Such big plans, but so little actually gained. My annual holiday this year was to go "home". Two weeks in Ashford Kent staying with my sister. I live in Bradford, and as my wife doesn't like water I don't usually take the boat. However looking on the Wayfarer Millennium Cruise map I saw that none of the SE corner was covered and I convinced her that this great event should not slip by Dr.Syn.

To cut a long story short I managed to get 4 days sailing, well 2 1/2 really as a friend who's drive I used to store the boat whilst there, was only really interested in fishing, and I had to make sure he was amenable throughout the fortnight.

I thought I might be able to start at Ramsgate but the prevailing winds (SW) in the SE prevailed and blew quite hard the times I could go sailing, so Ramsgate was out.

I used Folkestone on the three occasions I launched ( one night I stayed out anchored in the bay, that’s why I got 4 days in ). The slipway in the outer harbour is OK once you have turned the sharp corner at the top. The area is very busy with holidaymakers so you need someone to get rid of the car as soon as you've offloaded it. On these occasions I had the help of my brother, so launching was not a problem. I left the trailer padlocked under the unused arch ( you'll see it), but the car I took up and parked on the East Cliff. A 10min walk but you can always get in and it's free.

On the first day, in the morning the wind was SW2/3 and we sailed out to the East to fish as we had the "driveway man" with us. In the afternoon it came in SW3, G4, but with 2 crew this was no problem. It was a bit lumpy but exhilarating ( and wet ) and we managed to get any amount of mackerel & huss together with a black bream.

Whilst passing Samphire Hoe nature reserve (the tunnel spoil ground ), we hooked a pollack so turned back to cover our tracks and see if we could get more. At this stage the current was such that we had to use the engine to get back to the start of the run, but all the time it was running we caught nothing. When we went back over the ground with just the jib we got fish again.

As we approached the Warren at Folkestone it was near low water and we could see we were being funnelled into a V of rocks and shallow water. Indeed the centerboard touched and we had to gingerly edge our way back for half a mile or so until we could head out into deeper water. Another place not to be in any swell.

We continued on past Folkestone as far as Sandgate until we gave up and drifted back with the tide to Folkestone, where the water was just making in the harbour, so claiming 8 miles of the cruise.

The following weekend I launched on Friday and they had stretched flags for the carnival across the top of the slipway, we hadn't noticed this till some observant local asked how the mast would clear them. Down it had to come again until we got onto the slip. It was like Bodacea trying to turn a nearly invisible 23' mast through the multitudes of people.

I anchored outside the harbour that night, and although it blew a bit, I was protected by the pier. In the morning I went alongside the eastern arm to pick up my "passenger" - fishing again. It was blowing SW4 gusting more, so we just bobbed about in the swells catching mackerel plus one nice little bass. When my brother & his wife came down we braved the conditions and sailed out into the now choppy sea for a while and the wayfarer took it all in her stride.

On returning to the harbour, we found out it was also the annual trawler race and it was packed with these gaily done up boats, so we planned our slipway retrieval down to the last swell with military precision before approaching. After being bombarded with water bombs and slipping on the flour bombed slipway we rushed out and straight up the slip. At the top someone shouted, but too late, and two rows of flags came fluttering down around the mast, we'd forgotten all about them. As my brother's wife pointed out, the mast did look pretty though.

Mike Bull

W3362 Dr.Syn

Aug. 2000