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Allan and I woke to the sound of the foghorn sounding across from the Dover harbour breakwater.  There was patchy fog which made it difficult to see across the harbour and the tops of the cliffs were completely obscured. However there was a moderate southerly wind so it was tempting to set out.  Sailing in relatively shallow water along the coastline is generally fairly safe in fog.  One of the yachts in Dover was setting out to Dunkirk, which crosses one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and is not a trip I would have chosen to do in such poor visibility.  We heard on the radio that several channel swimmers were also setting out.

When we were approaching Ramsgate the fog got much worse, with visibility of less than a quarter of a mile.  We saw a few small craft entering or leaving Ramsgate harbour, all going slowly in the poor conditions.  By the time we got to the North Foreland however the fog lifted, the sun came out and visibility improved to several miles.  We tacked into the Swale in late afternoon over calm seas with a gentle breeze under a blue sky.

Sunset and Home

We have enjoyed our short holiday to join the Old Gaffers in Cowes and it was certainly well worth the effort of going there.  It's always a bit sad packing up the boat at the end of a trip, though of course the primary purpose in sailing an old boat is to get back to where you started from without loss or damage.   We plan to get in a bit more sailing this year, but mostly as shorter trips.

Last Leg - with old school map