I needed about 3 days of winds not-from-the-east to make it to Deal, which represented the east coast of UK, to get around to Walton-on-the-Naze where I intend to haul-out. That’s about 300nm non-stop. I’ve been waiting at least a couple weeks for it and here it was. I had hoped to stop off by the Isle of Wight, but no time. I sailed non-stop to Deal and suffered much sleep deprivation. It’s one thing sleeping on watch when you’re in open ocean and not in a shipping lane. When you are along the South coast of a place like England, with so many fisherman out at all hours, and recreational boaters during the day, and some spot with fast ferries plying to and fro, it’s a whole different story. Paranoia and fear serve you well here.
I got to Deal about midnight 8 Oct, dropped anchor in near complete darkness, put on the anchor drag alarm and slept soundly.