The Downs was a roadstead in the English Channel off the east
coast of Kent, between the North and the South Foreland. The
Downs served as a permanent base for warships patrolling the
North Sea, and formed a favourite anchorage during heavy weather,
protected on the east by the Goodwin Sands and on the north and
west by the coast. It has depths down to 12 fathoms (22 m). Even
during southerly gales some shelter was afforded, though under
this condition wrecks were not infrequent. The Downs lie between
the Strait of Dover and the Thames Estuary, so both merchant
ships awaiting an easterly wind to take them down the English
Channel and those going up to London gathered there, often for
quite long periods. It could be quite a dangerous area. The
Goodwin Sands were constantly shifting, and were not always
adequately marked. Storms could also drive ships onto the shore
or onto the sands.