Southampton to Dartmouth and back

Mosaique at Ocean Village

We had a few days in Southampton before our next trip to Dartmouth would start. Frantic preparations started, some emergency repairs had to be carried out in the interior and exterior. We have now a car in our use so I had to ferry the Chef to the market for his shopping. No problem in that, only have to make sure I am fed prior as otherwise I'll prowl the aisles for goodies I might fancy.

Mosaique at Ocean village from Itchen bridge

m/v Julia B alongside

Julia B (IMO no: 9119634) had followed us in the English channel and we passed her in Lyme Bay, it seems she had also made it through the weather and arrived to the bulk siloes near Ocean Village. The cargo hatch cover is open and ship ready to receive cargo.

Having a look at Equasis the ship looks like generally have been take care of despite 2 detentions out of 54 port state inspections:

The first in Loviisa, Finland in July 2000 for a technicality, lapsed cargo ship safety radio cert, then

the 2nd detention in Immingham, UK in June 2005 for a non operational emergency fire pump. Since then they have been better, only observations.

It looks like the ship build and ownership has followed the German coaster traditions and is still under original ownership. She flies the German flag and has as homeport Elsfleth and she's built in 1995 at Kotter Werft, Haren Ems, Germany. Her length overall (LOA) is 76.36 m, beam: 11.65 m and draft 4.49m. Gross Tonnage (GT) and Deadweight (DWT) is 1595 / 2423 MT. Her registered owner / Manager is JEB 3 Partnership GmbH & Co KG / JEB Bereederungs GmbH.

Seatrialing a Dyna68Laguna

Then I had to follow with a 21m yacht for some seatrials after her total refit. All went well apart some engine hiccups but we got back in one piece so the small issues could be resolved. For her size she had massive interior space with 5 cabins accommodating 10 guests + crew cabins in the fore peak (didn't look in there). The flybridge was enough to have all guests seated and she had a small crane for a dinghy. We reached a top speed of 22knots until we had the engine issues and had to limp back, pretty good for a 30 yr old yacht.

Views on the Solent

Night view opposite the Itchen

Training ship John Jerwood docking

Then one day we had the training ship John Jerwood docking next to us, they had onboard several cadets as crew managing it all whilst being instructed by senior crew. For more info on the Sea cadets. It's a charity established in 1856 and they received royal patronage in 1899 that is still continuing to this day, a bit like scouts I would think and probably a good way to get kids off their electronic gadgets and out in the world to gain life skills.

Julia B receiving cargo

Then next morning we departed early and as we were joining the Solent from the Itchen I spotted m/v Julia B receiving cargo via a chute, I suppose the crew had gotten some days rest whilst waiting for it. The weather was good and we motored on towards Needles, as we got further the current against us intensified and it got stronger, somewhere around 3 knots as we only made 8 knots at best. The seas were very turbulent around the lighthouse and just south of it there were reef that would dry at low tide, one could see the seas breaking off on these shallow patches as well as multiple small fishing boats trying their luck in the channels between.

Needles light house

3 knots current against us

Once past Needles lighthouse we picked up speed again and at best did 14 knots, the current with us. The sea was a bit against us but the wind was only about Southerly 3-4 Beaufort, the waves rolled lazily in from low pressures on the Biscay. Just a bit further we could discern the white cliffs of Swanage jurassic coast (UNESCO protected heritage site) and next to them the Anvil Head lighthouse, it looked like a well kept farmstead with several buildings surrounded by a stone wall. After this the waves grew a bit higher but we pitched a bit and the stabilisers kept us on even keel. As we trekked over Lyme Bay the waves receded and we approached Dartmouth pilot station.

Cliffs of Swanage

Cliffs of Swanage

Anvil Head

Fishermen in Lyme bay

This time over we had another pilot than the last time, he was the assigned one for Dartmouth and he was being covered by the pilot in Teignmouth if he was busy in Plymouth. It seemed like they covered the whole coast from Brixton to Plymouth. Still, a nice chat was had and our guests enjoyed his witty banter. Others went to sun deck to get a good view of the scenery and the Naval College. We made a good entry and current was with us, as we approached the pilot handed me the controls and I whisked Mosaique around by a port swing a bit before. Actually she came about so rapidly that I had to slow the swing to get over the river and closer to the jetty. As I approached I used the 1.5 kts current to keep us steady and to slowly push our stern closer by small 'kick ahead' maneuvers on the engines. The swing completed nicely and we kissed the jetty lightly as the boys tied us up in good order. Then it was just to rig gangway and get on with the show.

Steam train departing at Kingsbridge

Old repurposed RNLI lifeboat

Local fishermen/ crabbers

Kingsbridge houses

Aerial of the Dartmouth pool

Mosaique in Dartmouth

Ice cream parlour with other goodies for sale

Dartmouth architecture

I had a bit of a walk around Dartmouth, it isn't very large as discovered last time. I think they mostly live on fudge judging by the multitude of shops selling it. I came by a shop called 'The Good Intent', they had also fudge on sale but also their home made ice cream so I had a few scoops to enjoy at the river next to a cannon pointed to the river entrance of Dart. In particular the licorice ice cream was delightful.

Dartmouth pool

Cannon sighted to the entrance of Dartmouth

Wind vane

Mosaique alongside

Another day I went in afternoon for the steam train trip leaving from Kingsbridge. The kiosk was closed so I bought the ticket at the platform, 20 pounds/ person, sadly it was a one way only as it was the last train to Paignton. I still took it as I didn't fancy coming another time. The bogies were original as was the locomotive, it was still being fired by coke or coal. We sat down in one of the wagons and had it all to ourselves, the seats were of plush fabric and had springs in them. Soon the train was moving and chugged away looking at the scenery. The trip took about 20 minutes and as we arrived the platform we alighted and walked to the bus station but the next one was due to depart in about 45 minutes. Paignton didn't look interesting at all so then we just booked a taxi back. Taxi didn't go by the toll bridge, the driver crossed by the ferry crossing north of Dartmouth, it was pretty quick and we were back in Dartmouth in the same time, 20 minutes and for almost same price as the train. There we then enjoyed lunch at the Pontoon restaurant that was pretty good in both taste and price considering its centered location in town.

Steam train platform

Steam train

Views from the ride to Paignton, low tide on the Dart

Views from the ride to Paignton, Brixham

Views from the ride to Paignton, Broadsands beach

Steam train logo

The next day I went for the harbour cruise, unfortunately the Kingswear Castle (KC) had finished her season by end of September so we had to make do with the more modern ferries doing the tours. We boarded the Dart Explorer slightly after noon and she set off up the river, there was a running commentary going on about sights, the first one being the Britannia Royal Naval College. The College building is designed by Sir Aston Webb and I think maybe he was a great fan of Admiral Nelson as it seems the Admiral has been central in the design of the building, after all Nelson was a superstar of his time. Not only are there facade panels, statues , paintings and busts of Nelson but also an architectural feature: Inside the college's ecumenical chapel, there is an intentional engineering design linked to Nelson. Every year on 21 October — Trafalgar Day — at exactly 16:30, the alignment of the sun streaming through a specific leaded section of the high west window casts the distinct shadow of a cross onto the altar. This marks the exact date and estimated time of Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In addition the building sports one of the longest uninterrupted indoor corridors in Europe. The corridor runs the length of the building from chapel to Senior Gun Room (dining hall) which are about 200 meters apart. Walkers in the corridor obey maritime rules and keep to the right. Maybe I'll have the opportunity to visit the next time. Imagine the outlay for building such a college today.

The northern ferry crossing at Dartmouth

Noss on Dart marina and shipyard (with a hotel extension being built)

Bridge by famous architect/ engineer Isambard Brunel

Dart river

Riverside gardens

Dittisham hamlet

The pink Ferry Boat Inn (commonly referred as FBI) at Dittisham

Working boats anchored on the river

Local boat buoy moored

Dartmouth Harbour office

The Kingsbridge jetty where the Speedwell had repairs done (Mayflower fleet)

The Britannia Royal Naval College

Before the college was opened in 1905 there already was officer training taking place since 1863. The wooden three-decker line-of-battle ship HMS Britannia was towed into the River Dart to serve as a floating base. An influx of cadets required a second ship, HMS Hindostan, to be moored next to her and connected by an enclosed walkway. The museum of Dartmouth have excellent exhibits of both ships.

Dartmouth and the naval college building

Weekend rowers

Lower Dart ferries to Kingsbridge

Brookhill house that was used for the French resistance lodgings

Brookhill house, built in 1820, was occupied by members of De Gaulle's Free French Naval Forces (Forces Navales Françaises Libres) during World War II. Between 1942 and 1944, Brookhill House served as the headquarters and barracks for the officers and crew of the Free French 23rd Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla. Notably, Charles de Gaulle's own son, Philippe de Gaulle, was stationed there. A young François Mitterrand (who later became the President of France) also spent time operating out of the area as part of the French Resistance network.

The French crews worked alongside British forces to run dangerous, dead-of-night operations across the English Channel to Brittany. They used fast motorboats to sneak secret agents and equipment into occupied France and rescue stranded Allied soldiers and airmen. The Dartmouth museum has an excellent video of the covert raids they carried out.

Kingswear Castle 

Dartmouth Fort

Wall art in Dartmouth

Wall art in Dartmouth

Then it came the time to leave and make our way back to Southampton, ironically the low pressure that gave us wind and waves against us had passed north of the British Isles and was now giving us once again headwinds and waves. As we dropped the pilot off the yacht began to pitch and wind was up to 25 knots with waves on average 1m in height. I tried to find calmer seas by hugging the coast of Lyme bay but the waves did not follow the easterly forecast but was more from south so we were exposed everywhere. As we rounded Portland bill the wind was still strong but the waves calmed down and soon we as night fell we entered the Solent via the Needles channel.

View of the coast

Simpsons clouds ahead

Portland Bill lighthouse

The traffic was not hectic in the Solent but we met a couple of huge cruiseships that were 'clear channel' vessels, i.e. means we had to get out of the fairway to let them pass. They have a boat ahead to signal and deal with any obstruction there might be ahead and then follows the vessel itself. As it was almost highwater we had plenty of water to go off the channel and continue towards Ocean Village. We managed to get ahead of a departing container vessel from Southampton and turned onto Itchen, very soon we arrived Ocean marina where I did again a starboard turn and backed into our berth without incident, once again a voyage completed. 

Meeting cruise behemoths on the Solent, Aidaperla