16/17 June 2008
Hilary's Blog - 16/17 June 2008
After a couple of minor glitches we left Dover at 3.00 PM today, from the western entrance. Dover Marina have been so good to us, even laying on the tug "Dauntless" to see us off. I am certainly looking forward to seeing them again, but hopefully not for a few months!
So many people came to see us off, it was incredibly humbling. It was great to see so many friends, including those from my first sailing days at Westbere Sailing Opportunities. My Mum was unexpectedly able to make it over from Dublin and, of course, Clifford and Lotti were there as well. Clifford just returned from singing in Bahrain in time to see us, which was fantastic. It would have felt very wrong to leave without seeing him.
Most excitingly, however, Kiera - a friend I met at the Earl's Court Boatshow - came all the way from Portsmouth with her Mum and Dad, Verity and Rob. Kiera is nine and is also in a wheelchair. I have to say that she is definitely my coolest friend! She brought me a teddy bear mascot who we have christened "Lucky". Lucky was tucked down inside my dry suit and has proved to live up to his name as we had southerly and westerly winds and calm seas all the way to Eastbourne, so he will be in the same place on every leg now!
My first experience of night sailing is one that I won't forget. The moon was full, and the sky was relatively clear so, as there was almost no wind for the last 5 miles or so, it was incredibly peaceful. I had been warned about the number of lobster pots around Eastbourne, and we managed to miss all of them, which was somewhat of a relief. We arrived at Royal Sovereign marina around midnight, slightly ahead of schedule. To my utter amazement there were Lions clubs members who had stayed up to see us come in, which was well beyond the call of duty. I must apologise to them now as I went to get my top layer off before going to say hello, only to find that they had disappeared when Helen and I re-emerged a few minutes later.
The whole team has been fantastic. It really feels as if eight people made this sail. The shore team managed to phone Martin to say that we were thinking of him. I know that we will all be glad to see him when his arm is better.
17 June - Everyone in the marina, from the people who work here to the people who live here as well as the RNLI crew have been so welcoming and generous that I know we will be sorry to say goodbye to them in a few minutes from now. People have generously given us donations for the "Dream Trust", for which we would like to say thank you. We are due to get the 12.30pm lock out of the marina to head to Brighton - a relatively short run of 19nm, but with the wind in our faces and set to freshen to a 5, gusting 6, it could be a tough run. The sunshine here in Eastbourne is deceptive as, once we pass Beachy Head, the going will become tougher.
Page last updated on 22 June 2008 at 17:14