One of the compelling qualities of lift-keelers such as Hejira, my Southerly 135, is the ability to access shallow, rarely visited locations and dry out upright when the tide recedes. It is then possible to escape the ‘hubbub’ of yachting activity and enjoy more natural surroundings.

Every time that I have driven across the bridge onto Hayling Island towards the mooring in Northney Marina, I have been intrigued by the dock outside the Ship Inn pub. Apart from the occasional RIB, I have never seen any vessel moored there but I have strong mental images of how the wharf must have been before it became so choked with silt.

Inevitably, for me, it became a compelling challenge to visit the redundant dock before the winter lift ashore and the necessary off-season jobs. The selected crew would need to be those who would relish a challenge and enjoy the benefits of being marooned at low tide directly outside an excellent pub selling my favourite HSB real ale!

There were a number of potential issues which had to be addressed, planned for and briefed in advance of our ‘mini adventure’. Thankfully I had studied the location at various states of the tide while the kernel of a plan germinated.

Firstly, would there be enough depth to negotiate the passage to, and moor at the wharf? An earlier reconnoitre suggested 2.2m depth on a full tide to the top of the dock. At low tide, would the bottom be clear of any debris, flat and suitable to ‘sit on’?

Two traffic cones having been cleared, there was a clean bottom. Would the high tide be so high as to make the fenders unable to protect the hull? At the high tide would we be able to access the mooring rings set into the dock wall and under water at the highest tides?

Most of my reservations had been assuaged, and a call to the Chichester Harbour Office and a chat with the pub staff gave an encouraging ‘green light’ to the plan.

The crew were Richard, who had sailed with me back from the Med up to Orkney in 2024 and through the Netherlands in 2025, and Peter Morton, who is a friend from a very long time ago. He has a yacht and apartment in Northney Marina and he kindly helped with my Northney mooring application when there was a waiting list. He is also excellent company, so he qualifies in spades on all fronts.

‘Toad’, my next-door neighbour and a committed beer quaffer, had been pencilled in for our entertainment. He made all the right noises about joining us but, typically, at the last minute, he was otherwise committed.

Needing a spring tide and thinking that sunshine trumps cold, we studied the conditions for a suitable couple of days. Monday 5 January ticked all the boxes, and we assembled in Northney Marina to make the very short passage to the Ship Inn dock at Langstone.

The channels would inevitably have challenging depths so I was keen to have a rising tide under us in case we touched.

So, we managed to negotiate the channels up to the Langstone dock, registering no less than 2.1m on the depth sounder. We need a minimum of 1m with the keel fully raised, but I like to leave a little ‘hanging out’ so we can get an early indication of impending trouble with the ability to raise the spare and float off.

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Mooring up and confident that all was well at the top of the tide, it would have been irresponsible not to sample the HSB and enjoy a light lunch with the Hejira webcam (hejira-sailing.com) hopefully registering a new location for the first time since its installation.

We had rigged a breast line to keep her close to the quay but considered it a trip hazard in our absence, so we left it coiled on the dock while we went for a pint. The intention was to pull Hejira back alongside before she took the bottom.

This is where things started to go wrong…

Peter Morton writes:

We had been given our orders by the captain, Nick Mines: a bold and perilous mission to take on the vast adventure of travelling some 400 yards from Northney Marina to the quayside beside the Ship Inn, just the other side of the bridge on Hayling Island.

There was snow on deck when we boarded but it was a beautiful, crisp, sunny day; despite it being a spring tide there was a certain amount of concern about depth, even with the lifting keel. I felt I really ought to have been stationed at the bow, heaving a lead line over the side and calling out solemnly, ‘By the mark, two metres… by the mark, two point two.’

Nevertheless, we rounded the corner and tied up at the quay without drama. All was going swimmingly. That is, until we got cosy in the pub and failed to notice that Hejira had blown away from the dock, settled on the bottom and was over 6ft away, out of reach. This was not a scenario we had envisaged.

As the youngest member of the crew, I briefly considered a heroic run-and-leap manoeuvre onto the boat. However, this would have left Captain Haddock and his trusty shipmate Richard stranded ashore, which felt both unseemly and potentially very lonely.

After diplomatic discussions with the pub, a solution was produced in the form of a piece of wood. It was exactly 2in long enough. Any shorter and we would have been paddling.

With the plank delicately positioned from quay to ladder, and with two great bold steps, we made it aboard – amazingly, all three of us – without suffering any injury, immersion, or major embarrassment.

Now safely on board, the heater pumping out deliciously warm air, all was once again well with the world. The whole episode was made even better by passers-by stopping to take photographs, clearly unused to seeing a boat of this size tied up on the quay.

That was not the end of the drama.

As Hejira settled and sloped away from the dock, the plank fell off and no longer reached. Thankfully, the pub came to the rescue again, producing the floats from a raft which were long enough to span the gap and allow us to, once again, return to the pub.

Sorting it all out and returning to the pub with a smile on our faces was remarkable. That we managed it after four pints of HSB and a narrow plank is nothing short of miraculous.

Richard writes:

We slipped our lines from Northney Marina on a chill winter’s day for an epic crossing of the Hayling Straits, some of the most dangerous waters in the world, beset by vicious tides, currents, whirlpools, shallows and sea monsters to try and reach the safe haven of the Ship Inn quay, which was, well, just over there!

As we rounded Cape Certain Death, just by the first port hand mark, the current grabbed the good ship Hejira, dragging her inexorably towards the stinking mud flats. If anything went wrong now, we were doomed. luckily, the skipper had been planning this adventure for the last six months, down to the very tiniest detail, leaving absolutely nothing to chance, so, in no time at all, we were in the warm welcoming embrace of the Ship Inn bar, a pint of HSB in hand.

A few ales later, we decided to get back on board. But something was wrong. A chasm had opened up between Hejira and the quay. The publican came to our rescue with a 6ft-long, 6in-wide plank. The gap was about 5ft 10in! Imagine this. Three blokes who had had a drink trying to cross a rickety plank across a 10ft deep chasm over black, stinking mud.

We made it but, inevitably, the boat settled and the planks plunged into the depths, leaving us stranded – again! Peter had taken himself off, (by taxi would you believe – less than half a mile!) to the warmth of his apartment in the marina while Richard and I froze on board in -4°C after the heating had been turned off for the night.

We had rigged a slip on the breast line, around a parking bollard, so we could pull ourselves back alongside when we floated off on the middle of the night high tide. Probably as a result of the ‘intake’, and the intense cold, we slept through our buoyancy and missed the opportunity. So we awoke, still stuck on the bottom, and facing the challenge of the ‘plank’ again, but it was now even more treacherous as it was covered in frost.

The prospect of a full English in the Ship was too alluring, so we braved the bridge and enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast – with coffee instead of HSB…

The landlord of the Ship had been so helpful. He had wanted to bring his son on board to see the yacht, but, after breakfast, his son was at school so it didn’t happen. Next time, maybe.

Overall, the visit to the Langstone dock proved to be a real ‘winner’ and great fun. The winter sun was magical, although it clouded over for the return passage with even a flurry of snow.

In conclusion, the Ship Inn should become a regular destination as the depth issues proved to be not so much of a concern and with the warm welcome, good food and excellent HSB, why not!

Lessons learned

Keep an eye on things – Maybe I was too sensitive to a breast line across the quay being a trip hazard. I could, and should, have stationed one of the crew to ‘stand by’ until the yacht had dropped sufficiently for it to be tightened at ground level. With all the crew hungry (and thirsty) there were no takers for this onerous task, instead we all agreed to ‘keep an eye out’ – an arrangement that was soon forgotten…

Be aware of the wind – The northerly wind was unusual and partly responsible for the freezing temperatures. The wind was light when we left for the pub and Hejira remained alongside while we observed her before we left. A wind from any other direction would have ‘blown us on’ and the long bow and stern lines, arranged to allow for the fall, would have been sufficient. There must have been some stronger gusts just at the point of settling.

Comfort is the enemy – This is really an extension of lesson one. Even when it is below zero outside, don’t get too comfortable and engrossed in diverting conversation in the warmth of the bar.

It could have been worse – The ‘plank’ was precarious and we, thankfully, got away with it. In hindsight the muddy option would have been the more responsible alternative and the worst case would have been a dirty yacht and some smelly clothes but, with a blast from my transom shower, this could have been mitigated.

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