After enjoying the hospitality of the Royal Norfolk & Suffolk Yacht Club for…too long, we were ready to go. The plan was to either make a short hop or a longer overnight passage. If the wind stayed in the south, Southwold would be the destination of choice ten miles along the coast. This would line up the shortest possible single passage across the Thames, but on another day. If the weather gods were on our side a long haul straight to Ramsgate would be our preference.

Having experience the strong tide along this coast on the way to Lowestoft, we were keen to clear the Suffolk coast with a fair tide. Just before midday we radioed harbour control and received our permission to depart.

It took thirty minutes to motor clear of the inshore sandbanks, which extend along this coast. Once this was accomplished we hoisted the sails and started sailing on the last of the fair tide.

The winds were as forecast and as such we started off by beating to windward in a moderate southerly wind. The breeze was just enough for us to push over the light swell and against the now foul tide pushing north.

It might seem strange to set off shortly before the tide turned against us. However, this was to put us on the edge of the Thames at the time when the tide turned in our favour once more. This would give us the fastest possible transit across the busiest parts of the estuary.

As well as waiting for the tide to turn we were also looking for signs of the wind veering to the west. As evening approached the tide was starting to turn but the wind was still in the south. This left us with the unenviable option of a long beat through the night across the Thames – not great. With visibility decreasing to three miles and rain starting to blow in our faces, Southwold was soon our only sensible option. Since leaving Lowestoft we had moved offshore, now we slowly, over the course of an hour, moved to within a mile of Southwold.

It was at this point the rain stopped, the winds quickly veered and within ten minutes the skies were clear. It was soon apparent that the front had fully gone through and the conditions were looking good. Plan A was back on and we were soon heading for Ramsgate once more. We spent a few minutes wondering if we had made the right choice, however we quickly saw our decision start to pay off. Within thirty minutes of changing our course, Silverwind was making seven to eight knots under full sail in a westerly wind.

The challenge of the night was to use the six hours of spring tide to our advantage. In this time moving south of the main shipping lanes before the tide turned. All was going well and in fact the night could not have been better. With a full moon and a clear sky it was now almost like sailing by daylight on a dull day. We were racing along but after two hours the wind started to weaken, reducing our speed to less than five knots. In order to make the most of the tide we decided to motor sail. This way we could ensure that we cross the shipping lanes as fast as possible. Except for the occasional ferry or coaster to dodge, traffic was light and with good visibility the night was generally uneventful. Once we rounded the cardinal buoy at the south of the Kentish Bank (a sandbank running south across the Thames) we started making a beeline for the north Kent coast.

The wind was starting to increase and after four hours of motor sailing we stopped the engine, continuing under sail alone. With fifteen knots of wind and two knots of tide now opposing, the seas were now breaking all over the place. This was a dramatic change in sea state from the smooth sea of a few hours before. However, with a strong wind we quickly surfed towards our destination. All was going well; as we were now due to arrive at Ramsgate at about 6am – just before it got light. However, we were keen to take advantage of the fair conditions and our preference was to enter port slightly later in the morning (it was getting very dark as the moon started to set). Our decision was soon made and before long we were on our way to Dover ten miles further south.

This extension to our passage worked perfectly as the tide started to turn just as we entered the Dover Straights. Helpfully, the tide here turns an hour earlier than further north, giving us an extra hour’s push. After coasting south along the outside of Goodwin Sands, we finally turned west towards Dover. After four months at sea we were finally on the south coast! This change of course to the west signalled the start of our home leg. Every mile now would truly be a mile closer to home.

Dover is unmistakable from the sea. A huge mass of lights with the giant arms of the harbour reaching out into the water. If this was not a big enough clue to the towns location, the non-stop ferry traffic is an absolute give away. The Port of Dover is reportedly the “busiest port in the world” (who works these things out!) and this means you cannot just wonder in and out of their harbour. We slowly made our way towards the eastern entrance removing the sails and starting the engine as we went. After a quick call on the radio we were given the all clear to enter once a cross-channel ferry had exited. Once we had gained permission to continue through to the Marina, we finally tied up in the Tidal Harbour pontoons just after 7am. In nineteen hours we had covered just over eighty miles – now it was time to sleep! After dosing our way through Saturday we finally came around to normality on Sunday morning. We spend Sunday getting supplies and planning our next passage down the coast, most probably to Eastbourne.