Apologies for the tardiness, I was too knackered to think straight last night!
We needed to be away from Harwich around 8am to catch a fair tide. When I surfaced about seven there were clear blue skies, sunshine and hardly a breath of wind. It wasn't to last
By eight a thunderstorm was overhead and it was lashing it down. The crew of the good ship Erbas were mutinous and refused to go on deck. Dunno why
We got under way somewhat later than planned and found a decent breeze in oddly flat conditions. I've rarely seen the Wallet so calm in fact, and certainly not with an F3/4 gusting 5 South Easterly
It was a cracking sail down to the Spitway hard on the wind gong like a train but another thunderstorm was approaching and I skinned up quickly (it was easy too warm in the sun to keep the foulies on)
A fishing boat that had been idling about near the wind farm chose that very moment to head back into the Blackwater on autopilot. I presume the crew were under the tent over the aft deck sorting the catch because there was no bugger in the wheelhouse
If it would have missed us, it wouldn't have been by much (I reckoned it to be bang on a collision course, Rik disagrees and things it would have been a near miss). Either way I wasn't taking any chances and hit the engine starter
Full speed ahead for a minute easily cleared the danger even if it's arguably not a good collision avoidance strategy. In this case, it was the best option.
With the engine running anyway I decided to motor sail over the Spitway. Wuth a flooding tide and right wind angles it was always going to be a struggle to get across without having to tack to avoid being swept down onto the Buxey and I've played that game before. It's hard graft on the wrong tack against the tide across there!
Once over by the Swin Spitway buoy it was off with the engine and back to sail.
We finally managed, for the first time in five years, to beat the length of the Whitaker Channel, albeit we went the North side of the Swallowtail.
Though that was very satisfying, by the time we reached the Crouch buoy that marks the entrance to the river proper enough was enough. Honour satisfied, it was on with the engine anfd away with the sails to motor upriver on the last of the flood tide
In fact, the ebb was just setting in as we rounded the last bend and approached our home moorings
The pontoon was chocker with boats, a Sabre 27 was on our buoy (right buoy, wrong Sabre!) and I didn't much fancy messing about with the flubber on a big Spring ebb with no outboard so we rafted up outside one of my customers
Then it was showers, dinner and pub
We needed to be away from Harwich around 8am to catch a fair tide. When I surfaced about seven there were clear blue skies, sunshine and hardly a breath of wind. It wasn't to last
By eight a thunderstorm was overhead and it was lashing it down. The crew of the good ship Erbas were mutinous and refused to go on deck. Dunno why
We got under way somewhat later than planned and found a decent breeze in oddly flat conditions. I've rarely seen the Wallet so calm in fact, and certainly not with an F3/4 gusting 5 South Easterly
It was a cracking sail down to the Spitway hard on the wind gong like a train but another thunderstorm was approaching and I skinned up quickly (it was easy too warm in the sun to keep the foulies on)
A fishing boat that had been idling about near the wind farm chose that very moment to head back into the Blackwater on autopilot. I presume the crew were under the tent over the aft deck sorting the catch because there was no bugger in the wheelhouse
If it would have missed us, it wouldn't have been by much (I reckoned it to be bang on a collision course, Rik disagrees and things it would have been a near miss). Either way I wasn't taking any chances and hit the engine starter
Full speed ahead for a minute easily cleared the danger even if it's arguably not a good collision avoidance strategy. In this case, it was the best option.
With the engine running anyway I decided to motor sail over the Spitway. Wuth a flooding tide and right wind angles it was always going to be a struggle to get across without having to tack to avoid being swept down onto the Buxey and I've played that game before. It's hard graft on the wrong tack against the tide across there!
Once over by the Swin Spitway buoy it was off with the engine and back to sail.
We finally managed, for the first time in five years, to beat the length of the Whitaker Channel, albeit we went the North side of the Swallowtail.
Though that was very satisfying, by the time we reached the Crouch buoy that marks the entrance to the river proper enough was enough. Honour satisfied, it was on with the engine anfd away with the sails to motor upriver on the last of the flood tide
In fact, the ebb was just setting in as we rounded the last bend and approached our home moorings
The pontoon was chocker with boats, a Sabre 27 was on our buoy (right buoy, wrong Sabre!) and I didn't much fancy messing about with the flubber on a big Spring ebb with no outboard so we rafted up outside one of my customers
Then it was showers, dinner and pub
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