Exeat, Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45.2, Cowes, Isle of Wight

We couldn’t come to Dartmouth without visiting Dittisham (or “Ditsum” as locals fondly refer to it). Just two miles upstream, this tiny village on the banks of the River Dart couldn’t be in greater contrast to the hustle and bustle of tourist hotspots Dartmouth and Kingswear, so if it’s peace and tranquility you’re after, take a leaf out of Agatha Christie’s book and make for Dittisham. The canny crime writer snapped up the stunning Greenway estate here in the 1930s, and it’s now run by the National Trust for all to enjoy. We’d last visited this idyllic spot in October 2022 and ended up staying several days while we waited for a weather window to cross Lyme Bay; it wasn’t a hardship.

After gathering a few key provisions from Dartmouth’s excellent emporiums, we headed up the river in search of a vacant mooring. Happily, we were in luck and were soon secured to a visitor’s mooring buoy midway between the FBI pub (a major Dittisham attraction!) and Greenway. Visitor moorings are marked with a V, and cannot be booked in advance; there are only 18 swinging moorings, but the Harbour Master does allow rafting for up to two boats per buoy (check size restrictions). You’ll need to pay harbour dues as well as mooring fees of roughly £0.95/metre/day each (at the time of writing).

Much to our chagrin, we mistimed our visit completely, as the Ferry Boat Inn doesn’t serve food on a Monday or Tuesday night. Their stoneground pizzas alone are worth the trip to Dittisham (I like the Poirot, although the Miss Marple pizza is a good option for veggie diners), and I would urge you to also sample their skinny fries with Parmesan, truffle oil and homemade aioli. But it didn’t feel too much of a compromise to eat on board Exeat when the views all around are this good.

As dusk fell, we nipped over to Greenway (deserted this late in the evening, though they normally charge a nominal landing fee) and walked through its leafy grounds before returning to Exeat as a glorious sunset lit up the already beautiful surroundings with a rose-gold filter.

Rounding the Bill – the narrow promontory on Dorset’s southernmost tip that “is notably dangerous because of its shallow reefs and ledges, such as the Portland Ledge, the Shambles sandbank to the south-east, and the Portland Race, a tidal race caused by the clashing of tides, and further exacerbated by the reduced depth over the Portland Ledge*” always gives sailors pause for thought. One never quite knows what sea state “Bill” will oversee – however carefully you plan your passage. As it was Springs, we were especially apprehensive since tides would be bigger than usual and this already treacherous tidal race could well be in thoroughly feisty mode. We set off from Weymouth with a few other boats, all hoping to have timed our journey right. Safety in numbers and all that…

In the end, we needn’t have fretted, and sailed past Portland Bill in the calmest of conditions (having taken the inner passage). If I didn’t know better I’d wonder what all the fuss was about. But I can still vividly remember our passage last May when the sea state was far more dramatic, wholly illustrating the respect that this shoreline commands (and why so many boats ended up shipwrecked on these rocks before the lighthouse was built in 1906).

Once we’d rounded the Bill and begun our sail across Lyme Bay, what wind there had been dropped to the lightest of breaths so we ended up motor-sailing for more of the 40 mile distance than we’d have liked. On the plus side, we had uninterrupted blue skies and sunshine, so it wasn’t too hard to endure. In the late afternoon, just as our spirits were starting to flag, a trio of dolphins swung by to show off their skilful aquabatics, diving through the waves Exeat made ploughing through the water.

Eventually Dartmouth shimmered on the horizon…although it always seems to take an age to actually reach land after first sighting it from the Bay. Two hours later, we were passing Dartmouth Castle, the handsome landmark guarding the entrance to the harbour, and fortuitously slipped into a vacant berth at a walk-ashore pontoon. While I took our patient yorkiepoo Buddy for a run in the nearby park, Skipper turned chef and fired up the barbecue for some much-needed sustenance – and a toast to reaching Devon!

*quoted from The Encyclopaedia of Portland

Finally, we were sailing out of the Solent and on our way west! The sun shone radiantly for most of the trip to Weymouth, but the wind conditions were not quite so kind. Even with the spinnaker up as we crossed Christchurch Bay, the wind was too light to cover any real distance, and we were forced to motorsail for a spell. Once we’d rounded St Alban’s Head, the wind filled in and we flew into Weymouth (where it had been blowing a hoolie most of the day apparently!)

Weymouth itself was remarkably busy and we were all rafted three abreast in the outer harbour. I don’t remember Weymouth ever being so packed on previous visits (although admittedly the last time we’d stopped was in October, so not exactly prime cruising time, and prior to that was just after Covid when rafting was not allowed). The town itself was just as busy as the harbour, with visitors thronging the sunlit streets. As we looked around we saw one possible reason: a vast piratical-looking Spanish galleon was docked just ahead of us, attracting crowds on board to explore this authentic replica of a 17th Century Spanish trading ship.

We chose to dodge the crowds and spent the evening on board our own galleon, cooking up some crab linguine with fresh Portland crab from the harbourside fishmongers Weyfish. Rockfish owner Mitch Tonks’ recipe from his seafood bible Fresh is a flavoursome combo of crab meat, cherry tomatoes, shallots, pine nuts, garlic and lemon juice stirred into a tangle of pasta. If you’re tempted to try it out check his online variation here

Leaving Cowes a few weeks later than planned (after various delays to the boat upgrades), our eventual exit on Friday was somewhat tame. With the wind and tide both stacked against our journey west, there seemed little point in trying to get too far that evening, so we accepted the dismal sailing conditions and motored along the coastline to nearby Newtown Creek. We may not have gone far, but we were at last on our way!

And it’s always a delight to visit Newtown, whatever the conditions. This National Trust nature reserve is a haven to sailors, sea birds and seals, and as we entered the shelter of Clamerkin Lake, we were welcomed with a golden sunset, chorus of birdsong, and aura of tranquility.

Happy to have begun our summer adventures afloat, we toasted the moment with a refreshing Dark & Stormy, grateful that the dark and stormy rainclouds from earlier that day had now dispersed to grant us a stunning evening at anchor.

Ever since we brought Exeat back to Cowes last October, we’ve been tweaking and upgrading her in readiness for the new season. As well as making minor repairs (always inevitable after a season of sailing and living aboard), our focus has been working towards being able to stay off-grid for longer – and making greener energy choices wherever possible.

Of course, sailing itself is one of the most environmentally-friendly ways to get around, but we also want to minimise the need for stopping at marinas regularly to charge the boat’s house batteries. Whilst we don’t tend to use the engine much (other than getting into and out of berths and anchorages), there’s plenty of kit on board that is power-hungry: the boat’s instruments, autopilot, fridge and freezer, 4G Xtream internet service, Starlink, not to mention my beloved mini-dishwasher, Bob! We’ve also just invested in a fixed camera that we plan to attach semi-permanently to the back of the boat and stream footage of where we’re sailing. All these require a regular feed of power, but we don’t want to be forced to move out of a beautiful anchorage just to keep everything running.

A combination of solar panels and lithium batteries is the most obvious renewable energy solution for us; we’d inherited a wind generator on our previous boat (an old Nicholson 35) but hated the noise and look of it, whereas solar power is just a no-brainer if you can position the panels where they can reliably absorb sunlight. To that end we commissioned a steel arch to be constructed for the boat’s stern, which could support solar panels that would be big enough to be useful but also kept out of the way. Turns out this arch has been quite a mission to make (we may have added a few extra features to it…), and there have been several moments that we thought it might not happen in time for the new season. But good things come to those who wait, and…drum-roll…the arch was secured in position on Friday. We’re just waiting for the final pice of the jigsaw – the supports for the solar panels to be fitted – and then Exeat 2:0 will be ready to set sail!

After our novel overnight stay at Whale Island (see previous log) – and Exeat feeling 200 kilos lighter without the old generator – we moved across Portsmouth harbour to a visitor’s berth in Haslar Marina the next day, as we had some mainland errands to run before returning to Cowes. Run by Boatfolk, Haslar gets 10/10 (maybe even 11/10…) as marinas go. The harbour masters are always friendly and helpful here, the washroom facilities are some of the best I’ve sampled, and the nearby, dog-friendly The Creek restaurant serves an imaginative and well-priced menu, with lots of veggie and vegan options to choose from as well as dishes like crab arancini, buttermilk chicken burgers and featherblade steak sandwiches.

Haslar charges visiting yachts £4.10 per metre for boats up to 19m length but a fixed short stay (up to 4 hours) rate is only £15. It’s a good base to leave your boat if you need to nip across to Portsmouth – for its shops or rail link – and don’t want to pay Gunwharf rates. The Gosport ferry is only a ten minute stroll from the marina and runs every 15 minutes until late at night (the crossing takes about 6 minutes and is cheap as chips).

Mainland missions accomplished, we headed off soon after sunrise the following morning and were back in Cowes by 8.30am, thanks to a following wind.

Whale Island in Portsmouth Harbour is not an obvious choice for an overnight as it’s mainly used by fishing boats and as a Naval training base. But it proved a fruitful stopover for us as a marine yard owner had offered to lift out and buy Exeat’s old generator. Weighing in at 200 kilos, we welcomed his assistance (our only other choice being to have it craned out at some considerable expense). Losing this weighty encumbrance from the cockpit would free up a vast amount of locker space and, as any cruiser knows, there is never EVER enough storage space on a boat so this would be a valuable gain indeed. And with the steel arch and solar panels yet to be fitted, we were glad to lighten our load where we could.

It was strange to be the only sailing vessel berthed amongst a fleet of fishing boats, but by early evening the anglers had all departed and the bijou marina was surprisingly peaceful. Buddy was delighted to scamper ashore and we walked him along the shoreline in the setting sun. No doubt the fishing boats would be setting off at first light, and the gennie was due to be extracted at 8am, so an early night beckoned.

We left Chichester marina early (this time one of the first boats out of the lock gate), and began our sail back into the Solent to return our crew to Portsmouth. En route we anchored at Priory Bay, in the North-East of the Isle of Wight, for lunch and a spot of paddle-boarding. This gorgeous anchorage is normally hugely popular and can be rammed with motorboats and RIBs who’ve sped over from Portsmouth for the afternoon. Happily the cool weather had kept most day-trippers at home so we could safely anchor here without being rocked about in the wake of speeding RIBs.

One thing to note is that you do have to anchor quite far away from the shore, as it’s shallow for a surprisingly long way out. This makes getting ashore slightly more of a challenge, unless you’re up for a long dinghy ride. Since we were only stopping for a short while, we stayed on board Exeat (with brief SUP sojourns), but if you’re over-nighting here it’s something to be aware of. Priory Bay beach certainly is glorious, and when we lived in nearby Seaview it was a favourite destination – well worth the long dinghy-ride to reach if you need to stretch your legs ashore.

After one night under the stars, we decided to treat our two teens and their guests to a night in the shelter of a marina on Sunday. Despite the sunshine, the temperature was still decidedly chilly, especially at night. And until Exeat has her solar panels fitted next week, we’re restricted to how long we can stay off-grid. The boat’s house batteries were starting to dwindle by Sunday morning so overnighting in a marina would give us the chance to re-charge them (and run the new on-board dishwasher, which is proving rather power-hungry!).

Because of the late high tide, we couldn’t access Chichester marina until early evening so we whiled away the morning with a slap-up brunch on board followed by a walk along glorious East Head beach, where the teens met up with some school-friends. I must say, it’s a joy to use our new ePropulsion electric outboard for Exeat’s 3D tender: it starts instantly with zero effort and is quiet as a whisper. There’s also the added benefit of knowing we’re not polluting the water or wildlife with every dinghy trip: electric is definitely the way to go!

Back on board later, Chichester’s Harbour Master came by to collect harbour dues, which is payable by the metre for anyone anchoring in the Chichester area (rates here) in addition to marina fees. It’s worth knowing that you are charged per day – or part thereof – NOT per night, which is a more typical charge (so even if you anchored here for a lunch-stop, and planned to leave the area a few hours later, you would still be liable for the charge).

That evening, we arrived at Chichester’s lock gate with a queue of other boats in front of us, and had to wait our turn to access the marina. The guys manning the lock here are always incredibly patient and helpful in manoeuvring boats gently through with their lines, and our teen crew were very excited at seeing a lock gate in operation – although their full enthusiasm was reserved for the on-shore showers. It would only be a short night enjoying the comforts of the marina, as we were keen to catch the early morning lock gate and optimal tide. Much as they had enjoyed partaking in the lock manoeuvres, it was unlikely the teens would surface in time to witness our exit…

In the right conditions, East Head Spit is a glorious anchorage: you’re bang opposite a vast expanse of sandy beach, there’s a decent cafe a brisk walk away, and once the day-trippers have all gone home it’s blissfully peaceful. We fully expected it to be packed on this Bank Holiday weekend, but perhaps the unseasonably cold weather had put people off because there was only a scattering of other boats anchored here on Saturday, and Buddy almost had the beach to himself for his scamper ashore.

The cool weather didn’t deter the teens from swimming however, and even I braved a quick dip in the bracing 10 C water – though not before donning my new Helly Hansen wetsuit. A brief (unpaid for) shoutout to HH for their Waterwear range which comes as easy to get on/off neoprene separates and was designed in collaboration with the Norwegian national sailing team. I have their 1.5mm thick sleeveless swimsuit, 2mm leggings (they call them tights) and long-sleeved jacket: it’s a winning combo if you’re new to cold water swimming like me. I’m not being paid to promote them, I just really rate the range!

We warmed up afterwards with barbecued mussels for supper. Cooking that many moules for six people initially presented a galley challenge, but the Dutch Oven came to the rescue and we tipped all the mussels into this capacious cast iron pot and placed the whole thing onto the BBQ. Stirred into some spaghetti, with Isle of Wight smoked garlic, stir-fried shallots, chopped tomatoes and a splash of white wine proved the perfect feast for our hungry teenagers and their friends, while the setting sun wowed us all with a lavish backdrop.