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The major issue on the leg out of Weymouth was the rounding of Portland Bill. In arriving at our tidal strategy we found Reeds the most useful source and were less than impressed with the Shell Channel Pilot's offering on the subject which we thought to be more off-putting than constructive; "Portland Race is the most dangerous extended area... Quite substantial vessels drawn into it have been known to disappear without a trace". While this may or may not be true, pilot books containing more guidance and less drama were found to be the most useful during our trip.
Reeds suggests that the westbound window is from HW Dover -1hr to HW Dover +2hrs, however with fairly benign conditions forecast we opted to go slightly earlier than this, aiming to round Portland Bill between HW Dover -1˝hr (0945) to HW Dover -1hr using the "inside passage" to try to maximize the amount of fair tide we would have as we crossed Lyme Bay. Our route round Portland Bill took us 2ca off Durdle Pier, around 3ca off as we crossed Freshwater Bay and about 1ca off from Cave Hole and round the Bill of Portland / Pulpit Rock before setting course across Lyme Bay for Dartmouth or Plymouth if the going was particularly good. Until we reached Dartmouth, Brixham or Torquay our alternatives were pretty limited.
Leaving Weymouth under the first bridge opening of the day (0800), the trip round Portland Bill went according to plan and we were among the first of a fleet of boats escaping from Weymouth after the stormy conditions. Although it was pretty calm initially, the wind filled in from the SW once we were an hour or so from Portland giving us a one sided beat across Lyme Bay; it was good to be clear of poorly marked fishing pots for a while. An updated weather forecast suggested very strong winds overnight so we opted to stop at Dartmouth rather than press on.
We called the Darthaven Marina and Dart/Noss Marinas a couple of hours before our ETA to check probable availability and found them both very unhelpful with a dismissive and unfriendly manner. The DHNA were however most helpful and assured us that there would be no problems in accommodating us. True to their word when we called at around 1830 on our approach (Ch11) a rib came over and offered us either an anchorage or an alongside berth on the Town Quay. As the anchorage looked to be subject to significant wash, we opted for the latter however it transpired that this was a pretty poor choice; we had to vacate our berth by 0845 (we only found out this out from a Brixham boat that rafted alongside us later that evening), the berth was too far away from the electricity and hose for them to be used and its proximity to the Dartmouth nightlife (it was a Friday night) was such that for several hours the noise and foul language that thundered into our cabin was pretty horrendous. We were charged £18.50 for the privilege.
We were planning an early start so this was another port of call that we didn't leave the boat and while our experience was exceptionally poor, Dartmouth and the surrounding area does look delightful and with a better berth may well make a good choice for a stop over.