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Published: October 9th 2016
Weymouth – Aug 30 – Sept 6
In looking at the chart it appears that making the crossing of the English Channel from a little farther east than Dartmouth would work out well as we could then head directly to Cherbourg and not have to do an overnight passage. We have done plenty of overnights, but if we don’t have to while making the crossing all the better. In deciding where to head we had thought of two ports, each very close to each other, Portland or Weymouth. In talking to others we decided on Weymouth as we had figured we had to bite the bullet and buy 3 batteries for our boat as it would be easier doing it in English than in French! We heard there was a working chandlery in Weymouth as well as others told it was a nice town to visit.
One point on this part of the coast is what is called the Portland Bill and from most everything you read and hear it seems to be a very difficult and dangerous place to cross. Others told us that if you made sure you timed the tide right and were brave enough to
Views On Our Way to Weymouth from Dartmouth
Started clear, got a little foggy, then cleared againget in close to land as you were rounding the point it would work out fine. With those warnings and checking all of our data, we set out from Dartmouth. We had a calm day so we were mainly motoring but had a little assistance from the sails for part of the trip. We had some sun, some clouds and a little fog thrown in for good measure. At least with motoring a good part of the way we could monitor our timing of arrival at that “dreadful” Portland Bill right which we got to “right on the mark”. At this point there is a magnificent white lighthouse which you can spot for miles. We did see a couple of sailboats making the approach before us so we kept our binoculars on them to see if we could pick up any tips of how close they got to land.
The trip around the point is very interesting indeed. Bob planned it so that we would approach the lighthouse about a mile in and then we would turn out and around the point. We were making the approach as planned, but then Bob noticed that we were “sliding sideways” so
The Portland Lighthouse
quite an interesting way around this point! it wound up that we never had to turn to go around the point, the current “pushed” us out far enough to go around the point without ever turning the wheel. When we were approaching the point we were going 5.5 knots but with the current we got up to 7.1 knots. Quite an interesting sensation indeed of doing a sideways move somewhat like a helicopter can do!
As with the other stops we had made along this coast, we had heard that Weymouth was going to have a Waterfest over the weekend of Sept 3
rd & 4
th so arriving on August 30
th was good in order to get a spot in the harbor. Here there is a marina that you can go to, but you must go through an opening bridge – the other option is staying in the outer harbor which we chose to do so we could leave at any time. Fortunately there was a boat that we were told we could raft up to. A couple of days later they left so we were shuffled to the inside. By the end of the time we were in Weymouth we had a few different boats rafted
to us – up to 3 boats deep. We have gotten used to the boat “shuffle” here as rafting is very common. You just need to communicate with your neighbors when you want to leave and everyone works together to coordinate the moves. Maybe this happens in the US but we never came across it – it sure is a way to get more boats into a harbor!
We arrived on a Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning we went to the chandlery nearby as one of our main goals was to buy 3 AGM 12V batteries for the boat. Our current ones are 6 years old and we have noticed that they weren’t holding a charge. We were told they had to be ordered but that it would take until Monday to get them. It was a little longer than we had hoped to stay, but guess it will keep us here for the Waterfest. We wanted to order 3- 225 Ah batteries, but were told that the supplier only had 2. We then were informed that we could mix 2 -225 Ah batteries with 1-270 Ah battery. Bob questioned this as he had always heard that this
was not possible, but was assured that it wasn’t a problem. We went with their advice and placed the order. That done we were now free to explore Weymouth.
As you enter the Weymouth Harbor you see a large fort at the entrance so we took a day to walk out and tour Nothe Fort. It was built between 1860-1872 in the shape of a capital letter D. In this way, the guns could protect both the Weymouth Harbor as well as the neighboring Portland Harbor. This was important as Portland was becoming known as an important naval base. In WWII changes were made upgrading the technology with both British and US navies using this location. They did an excellent job of explaining the changes that have occurred and why this location was an important one. It made for a very pleasant day learning as well as providing us an excellent vantage point to see the two harbors.
The beach at Weymouth seems to go on forever and it appears to be well used. They even have various activities held on the beach such as pony rides, volleyball, miniature golf and rides as well as the traditional use
of catching some rays and frolicking in the waves! One of the attractions here is the actual sand itself. The grains of sand are about one-half the size of “normal” sand. If it was .09 mm smaller it would not be called sand as it would be classified as silt. It is one of the best known sands for sand sculpturing. It compacts very solidly and can then be carved into great detail. There were a few sculptures on display showing the amount of detail that was possible, unfortunately a few vandals destroyed parts of some of them, therefore the artist was not working here for a few days. It is always sad to see when people want to destroy instead of just admire. When you walked on the beach it was very compact but so fine that it was almost “smooth”.
There is quite a prominent statute of King George III on the junction of two main roadways over near the beach area. In checking it out we found out why. In 1799 King George III first visited Weymouth, but he returned quite often. Due to his poor health the benefits of salt water were being touted by
the physicians at the time. With this in mind, King George III took a dip in the bay, not by walking into the water, but by using a “bathing machine”. It was a mobile changing room that allowed a person to be wheeled into the water very discreetly. He returned numerous times for the health benefits and later decided to purchase a holiday home here. This made the area very popular and was the start of Weymouth as a seaside resort.
On the hill you can see a chalk figure of a horse and a rider which is thought to be a depiction of King George III. Even though we found it quite impressive to see, King George III was not happy with this carving as it showed him riding away from Weymouth rather than toward it!
We found a small Tudor House was open to the public to tour, but we were not allowed to take photos inside. The house was built in the 17
th century and at that time it was on the water front, however, since then the inlet was filled in and therefore its value as a water front property for sea traders lost
its importance. It was built with twin gables and at one time was actually used as two separate cottages with a fireplace in each one. In fact they don’t have a lot of specific information about the previous owners of this home, but it was furnished with period furnishings and gave a glimpse of what life would have been like. The actual museum was not the best we have been in, but the enthusiasm of the volunteer guides for imparting knowledge to others about the Tudor period made the time we spent here worthwhile.
In comparison to the other regattas we have been to the Waterfest in Weymouth was more about celebrating the harbor’s maritime heritage with the emphasis on the historic vessels that were to be on display. They had everything from the restored tall ship “Le Marite” built in 1923 and is the last surviving 3-masted Newfoundland schooner to the historic Gipsy Moth IV which Sir Francis Chichester completed his circumnavigation in 1967. The sea cadets “TS Jack Petchey” was on tour and the Royal Navy patrol vessel which assist in the training of the undergraduates came to the harbor for all to see.
Food vendors
abound as always at these types of events, but they also had the Boat Building Academy showing the beautiful hand-built wooden canoes and dinghy’s that showed their talent. For those of you not in the know, there is an International Guild of Knot Tyers and the Solent team was there to show some of the many knots and challenge you to try your hand at them. The Aquatic Jetpacks demonstrated in the harbor with the person going up as high as 30’ before diving down into the water – as the announcer stated they call it “the dolphin maneuver” but he very smartly wore a helmet to protect him from the force of the water. The gig rowing boats held races in the harbor and there was one on display on land for people to see up close and learn more about these craft. Fortunately the first day of the Waterfest was a bright, sunny day while the 2
nd day ended with a little bit of rain. It didn’t seem to deter the audience too much, but you have to always remember that you are in the UK and here everyone just keeps on going with what you have planned
no matter what the weather!
On Monday the batteries we ordered were delivered and installed. The first time we bought batteries for Tsamaya Bob installed them himself, but at that time we both said that we would sell the boat before that job would be done again! Needless to say, we aren’t selling the boat right now, so the next best thing was to hire the shop to do the installation! Bob had the area all cleared out and prepped to “just make the switch and reconnect wires”. With the location of the batteries not being the easiest to get to we were very glad that the installation was done by someone else! The fact that these batteries each weigh over 100 pounds was an extra incentive to hire the work out. We are starting to get smarter in our old age!
With the batteries all installed it was time to leave Weymouth and continue our movements to France so we can start the process of heading up the Seine toward Paris. Weymouth made a very pleasant stop for us and we would recommend it to others as it is an easy harbor to get in
and out of, a beautiful beach and plenty of history to learn.
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