15 July 2009, Portland, England.

The Gales did not relent so once again we had a wobbly night, now sailing from Falmouth to Portland. The good news is that the gale is supposed to fade away today and if that happens then we will have a great day in St. Peters Port tomorrow while at anchor. However our approach to the port of Portland was still very windy. Some time in the 19th century they built an enormous break water that surrounds a large anchorage area. I only knew Portland from “Portland cement” for the housing industry and nothing else. However upon consulting Wikipedia, I found the following

Quote:
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, 6 kilometers (4 mi) long by 2.4 kilometers (1.5 mi) wide, in the English Channel. Portland is 8 kilometers (5 mi) south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southern most point of the county of Dorset, England. Chesil Beach connects it to the mainland, and the A354 road bridge connects it to Weymouth. Portland and Weymouth together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The population of Portland is almost 13,000. Portland is a central part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site on the Dorset and east Devon coast, important for its geology and landforms. Its name is used for one of the British Sea Areas, and has been exported as the name of North American and Australian towns. Portland limestone is still quarried here and is used in British architecture, including St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. The large, deep artificial harbour on Portland’s northern shore was a Royal Navy base during World War I and World War II; the Navy and NATO trained in its waters until the 1990s. The harbour is a small civilian port and popular recreation area; the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy will host the sailing events for the 2012 Olympic Games. Unquote.

Part of the enourmous breakwater of Portland harbour. The larger opening near the top of the photo is the main entrance to the port.

It was this artificial harbour that we approached coming from the South West. For that we had to sail around the Portland Bill with on its top a big light house. The other prominent item is the prison on the top of the hill that is overlooking the harbour. I never understand why they give prisoners the best view of everybody; but they do it on a lot of Islands so there must be a good reason for it. With the harbour on the North East side and the hill to the south of it, the severe winds and swells were considerably lessened when we sailed in and by the time that we docked it was a really beautiful day. Portland itself has not much to offer and therefore there was a shuttle bus system going for the non-tour guests to visit the nearest town of Weymouth. The most important tour of the day was the day trip to Stonehenge about an hour away.

I spent the morning consulting various weather forecasts to figure out what the wind would do during the night and if we would be able to make our call at St. Peter Port the next day. By late afternoon the weather forecasts (and thus the weather) had improved so much that I could stick to my original schedule. Sail away from the dock was quite nice, a local brass band played music on the dock and the navy fussed around with a 19th century cannon that at the appropriate times fired a salute. As they were aiming directly for the bow, I was glad it were only blanks that were fired. With a harbour like this, the town and surrounding area have a great potential for cruise development, even when the docks are full. The large anchorage area inside the breakwater is swell free, so if the port would have a nice tender pontoon, several ships could be at anchor at the same time as well. Today we were the only one, but other cruise ships have been calling as well.

It is not so far to St. Peter Port but you have to approach it from the South as the north entrance to the port (Little Russell) is too narrow and shallow. Thus we will make a large turn around the island and approach the pilot station, hopefully in calm weather.