MISSION UNDERWAY!
West winds made Cornwall pretty much a write off and luckily for Timo it looked like his local beach Branksome Dene just up from Bournemouth was going to be the call. Taking no chances I set out the night before from the Isle of Wight and even then, the Red Jet ferry service from Cowes to Southampton was dubious as the winds in the Solent were already registering force 8 and over, but fortunately I managed to make it! That night the storm really kicked in and the channel buoy was showing 18 feet and rising, while down off of Cornwall the Sevenstones Lightship was a mind boggling 38 feet!
Come the morning, the news was already awash with stories of travel disruption and storm damage. Over 19,000 homes were reported without power, ferries cancelled (including all of mine!) and trees uprooted. Sandstorms and floods were making life a misery for most normal folk. The met office were already calling phenomenal sea conditions from several points offshore; one wave was recorded at 19.1m or 63 feet off of St Ives, that’s absolutely massive! Yep Imogen was doing exactly what it said on the tin, causing havoc, chaos and bringing severe weather right across the south coast of England.
