windy in Ramsgate

We'd been looking at the forecast and watching a big high coming in which was obviously good news, but unfortunately, it was also squeezing a low out of the way, threatening some very strong winds for a day or two...The trick for us was to avoid doing the crossing back to the UK during those two days, but also to try and avoid getting stuck in one location for too long...As we'd arrived Saturday afternoon in Nieuwpoort, and the wind looked like it was going to come through Wednesday and Thursday, we decided to head back towards Ramsgate on Tuesday..... this was a bit of a shame as Monday had been particularly wet, and we'd not got the chance to ride our bikes out through Nieuwpoort and along the sand dunes.... but if we'd stayed it would have possibly been until Thursday, and more probably, Friday.... So we cast our lines at 08h15 on Tuesday, and motored out into a very light North Easterly, at just 5 or 6 kts, matched with a decent sized running sea.... not a great combination!As our course was down the Belgian/French coast, is South West, the wind was right behind us... we contemplated sails, but then watched a couple of other boats with their rigs slapping and making just 2 or 3 kts over the ground.... we couldn't afford to go that slowly, so we motored... We made good progress, past Dunkerque, then Graveline, through the rade de Calais, and then out towards Ruytingen, marking the start of the Dover TSS.... still no wind, so still we motored.... as we turned a little further north to cross the TSS, the wind died further still.... by my count that means that we've thus far sailed for 2 hours this holiday in total..... not good....The traffic was kind, although very busy.... and we made one slight alteration for a ship in the North East lane... not a problem, as it helped us to get some more west in our course to reach SW Goodwin buoy.... and it made for a better course through the lumpy sea... we were now getting 2m waves... while there was no wind here, there clearly was some somewhere!As we exited the TSS we set course for SW Goodwin, again the very light wind right behind us and soon reached it.....As we rounded the buoy, the skies started to grey over, and the wind picked up.... now 12 or 13kts.... but bang on the nose!!!!!!!So we continued motoring for a while, and decided that if it stayed like this, then we sail and tack in a bit..... but 10 mins later it was blowing 20kts, and the sea, already lumpy, had started to build.... the bad weather was arriving....Half an hour later, and with 8nm to Ramsgate, the conditions had deteriorated further... we were now heading directly into and riding up over large waves and slamming off the top of them into the troughs.... spray everywhere, and not very comfortable... I was starting to get very nervous.... not with the current situation.. Morgana was fine..it wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't troubling.... I was more nervous that as we approached the Ramsgate entrance, we'd be beam on to this sea, and some of the waves were getting very large, and starting to break at the crests.... not ideal across the beam... we'd have to wait and see what it looked like as we got closer...I steered the course as close to the shallower inshore water as I dare in order to minimise the cross sea leg.... and as we reached Ramsgate entrance, the one thing i'd hoped for followed through.... the shelter from North Foreland was reducing the sea somewhat.... so while the entrance was rolly, it wasn't dangerous.... and after radioing for permission, we gratefully motored into the flat water of the outer harbour...... Update at 23h00..... 35 kts in the marina... boat being rocked about a bit, and all the boats in the marina surging against their lines.... extra lines added before bed!

Miles logged 59nm
Miles this trip 229nm
Miles this season 856nm
Miles since this blog started 2,653nm