Finally there was a weather window, so we began our journey across The Channel. Our new crew member was keen and raring to go at 5 in the morning and to begin with certainly showed promise
The novelty seemed to wear off pretty quickly though
Negotiating the busiest shipping lanes in the world was pretty straightforward and the skipper was soon lowering the last courtesy flag of the voyage
Our initial heading was for the white cliffs of Dover, but as they were hidden in the misty, grey sky we altered our course for Eastbourne. This decision seemed to encourage some sunshine, but the wind was still blowing straight into our faces and against the tide, so we had a fairly bumpy ride!
At precisely 6pm we found ourselves tied alongside in the lock to Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne
And in no time at all, in spite of copious advice from a Dutch neighbouring yachtsman, we were safely moored back in English waters.
While Jim reflected on his trip of a lifetime, Taff was just excited by the amazing variety of pebble on the beach!