Woke up to no wind and warm sunshine. No whistling and smacking ropes, what a pleasure. There is probably a nautical term or definition for ropes smacking yacht masts (??). I have a number of personal definitions as well as remedies, but at the risk of incriminating myself in a crime I haven't committed, I will keep them to myself.
We planned to leave at about 12h00 and while there is very little wind, we will be motoring alongside the shore and cliffs the whole way to Eastbourne so we expect it is going to be a bumpy ride. This is normally the case with the water rebounding off the shore. Patrick went off to the local chandlery to “get his fix” and I started to prepare the boat for the trip. I am getting quite slick at this now and can stow away all the moveable bits pretty quickly. We took a quick walk to the marina office to pay for our stay and to throw away the old ladder. This ladder and I have had a love-hate relationship since we bought Deux Poissons. It folds in an awkward way, which I never got the hang of - the handles hooking me almost every time I try to move it. It also ALWAYS seems to be in the way. So I was happy to get rid of her, but still a little nostalgic as I threw it deep into the wheelie bin – I think this was the last of the original boat bits we would be getting rid of.
Patrick sat in the galley and did a little work. Sounded more like chatting to his colleagues about the trip so far…..
We left our mooring at 11h55 and out of the mouth at 12h00. It is about 2.5 hour run. And as predicted – lumpy and rough. But Deux handled it all like a pro although the autopilot decided it had had enough and changed course. So Patrick had to switch it off and do all the steering himself. The chalky cliffs, which ran along the whole way, were so impressive. We saw a number of para-gliders jumping off the cliffs. Patrick said they were motorised gliders, so it felt like cheating but still crazy scary I am sure. Once we got round the point, Beachy Head, the sea state was calmer. Eastbourne Marina (Souverign Marina) has a lock which operates on a half hour cycle. We missed the 14h30 so we had to wait for 15h00. Patrick took advantage of the time and fiddled with the autopilot and then recalibrated it. This involved going round and round in circles. This was while I was on the deck putting down fenders both sides and getting lines ready!!. We were not sure what the lock was like inside, so “be prepared”. Finally they radioed to say proceed and we approached the lock in calm water. 4 boats went in and we rafted to an interesting couple who dive shipwrecks (for fun). It took about 20 mins to get through the lock, so we we had a good chat.
We were onto our mooring by 15h30. Semi-unpacked the boat as we are planning on leaving at 04h00am for Dover. We had a walk around the marina and a drink at the pub. Then back to the boat for dinner and a shower. Patrick did some fuel “tinkering”. We have two fuel tanks of 400 litres each. They are not connected but fuel can be transferred via a pump/filter system. We have had the delightful experience of diesel bug before, so now we keep our fuel tanks separate. For now Patrick set it up that the engine draws from the starboard tank, so he ran the pump to transfer some fuel over from the port to starboard tank, to keep the boat balanced. Lights out by 22h00 with alarm set for 03h15 - yuggggg.
A day in Brighton Marina
We waited out the wind, staying in Brighton Marina and filling our time with boat jobs. It is a bank holiday, otherwise Patrick would do a days work - his other work, not boat work. The easy work. We wrote a very short list as we wanted to achieve as little as possible. Mine included laundry. There is a laundrette at the the marina with large washing and drying machines, and it worked really well. Also a trip to the supermarket. By trip, I meant a walk. Oh and clean the bathroom. Patrick agreed to refit a fairlead we lost a few weekends ago, do the final fitting of the ladder attachment and check the engine. I am pleased to say all was achieved and my lesson of the day is not to over-shop until I buy one of those shopping trolley/bags.
We sat and relooked at our plan/tides/weather. It feels like this is going to an hourly exercise until we get up into the Thames River. So we plan to set off to Eastbourne tomorrow at about 12h00. Patrick will do his other work and I will find a way to keep myself busy. Probably research shopping trolley/bags.
Exploring Brighton
It rained most of the night (of course) and a leak (of course) with the water pooling along MY side of the bed (naturally). The rain stopped by the time we woke up but not the wind. If fact, it felt worse. We both agreed that it was a good call to cancel Eastbourne for today and re-calculate our next few days.
While there was no sunshine, I was happy with no rain. We decided the leave boat jobs for today – except find the leak and patch it. As we are likely to be in Brighton for today and tomorrow, we decided to explore. We left the bedding to dry with open portholes and we put on our walking gear (not actual walking gear … standard flip flops and shorts for Patrick) and we wandered over to find the bus station and, a few minutes later, we were ready to be tourists. We started at Brighton Pier, iconic tourist sight. We were able to look over the water and we agreed that staying in the marina was definitely the best thing to do – it was wild out there. After about half an hour on the pier we were ready for coffee. I mean, we were really ready for a beer, but even we thought it was too soon. We made our way to The Lanes, which is a popular area in Brighton. A small area of tiny streets all lined with independent shops. We spotted a huge crowd with cameras and could hear music, so naturally curious (nosy) we made our way there. It turned out to the band The Specials, one of Patrick’s favourite bands. How special. What a treat. We found a cute tea shop and had scones and tea – delicious and worth postponing the beer. Then more wandering around, there are some beautiful buildings and architecture. Also, Brighton is much hillier than I thought it was and I am definitely more unfit than I thought too. Finally a we had that much needed beer in a cute pub and after a few hours we grabbed a takeaway lunch and enjoyed it in the gardens of the Royal Pavilion. It is an impressive building, built in an architectural style seen in India, with beautiful domes and minarets. According to history, it was built in late 1700s as a seaside retreat for King George IV. According to the historian, Patrick Mckenna, King George entertained way to many single ladies here and so Queen Victoria decided that Osborne House should be the royal seaside retreat – on the Isle of Wight. So the Pavilion was sold to the city of Brighton and no more parties for King George! (*disclaimer – none of this is fact verified).
We caught a bus back to the marina and stopped in at the Brighton Marina Sailing Club to check it out and have a quick drink and then back to the boat. Fortunately with no rain, plenty of wind and some sunshine, the bedding had dried. A quick shower and then we planned our next few days. We use Navionics app as a way to plan routes as it gives us all the information we would need. We will stay in Brighton tomorrow and head to Eastbourne on Tuesday. The tides will work for us midday and there is no strong wind predicted (yay). We planned only one night in Eastbourne and then onto Dover.
Portsmouth to Brighton
It was an exciting and early start today, not that either of us had slept much. Alarm went off at 05:30. The first part of the morning felt like any morning when we set off for a weekend away. Coffee, moan about it being too early, start engine, slip the lines and set off. But this time WAS different. This time we were not coming back to Fareham. This was the start of what we had been discussing and working towards forever - and we both had to scars to prove it!
It was a miserable day, raining and overcast but we didn’t care. Anyway it is the UK - we were used to it.
We left the mooring at 06h09 and got to Portsmouth Harbour at 06:45. I was thrilled to find that the wind had died down and the sea looked calm. So off we set. Deux went so well. The water got a little choppy as we approached Brighton but it was a good trip over. A little over 6 hours and I even got a little snooze in. Until Patrick tapped me on the leg to wake me - Dolphins. How special!
We got to Brighton Marina at about 12h00. I do keep a log so perhaps I should check it and be more specific. We called up the marina office to confirm our arrival and to ask where our mooring would be. They responded by asking if we were the gentleman’s yacht coming into the marina? I don’t think we have had a gentleman on this boat for years, but we still responded “yes we are”!
It was an easy mooring. We tied up, paid for shore power, unpacked a few bits that we had stowed away. We plan to leave for Eastbourne tomorrow, so we called and made a booking for 12h30. We then decided to stretch our legs and have a look around. It is a huge marina with a large number of clean toilet/shower facilities and also a laundrette. Surprise surprise to find ourselves in a pub/cocktail bar. Then it was back to the boat for dinner on board, shower and a very welcome early night.
We did it ... we are on our way
After more than 8 years of restoration, planning (and some playing) we finally said our goodbyes to Fareham and our mooring at Portsmouth Marine Engineering and started our trip.
Well sort of…. In true boating life style, the weather and/or tides never want to agree with your plan. We had hoped to leave this morning at 05h30 to catch the tide and get to Brighton early afternoon. However, the wind was predicted to gust to 42knots and this was not the way we wanted to start out new life. So we motored for about 10 minutes to the next marina and moored up there overnight as the wind was expected to die down.
So it felt like we had started our trip. Also it was 10 minutes closer to Portsmouth Harbour mouth and most importantly we got to spend the evening with our good friends for ANOTHER goodbye evening.
We called it a night early enough to be considered sensible and after a few tears we climbed aboard our boat and tried to get some sleep.
They were not joking about the gusting 42knots, never mind the rain!
Our toilet-shower-wet room upgrade is finally complete
All good things come to those who wait ….We have been working and improving this space from the moment we bought the boat! Each step first needed another AND another step to be completed, but it has been worth it.
We have run out of time .... will try again next year
The rain has continued for days now. More rain days than not. We had hoped to get away and travel up river, possibly even to Oxford and back down to Reading before the end of October. We plan to winterise Deux Poissons at Reading Marine Services; the engineers and owner have been really helpful and winterising is a service they provide.
So we waited and waited (and waited) for the rain to stop, even for a while. But it didn’t and even when there was a break in the rain and the sun did come out, the river continued to rise and the force of the flow became stronger and stronger. It was quite astounding how quickly the river did rise – only a few weeks ago when we arrived the moorings, on a steel beam, across the river were high out the water and easy to see. Now they were under water.
We woke one morning and resigned ourselves to the fact that our travel for 2024 had come to an end. Firstly, the sunken boat across the river was an indicator of the amount of rain over the past days and the forecast didn’t look good. And the river was now on “red boards”.
The non-tidal River Thames is managed by the Environmental Agency, a government agency. They monitor and report on the river conditions, particularly any warnings. The warnings are displayed at the locks on boards and also can be found on-line at government websites as well as navigation apps and websites. The warnings/indicators will either be yellow or red. Yellow is a sign that the “stream is increasing” and red is “strong stream”. Red boards are an indication that the strong flow makes navigating difficult and possibly dangerous. The flow of water close to weirs and sluices are particularly risky. In effect, the river is now under flood.
While locks won’t be closed as such, there is unlikely to be a lock-keeper who will operate the locks for you. The bollards used outside of the locks, to tie up to while “working the locks” will most likely be underwater and inaccessible. There was a lot of debris coming down the river – we saw whole trees, fenders, logs, some identifiable objects and a chair, never mind what was underwater. All of this is either going to smash into the boat or get caught up in the prop and make the boat dangerous to manoeuvre, especially in a strong current and boats tied up alongside the banks. And your insurance will not cover you if you travel on red boards and possibly not yellow boards either.
So Patrick and I spent the less wet days exploring the parts of Reading that we hadn’t seen yet and on the really wet days (95% of the time) googling Cape Town, South Africa – our destination at the end of October and reminded ourselves that we will soon experience dry, hot weather.
As that time approached, we packed up / winterised the boat ….. if it can be moved, it gets vacuum-packed. It is an exhausting exercise but worth it; ten-fold. All the curtains get taken down, all the cushion and seating covers are removed, all linen and towels are laundered, all clothing except holiday clothes, even books and magazines – basically everything - is shoved into plastic vacuum bags. We have done this every winter and on our return months later, everything is dry and mould free – yes!!
We have a full cover for the boat which also keeps her dry and protected. Reading Marine services will lift her and keep her on the hard while we are away. They drain the water tanks and the calorifier. They fill these with propylene glycol-based solution which prevents any water freezing, it also prevents bacteria growth and is safe. They keep the batteries charged and will run a dehumidifier periodically to keep the boat dry. And just before our return, they drain the tanks, refill them with clean drinkable water, put the boat back in the water. As an extra they will check and change filters and impellers, They guarantee that she is “key-start-ready” on our return. What a treat.
So we packed up, said good-bye to Deux Poissons and the full river and look forward to sunshine and coming back to start out travels in 2025.
She quickly went from our comfy home to a bare boat … ready for winter storage.
A full walk through
We bought Deux Poissons in 2015 and have spent 8 years working (and playing) on her. Our website and other social media is updated regularly as we work on her, but we often get asked for an overview or complete view of her. Well we finally got to the point where we could do that …. so here is a complete walk through of the boat - enjoy. Leave a comment or any questions and we will respond.
Moving day
After many long and challenging years of planning and tireless work on the boat, the day had finally arrived. I don’t remember us deciding on 27 July 2023 but here we are, this was it. So after a challenging few weeks of halving our belongings and then halving them again, we managed to squeeze our lives into a four door car (which fortunately had a deep boot). I will admit that I watched more videos than necessary on how to fold clothes into tiny-tiny squares and it paid off.
It was bitter sweet packing up everything after living in our home for so long; leaving friends and family and more than once I asked myself if we were making a mistake.
While I am not one for celebrating “a sign that this was meant to be” - my phone (Facebook) felt perhaps this was one day to give me that sign …. so a photo popped up on my phone from 27th July 2019. It was the day emptied the whole boat into a van and we started the major restoration. So here we were exactly 4 years later taking everything back, just not in a van though……
So we bid farewell to the familiar comfort of our home and beautiful garden and began the next chapter of our lives.
More "stuff" to store... and where to store it. Working on our holding tank
Something we need to consider and fit is a holding (black) tank. We cannot pump out the toilet into the canals and rivers and we cannot be sure how often we will be able to access marinas with suction facilities for holding tanks. So we need to design a large tank, and also find space to fit it.