The best laid plans...
To make the passage to Chatham with a fair tide we needed to be underway by half three in the morning so I'd set my alarm for three.
However, heavy rain and rather wild gusts of wind had me up and about by just after two and I didn't much like what I could see.
I fired up the instruments to check the wind speed, in the process turning on the VHF without consciously intending too, and just caught a Mayday relay regarding a 25 yacht off Harwich needing assistance due to being over pressed by the the weather.
The Mayday traffic went on for some time as the Harwich lifeboat tried to find the casualty, eventually picking them up on the direction finder and the last I heard they were under tow. All's well that ends well.
Meanwhile, I was searching the various weather websites looking for a forecast that wasn't crap! Whichever way I crumbled the cookie, it looked like being a pretty lively day out in the estuary.
My gut feeling, looking at the synoptic charts, was that the worst had passed and moved away to the north but we'd still be looking at F5 or 6 and probably on the nose for good measure once we cleared the Whitaker and headed down the Swin
A further concern that bothered me, looking at the forecast for the week ahead, was the very real possibility of being stuck in Chatham and not being able to make it to London
By now, Karen on Laurin and I were exchanging texts about whether to go or abort and when the Coastguard issued an imminent gale warning of F8 in the Thames area that made our minds up.
The prudent thing to do seemed to be to head for shelter in Burnham Yacht Harbour. Laurin had come out and picked up a buoy for the night ready for the intended early start and didn't have far to go to get back on her berth.
I woke Jane and put her in the picture and then we got under way and motored back to Burnham. It was not without its excitement though.
First of all, the tiller pilot wouldn't fire up. Continuous beep and no display. Not a major problem as it was but it'd have been a nuisance had we been sticking to the passage plan
We very nearly hit the stupid and utterly pointless unlit buoy that's been placed half way between the Branklet and Crow navigation marks (which are lit) to mark the "Quay Reach Anchorage“. There's one of these buoys in the Yokesfleet too (or as it calls it the "Potton Island Anchorage"
I can't imagine why anybody needs a watery signpost for two of the most well known anchorages in the area and the buoys are both in the way and in my opinion a hazard to navigation but that's a rant for another day.
To add to the fun, I misjudged the entrance into the yacht harbour slightly and very nearly parked us on the mud for a few hours. Twenty horsepower does have it's uses though and we managed to plough our way back into the channel
Coming alongside was an anticlimax after that, especial with Karen and Patrick on hand to take our lines. Jane went straight back to bed whilst I paid a visit to Laurin for a coffee and chat before turning in myself
It was late morning before we awoke but the bacon butties Jane fed me went down a treat whether they were breakfast or lunch!
I checked in with the harbour master and negotiated a berth close to Laurin (we'd dropped on the alongside berth adjacent to the refueling pontoon on arrival).
Dismantling the tiller pilot and fiddling about with it seemed to do the trick. I think the worm gear on the shaft had stuck with the shaft fully retracted. Hopefully it'll be OK now.
With no rush to move and a stiff breeze to play with, I decided to get organised and go out for a play with the storm jib and the third reef in the main
It's not a great picture but it's the best I could do! Anyway, the setup works and she sails quite well making two or three knots in 16 to 18 knots of breeze and demonstrably able to claw her way up to windward even over a foul tide, albeit slowly. Everything was calm and undramatic although I anticipate that rigging the inner forestay and hanking on the jib in rough conditions might be more challenging. Once done though I now know she'll handle it
Back into the marina, we nailed coming into the berth perfectly so, of course, there was no audience. Jane put her head down for a nap whilst I set about sorting out on deck.
Packing away the storm jib and stowing the inner forestay didn't take long and then it was on with the sail cover on the boom and tidy the lines at the mast.
I don't generally hold with turning the fresh water hose onto the decks, preferring normally to use buckets of sea / river water to wash down, but with a lot of mud from the anchor on deck and a temptingly handy hose on the pontoon I made an exception this time
With clean decks my last job was to put up the cockpit tent before we headed down the pontoon to Laurin for dinner, drinks and chat.
It wasn't a late night though as everybody was tired after the days excitement.
On reflection, we could have made Chatham but I think the decision not to go was the right call. It would have been a tough day and if the wind is as strong as forecast through till Thursday or Friday we'll be much better off in Burnham
To make the passage to Chatham with a fair tide we needed to be underway by half three in the morning so I'd set my alarm for three.
However, heavy rain and rather wild gusts of wind had me up and about by just after two and I didn't much like what I could see.
I fired up the instruments to check the wind speed, in the process turning on the VHF without consciously intending too, and just caught a Mayday relay regarding a 25 yacht off Harwich needing assistance due to being over pressed by the the weather.
The Mayday traffic went on for some time as the Harwich lifeboat tried to find the casualty, eventually picking them up on the direction finder and the last I heard they were under tow. All's well that ends well.
Meanwhile, I was searching the various weather websites looking for a forecast that wasn't crap! Whichever way I crumbled the cookie, it looked like being a pretty lively day out in the estuary.
My gut feeling, looking at the synoptic charts, was that the worst had passed and moved away to the north but we'd still be looking at F5 or 6 and probably on the nose for good measure once we cleared the Whitaker and headed down the Swin
A further concern that bothered me, looking at the forecast for the week ahead, was the very real possibility of being stuck in Chatham and not being able to make it to London
By now, Karen on Laurin and I were exchanging texts about whether to go or abort and when the Coastguard issued an imminent gale warning of F8 in the Thames area that made our minds up.
The prudent thing to do seemed to be to head for shelter in Burnham Yacht Harbour. Laurin had come out and picked up a buoy for the night ready for the intended early start and didn't have far to go to get back on her berth.
I woke Jane and put her in the picture and then we got under way and motored back to Burnham. It was not without its excitement though.
First of all, the tiller pilot wouldn't fire up. Continuous beep and no display. Not a major problem as it was but it'd have been a nuisance had we been sticking to the passage plan
We very nearly hit the stupid and utterly pointless unlit buoy that's been placed half way between the Branklet and Crow navigation marks (which are lit) to mark the "Quay Reach Anchorage“. There's one of these buoys in the Yokesfleet too (or as it calls it the "Potton Island Anchorage"
I can't imagine why anybody needs a watery signpost for two of the most well known anchorages in the area and the buoys are both in the way and in my opinion a hazard to navigation but that's a rant for another day.
To add to the fun, I misjudged the entrance into the yacht harbour slightly and very nearly parked us on the mud for a few hours. Twenty horsepower does have it's uses though and we managed to plough our way back into the channel
Coming alongside was an anticlimax after that, especial with Karen and Patrick on hand to take our lines. Jane went straight back to bed whilst I paid a visit to Laurin for a coffee and chat before turning in myself
It was late morning before we awoke but the bacon butties Jane fed me went down a treat whether they were breakfast or lunch!
I checked in with the harbour master and negotiated a berth close to Laurin (we'd dropped on the alongside berth adjacent to the refueling pontoon on arrival).
Dismantling the tiller pilot and fiddling about with it seemed to do the trick. I think the worm gear on the shaft had stuck with the shaft fully retracted. Hopefully it'll be OK now.
With no rush to move and a stiff breeze to play with, I decided to get organised and go out for a play with the storm jib and the third reef in the main
It's not a great picture but it's the best I could do! Anyway, the setup works and she sails quite well making two or three knots in 16 to 18 knots of breeze and demonstrably able to claw her way up to windward even over a foul tide, albeit slowly. Everything was calm and undramatic although I anticipate that rigging the inner forestay and hanking on the jib in rough conditions might be more challenging. Once done though I now know she'll handle it
Back into the marina, we nailed coming into the berth perfectly so, of course, there was no audience. Jane put her head down for a nap whilst I set about sorting out on deck.
Packing away the storm jib and stowing the inner forestay didn't take long and then it was on with the sail cover on the boom and tidy the lines at the mast.
I don't generally hold with turning the fresh water hose onto the decks, preferring normally to use buckets of sea / river water to wash down, but with a lot of mud from the anchor on deck and a temptingly handy hose on the pontoon I made an exception this time
With clean decks my last job was to put up the cockpit tent before we headed down the pontoon to Laurin for dinner, drinks and chat.
It wasn't a late night though as everybody was tired after the days excitement.
On reflection, we could have made Chatham but I think the decision not to go was the right call. It would have been a tough day and if the wind is as strong as forecast through till Thursday or Friday we'll be much better off in Burnham
No comments:
Post a Comment