Sunday 2nd July Ref: 2015/25
We had just used Boulogne for an overnight stay and so there was not much exploration done as most of the time we were planning and working. It would have been nice to have stayed a little longer but the day following arrival was the best weather for the week and so we decided to set off again quite soon
In order to get to Ramsgate within two hours of high water (to get into the inner basin) we needed to leave around 10am UTC and cruise at 10knots so as to carry the tide and arrive at around 1400 UTC a half hour before the inner gate closes, which also gave me the option of taking on fuel, although I did not bother in the end. The total distance was about 40 miles and this would take around 4hrs using the tide to our advantage.
The weather is forecast was good and so it turned out to be. It was very benign off of Boulogne at just 3-5kn from the S and then rose to only 5-6kn as we cruised across the shipping lanes and then north past Dover to Ramsgate, with the southerly wind following the tide and making the best of conditions . In the event, the breeze was variable from the NNW and ending up in the SE. The sea was predicted be smooth/slight and it was actually calm for much of the time and only got up a bit when we were passing between the shallows and along the Ramsgate channel
23-27degC, 62-33%RH, 1018-1017mb, Good Viz, smooth/calm seas, 4-7kn variable breeze and a following tide
