Ramsgate
Ramsgate, a destination close by!
2 or 3 - day trip
60 Miles, that’s a day’s sailing! Still, we have to pay attention and plan. The harbour entrance is shallow, for the Elise That means we must arrive no later than 45 minutes before low tide, or only 15 minutes after! Today’s LW is 17h53. With the predicted 10/12 knots of north easterly wind, we should manage to enter Ramsgate before 5pm.
We sail through the lock at 8.45am and 9am we hoist both sails. Elise is looking forward to it; we log 7.1 knots. At 11:20 we are at the Oostdyk buoy and approach the busy shipping lanes. Four “traffic separation schemes” TSS converge here, at a kind of “roundabout”. Eight traffic lanes of which we have to cross six!
The AIS is an indispensable tool, you get info on course and speed of the ships you have to avoid. Commercial shipping has the upper hand here. Cargo ships are difficult to manoeuvre, let alone they stop for a “sailing boat”. Everyone keeps an eye out. Hans decides how best to cross each “shipping Lane”. Today we do it at noon and with perfect visibility! At night, it is often an exciting story!
At 2.15pm, the crossing is over and we still have 15.7 nm to go, Elise feels the destination is near. The speed over ground (GPS speed) varies between 8 and 10 knots. At the Goodwin Knoll buoy we are at the “channel” which, nicely delineated with buoys, shows us the safe way to Ramsgate. Here we take down the sails and the engine takes over.
Note: an international travel pass is required for travelling to the UK!
Nicely on time, but with not much margin, Hans steers through the narrow entrance. Keeping well to port, as at the eastern breakwater it is already drying out.
5.10pm we are tied up at the jetty, 56 miles sailed, 7.4 knots average. About 8 hours of sailing and only used the engine for one hour and 6 minutes!
There is still nice time to visit the town. As sailors we step into the Royal Temple Yacht Club, filled with trophy cases, full of nostalgic luxury!
Royal Temple Yacht Club
If you want to go out for the evening in Ramsgate, no problem… remember, for a smooth return trip – with the right tide – you might have to get up early.
The return… there are options! Count well with tides (don’t leave at low tide), currents and wind direction; maybe we can return nicely along the coast via Dover – Calais – Dunkirk. Or if the straight line is fine sailing, we can get to Ostend at record speed. If you have an extra day, is a stopover in Dover or Dunkirk in the cards?