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| A rainbow of sunset colours |
The cliff is a rainbow of sunset colours. A bold pink stripe
dips right to left from its green grassy top to the deep gold of the shingle
beach uncovered by the receding tide. The rainbow fades through ochre and
russet to a ruddy brown. Highlights are picked out with white slashes of chalk
at the same jaunty angle as the central stripe.
Stargazer is lying at anchor on glassy smooth water that
reflects the blue of the sky. We are perfectly sheltered from the chill Easter
North East wind by the rainbow cliff towering above the forestay. We’re tucked
inside the sheltering arm of Worbarrow Tout. The outcrop fends off a low persistent swell that is rolling in from the South despite the wind direction. The Tout’s strata
are stood nearly on end, allowing wind and weather to worry away at the softer
layers and leaving hard jutting grey giant’s fangs silhouetted against the spring sky.
Between the giant’s fangs green grass sprouts – as if it has dined on spinach.
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| A tumble of white chalk and green grass |
To port and to the west the bay stretches away. The
protective vertical cliff and its sunset colours dips down under a tumble of
white chalk and green grass. The chalk reclines back as if
lounging on its elbows. Its feet plunge straight into the sea making do without
a beach and its head is lost in the clouds,daydreaming, as it reaches high up into the sky.
Further west beyond the bay the grey, reversed cheese wedge,
of Portland Bill perches on the horizon beckoning to us. The Bill will be our
first waypoint as we head west towards Scilly and Biscay Brittany at the
end of the month. For now though we’re taking advantage of a rare combination: northerly
winds (making Worbarrow a sheltered anchorage), no firing on the Lulworth range
(making Worbarrow “in bounds”) and four days of Easter Bank holiday. This is
our shakedown mini-cruise.
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| The towering might of St Alban's Head |
This morning the Poole ebb carried us down harbour putting a
belly in our sails as the breeze, child-like, played hide and seek around first Brownsea
Island, then Ballard Down and finally Anvil Point. One moment it was on our
port quarter and we were broad reaching with a chuckling of bow wave beginning to
build and the deck drains starting to gurgle their approval. The next moment it
would dodge behind a promontry before leaping out playfully from an unexpected direction to surprise us and
back the jib or make the mainsail flog. “Boo- Got You !” it seemed to call merrily before
settling down on our quarter again. The tide was stalwart and sensible - a dependable companion as always. As we
rolled, sails slatting, off Anvil Point it scooped us up and briskly escorteded us West past the towering
might of St Albans Head.
By now Stargazer was making 8 knots over the ground with the
full assistance of a steady force 4 and a galloping spring tide. Tramping along leaving a straight furrow of wake astern and nodding her approval as her bow shouldered through the long low swell. We bore off to avoid the wind shadow of St Alban’s and the race at its foot. The race now visible as churning a
line of white where the ink blue of the sea met the royal blue of the sky. As
we cleared the headland the tracery of a tallship’s rigging glinted back from
the shelter of Chapman’s Pool - The Pelican
at anchor and snugly too I imagined.
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| In we ghosted...towards a blaze of white in the cliffs |
We began to harden up and make towards a blaze of white in
the cliff line. The wind eased and became playful again as we felt the lee of the
land. In we ghosted playing the shifts and down rattled the anchor chain. The busy sounds
of a boat on passage were replaced with: birdsong; the suck and surge of swell rolling in further up the beach; the
gentle groan of the anchor rode as Stargazer swings to accomodate the rhythm of
wind and tide.
