Eastbourne - East Head - 15th October

Hang in there NE wind please; were my final thoughts as I drifted off to sleep in Sovereign Marina; would they be kind and give me run to Chichester or turn sour on me; in which case it's Brighton tomorrow night.
The met at 5.25am said NE backing N, 3 to 4 with 5's later. We're on for Chichester!  I conrnflaked in the lock; waiting for the half-hourly opening; joined by a small armada of fishing boats heading out to enjoy a day in the sun; which promptly burst out from behind a cloud as we rounded Beachy Head; the wind very fluky and strengthening all the time; the coastline ahead of me looked stunning and with few obstacles an easy and relatively carefree passage. I chose to head directly for the Looe Channel at Selsey Bill which meant sailing some way off shore; first having to skirt a huge rig on legs off Newhaven.  The wind picked up as we passed Littlehampton and the temperature dropped markedly; indeed I got quite chilly. Winter's around the corner. Selsey Bill takes for ever to appear; despite being able to see the Isle of White in the background, at last it rises out of the sea.... the home straight. Eyes watering in the wind and unsure whether to put a reef in we entered Bracklesham Bay; Hayling Yacht Club soon became visible and a stream of yachts were pouring out of  Chichester Harbour; the Friday night rush hour. At 6:30pm I entered the harbour; eighteen weeks and 5 days after leaving. Mooring at East Head, as I did the first night, was a joy; the heating on, my last Speckled Hen or two and a massive fry up soon had me warm.
Time for sums.
I've sailed 2299.1 miles with about 4 more to do - to the marina.
Average speed for the entire voyage is 4.1 knots
My wonderful Yanmar engine has drunk 327 litres of fuel.
My slowest passage was from Wells Next The Sea to Sea Palling  - Average 2.4 knots
My fastest from Stangster to Wick; average speed 9.2knots!
Fastest moment under sail without engine - Duncansby Race between the Isle of Stroma and Scotland - near John O'Groats - 13.4 knots
Deepest water 188 meters before the transponder couldn't reach the bottom and get a return echo.
The lowest depth recorded while sailing was .3 meter under the keel, Thames Estuary!  Ooops!
I dread to think how many Speckled Hens, sausages, rashers of bacon and helpings of fish and chips have been consumed.
Damages and breakages:
One Raymarine ST2000 autohelm - burnt out
One Tachometer - glass broken but still works
One blown Jib, repaired
One cranse Iron, badly bend and buckled - will need replacing.
A few scratches on the hull at the bow from riding over the anchor chain
The Cutlass Bearing will need to be replaced as it's noisy.
2 Plastimo water tanks

I think I've got off quite lightly.