With the thunder and lightning passed and a sunny evening forecast, the remaining 2 crew decided to hop from Eastbourne to Brighton, just 20 odd miles west along the coast, this would ease the final leg to Southampton to just 50 miles. So we entered the Eastbourne lock and readied for sea, 20 minutes later and we were on our way.
The evening started out with patchy cloud and sunny spells, but was not long before the fog descended around Beachy Head reducing visibility to 1 cable.
Light House on Beachy Head under a shroud of fog.
A blip on the radar screen caught our attention, which was definitely getting closer and on an opposite bearing to Mr Blue Sky. This was not a time to panic, although it did cross my mind. A decision to turn 90 degrees to port and make some space for what ever was approaching at speed was taken, and glad we did. The sound of a powerful Diesel engine thundered by approximately 1 - 2 cables astern of us was heard. Soon after leaving the head, the sky cleared and we had a reasonable passage to Brighton Marina.
A call was made to the Brighton Harbour Master to alert him to our pending arrival, he suggested given our 2m draft that we did not enter until after 22.00h on the rising tide as heavy silting obstructed the fairway. At approximately 22.00h we entered port and tied up as instructed. A most welcome refuge after the eventful passage.
Brighton Marina