I was keen to visit Littlehampton by sail, having enjoyed a land based trip a couple of years back. It’s only accessible for a couple of hours either side of HW and is subject to phenomenal tidal flow, but is a good destination for us because leaving the Solent at low water gives us a fair tide around Selsey Bill and a high tide arrival.

To make a little more of the trip, Niki and I left for an afternoon sail to Chichester Harbour, ready for an early departure the following morning. We anchored at East Head, which was still quiet at this early point in the season. I did come to regret this slightly, though. East Head is a lovely anchorage, but is subject to the wash of passing traffic and gets rolly at high tide. I was too impatient to motor on to a better sheltered location, such as Pilsey Island. We had a lovely evening and retired to sleep. Sure enough, we were woken by an hour of rolling at high tide.

This did not disrupt sleep too much and just as the flood began, I got up quietly to lift the anchor and motor off, leaving Niki asleep. There was no wind forecast and I was expecting to motor all the way to Littlehampton, but a small zephyr encouraged me to open the foresails to help us across Chichester bar.

I love these early starts. I enjoy the peace and stillness and watching the light change as the sun breaks through. Today was a glorious morning- a hazy pre-dawn mist had formed, but quickly faded in the sun. The sea was sparkling and smooth.

The tide carried Molly swiftly towards Selsey and I needed only modest engine revs to maintain good speed. I was hoping to be able to sail after we had turned in the Looe Channel around the Bill, but it was not to be and what wind there was, was very much “on da nose”. I was able to bear off just enough to fill the jibs under engine and I convinced myself it added an extra half a knot to our speed.

The fair tide carried us right across the bay, past Bognor and we soon opened the mouth of the Arun that marks the entrance to Littlehampton. We arrived less than an hour before spring HW but even so, the incoming tide was running hard and there was a patch of standing waves in the mouth. However this was passed in seconds as we made over 6kt with the engine on tick-over through the entrance.

I knew we would be tying up on the starboard side, but I asked niki to rig warps and fenders to port. This allowed us to make a recce and choose our spot before spinning around and motoring into the tide onto our chosen berth.

Having checked in with the very friendly harbour commission staff, we took a walk around the town. It was interesting to see the evidence of the town’s nautical history and pleasing how historical details were preserved during redevelopment of parts of the waterfront. The range of restaurants was not especially inspiring, so we followed Tom Cunliffe’s advice and had fish and chips for tea.

The wind was due to swing round to the SE the following day, which sure enough it did, perfect for our return. Niki and I had a leisurely morning watching the comings and goings in the harbour. There is plenty of depth in the river at all states of tide, but the bar at the entrance dries at LW. The first sign that there is sufficient water is the departure of small motor boats, followed a while later by sailing boats. We wanted the ebb tide to carry us back into the Solent, so waited nearer to high water. We watched boats going out through the mouth and the water there was very turbulent, with significant cross-currents.

It turned out to look far more intimidating than it actually was when we motored out and we were soon clear of the bar. The wind direction gave us a fabulous reach to Selsey Bill and, combined with the spring tide, we were touching 9kts at times.

Rounding the Bill we slowed as we turned much deeper, and became dead downwind as I rolled in the fore sails and aimed Molly at Portsmouth. I love the gentle rolling motion and watching the waves slide under the boat.

Visibility was quite poor for the whole journey, increasing from less than half a mile when we set out to a mile or two later, so it was reassuring to have AIS; it’s a shame lobster pots don’t show up though!!

We slipped into our new berth after a blistering run and rounded the day off with a lovely curry in Gosport.

• Trips