The sea is shallow between Chichester and Selsey Bill. Wrecks are common place; some revealing parts of their twisted metallic remains at low water. Even on a beautifully calm and sunny spring morning they looked eerie and rather foreboding to us as we sailed south east towards the Bill. The almanac lists a variety of routes past this sandy headland some of which head close inshore. Tempting as it was with our shallow drafted vessel we decided that discretion was the better part of valour and circumnavigated a well trodden path further out to sea named the ‘Looe’.
Docking not allowed
(We couldn't read the sign till it was too late!)
The final feature of this natural hazard are the Owers banks, famously used to advantage by Sir Francis Drake during his initial skirmishes with the Spanish Armada in 1585 as it attempted to make way eastwards toward Calais. These days the helpfully positioned ‘Owers’ south cardinal buoy signposts a safe route to seaward. The remainder of our passage to Brighton was uneventful. The shoreline is equally uneventful until larger buildings and blocks of flats begin to emerge heralding the approach of Bognor Regis, Littlehampton and Worthing. The sea remains shallow through this part of the channel and we held off with our mackerel lines to avoid lobster pots.
Docking allowed
Brighton Marina is to the far east of the town and the entrance difficult to pick out from the sea as it is tucked in behind a hooked granite block breakwater. Even within a few hundred yards it still doesn’t reveal itself willingly and we were glad of our GPS plotter to guide us in. Once round the hook the entrance channel is concrete walled and any choppy sea state quickly subsides. We tied up on the visitor pontoon quite relieved as the breeze, such as there was, was gusting across the surface of the water making catamaran manoeuvring quite tricky. Our relief was short lived as we spotted a ‘No Mooring’ sign painted onto the dock next to Distant Drummer. After consultation with the Marina office we untied and redocked further along. Not really what you want to do after a longish day at sea.
Quadrophenia
A brisk walk along the seafront next morning took us into town and we spent a few hours exploring the lanes and the royal pavilion. Like many larger towns we noted the increasing number of homeless people and street hawkers. Some even brazen enough to disturb those sat outside coffee shops and bars with requests for money. We headed back on the bus which always gives great value views of any town particularly viewed from the top deck.
