Lymington to Weymouth 38nm
Friday & Saturday 19/20 September
On Friday we enjoyed a beautiful sail to Weymouth. We left in fine weather and flat seas with the wind a delightful 9 knots which built up to about 14.
We had hoped to sail earlier this month but the weather has been iffy. Today we have our 3 sails up again and the Yankee gives us at least an extra knot.
We had the tide with us and got to Weymouth in about 6 hours dock to dock.
It was mostly warm with just a bank of cloud at St Alban Head. We saw lone gannets and dozens of swallows setting off on their 6000 mile trip to Africa. They looked very small and vulnerable skitting over the waves.
Weymouth was not as sunny as last time we were here!
On Saturday we stayed put as its wet and there’s wind coming.
We sat out the morning rain on La Bamba and then hopped on the bus to one of my all time favourite pubs for lunch on the Portland end of Chesil beach.
It’s always nice when you go to a pub you haven’t been to in decades and the food is even better!
There are a lot of pictures of wrecks on the walls of the pub as we are in shipwreck central on the lee shore that is the 18 mile Chesil Beach.
After lunch the rain stopped and we headed out onto the billions of pebbles.
Chesil beach is a barrier beach or is it a tombolo? The jury seems to be out, but most think it was created as a product of ‘glacial outwash’ and formed offshore of flint and chert pebbles and has gradually moved with the waves and prevailing winds to attach to the Dorset shore.
The pebbles are graded – bigger at the Portland end. Apparently some fishermen know where they are along it by the size of the pebbles!
This is a very good thing, because without this barrier to the very windy westerlies and crashing waves, Weymouth probably wouldn’t exist and Portland would be an island!
Personally I just love Chesil beach: it’s one of nature’s amazing phenomenon – unimaginable quantities of beautiful, smooth, rounded, colourful pebbles; an almost endless vista of curving beach and sea; black-backed gulls teaching this year’s fledglings to soar on the wind; all senses overwhelmed by wind, spray, and light – Fantastic!
You definitely can’t swim off this beach! But you might just be able to fly!
Apparently it’s good for fishing, but the fishermen we saw seemed to be mostly fighting with their tents.
Inside the beach are brackish lagoons – a haven for birds
Then we watched mad men kite surfing – and flying! I’m very glad David doesn’t do this!
It’s super windy – gusting over 50 mph! – so we aren’t going anywhere until it calms down!