented out as an AirBNB.

The path was provided with EU money and makes a very pleasant route to town.

Newport is at the end of the Medina River from Cowes.  We had Dinner at the ‘Man in the Moon’ Wetherspoons, which is in a converted Church.

After a full day I posted a sunset picture (which I don’t do often), resulting in contact from Martin and Ruth who we met in Dartmouth 5 years ago, when we shared a pontoon for several days during the Dartmouth River Festival.  We knew their boat was at Island Harbour but did not realise they live here.

They came for coffee onboard the following morning and then we decanted to their beautiful house, which has a mooring!!!  Not jealous, much.  And were introduced to Tilly the boat dog.

It was lovely to catch up and find out how they got to be living the Island life.  Island Harbour will definitely be on our list of good stops on the Isle of Wight and we look forward to meeting again, here or afloat.  Thank you for your hospitality, so glad you saw the picture and contacted us.

Time was limited as we were leaving on the afternoon free flow out of the lock at 14.30.  We had to head out to the river pontoons at the Folly Inn, as we needed to leave the following morning before the lock opened.  It was blustery and was a nerve wracking departure from the mooring and exit through the lock, but we made it safely, without incident.

Large pontoons at the Folley Inn (£17 per night) are at least 10 boat lengths long and take boats on each side and are often full and rafted out.  The wind settled later.  Typical.

Sailors Info – Island Harbour, Isle of Wight

£34 per night.  This is a little gem of a marina away from the hubbub of Cowes.  Lovely walks and access to Newport make it a great stop.

Facilities are modern and clean, plug socket in the Laundry room. 

There is an onsite café called Breezes and a Chandlers and shop which sells essentials like bread and milk.

Next Stop Brighton