Coming out of Dartmouth to start our crossing of Lyme Bay was quite windy – and not in the direction forecast! We made a few tacks, and then decided to go right into the bay as far as Torquay to get a better angle. By the afternoon, the predicted drop in the wind and blue sky appeared and we motored the remaining distance across.
Arriving at the Bill of Portland at just the right moment, we followed a local boat (from Paignton we learned later in the evening) round the Bill on the ‘inside track’. The tide on the west side is going south at the same time as the last remains of the ebb further out. This means you get whirled around the Bill to meet the flood going up to Portland on the other side.
We did 10 knots across the ground (video) going past the lighthouse!
A well deserved dinner at the excellent ‘The Kitchen’ restaurant on the harbour.
This is the end of part one – the next instalment is our plan to go to Jersey.
