While I think of it, I'm aware that the day numbering went a bit awry in the second week, I think I lost the plot somewhere!
Anyway, here we go with the full report ...
Note that all distances are in nautical miles (1.15 land miles, 1.852Km)
All times are British Summertime (UTC+1) unless otherwise stated
Day 1 Friday 9th May 2014 - Arrival (skipper only)
I arrived and after a slightly dodgy dinghy ride moved Erbas onto the river pontoon for the night.
Engine hours on arrival 454.5, after moving onto the pontoon hours up to 454.8
Also of note is that on arrival the battery monitor was indicating -033 amps. Not sure what is using power when we're not on board, might be the auto bilge pump running, might even just be all the blasted LEDs that are lit up like a Christmas tree when the power is on! I elected not to plug in for the night as there'd be ample opportunity to do so at Burnham over the weekend
Day 2 Saturday 10th May 2014 - North Fambridge to Burnham Yacht Harbour
Departed North Fambridge 11:52, arrived Burnham Yacht Harbour 13:15
5 miles in 1:23 under motor
F6 gusting F7/8 and rather rough conditions on the river coupled with being single handed on a relatively unfamiliar boat dictated a quick dash downriver under power and no heroics
(Note: I hadn't set up the technology to record track logs at this stage so there isn't one for this day)
I attended the East Coast Forum Fitting Up Supper at the Crouch Yacht Club in the evening
Day 3 Sunday 11th May 2014 - In port (Burnham Yacht Harbour), Arrival (First Mate)
Rik had delayed his arrival by a couple of days to give himself more time to recover from a nasty throat infection. Arriving by car, he unloaded his gear onto the boat and then drove to North Fambridge before catching the train back to Burnham
Potentially, this could have been a lost day however given the weather (both forecast and actual) it's unlikely we would have departed anyway.
Day 4 Monday 12th May 2014 - Burnham Yacht Harbour to Harwich
Departed Burnham 10:47
Arrived Harwich 18:37
A mixed day of sailing in variable conditions and then motoring for more than half the passage
Day 5 Tuesday 13th May 2014 - In port (Harwich)
Rik was still recovering and I wasn't at my scintillating best either so, given a less than enticing weather forecast we spent the day resting and looking around the historical attractions of Harwich (of which there are more than you might realise at a casual glance) Oh and getting rained upon fairly thoroughly
Day 6 Wednesday 14th May 2014 - Harwich to Southwold
Arrived Southwold 19:29
The passage plan stated "towards Lowestoft" and in more favourable conditions we would doubtless have made that destination
However, this was one of the best days sailing yet as far as the skipper was concerned (the mate wasn't enjoying it anything like as much)
Despite a stiff head wind and fairly choppy conditions, we sailed virtually the entire passage making good speed despite problems with the genoa furler and the mainsail reefing
Worthy of note is that since disconnecting the shore power at Burnham on Monday morning, the battery monitor was registering -027 amps on arrival
Day 7 Thursday 15th May 2014 - In port (Southwold)
Starting to establish a pattern here! Sail a day, stop a day. Actually, it's an excellent cruising strategy. Low energy levels were at work again, Rik in particular needed rest and I wasn't in a rush to do anything energetic.
Oh and we exhausted the port forward water tank (15 gallons) late morning which as lasted us since Monday morning. Only another 26 gallons to go!
Day 8 Friday 16th May 2014 - Southwold to Wells-next-the-Sea
It suddenly occurred to me, as I was looking at a provisional passage plan from Lowestoft to Wells for Saturday that departing Southwold on the tide around lunchtime on Friday and sailing through the night would make for a near perfect arrival for the morning high water at Wells on Saturday
Departed Southwold 12:31 Friday
Arrived Wells Harbour 07:36 Saturday
(including just over an hour anchored off waiting for the tide)
Prior to cooking the evening meal, we had to refill the l/h cooker burner. Not ideal at sea (should have been done before we departed, mea culpa). We'd filled the r/h burner just before departure.
Despite rather variable conditions - everything from 23 to 25 knots across the deck to flat calm - we executed the passage plan perfectly. It did look awfully reminiscent of our previous attempt to sail up the Norfolk coast at night when in the early hours I started to think we needed a second reef in!
However, that rise in wind speed was a last flourish of whatever weather system had brought a fresh breeze to get us sailing again and we ended the passage under motor in flat calm conditions.
Day 9 Saturday 17th May 2014 - arrival Wells-next-the-Sea
We grabbed a few hours rest after our overnight endeavours then made a run ashore for basic supplies. The evening was spent watching a very good rock/pop covers band aboard the Albatros, a former Baltic trading sailing ship which despite being used as a bar and eatery is still capable of going to sea.
Day 10 Sunday 18th May 2014 - In port (Wells Harbour)
Another day in port however this one was always the plan. It would be daft to go to all the trouble of getting this far and not stay around long enough for some sightseeing.
We did some sightseeing and then we did a lot more drinking of the beer aboard the Albatros!
Oh and we picked up some spare nav light bulbs although the problem with the bow light had turned out to be bad connections (which came as no surprise)
Day 11 Monday 19th May 2014 - Wells Harbour to Lowestoft
We would have liked to spend more time in Norfolk, Blakeney Harbour definitely begs a visit, but the delayed departure and the leisurely run Northwards meant it was time to head South again
Departed Wells Harbour 08:22
Arrived Lowestoft 22:26
This passage was an interesting counterpoint to the sail from Harwich to Southwold which I enjoyed and Rik didn't. Today it was my turn to be out of sorts. I hadn't slept very well and I was definitely struggling with mild sea sickness. The conditions weren't great either with rather too much wind from entirely the wrong direction.
Our entry into Lowestoft in the dark was rather exciting and it was annoying to find everything at the Royal Norfolk in darkness so we didn't even get a pint!
A day that goes into my personal log as "job done, nuff said"
Day 12 Tuesday 20th May 2014 - In port (Lowestoft)
Sleeping in late made another day in port a no-brainer. It wasn't a wasted day with various tasks tackled off the "to do" list.
The spare 10l diesel can went into the main tank and then it was refilled at Asda as was the snack locker (the most important stowage space on the boat!)
We scrubbed up and donned smart casual attire for dinner in the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club.
Day 13 Wednesday 21st May 2014 - Lowestoft to Woodbridge
Arrived Woodbridge 18:11
Switched to port water tank mid-afternoon. The starboard tank has lasted six days
The decision to have a run up the Deben was partly in the interests of research for future reference and partly dictated by a poor forecast for the following day sending us scuttling for a safe haven
Apart from our first attempt at flying the spinnaker, which passed off without any disasters, it wasn't a particularly exciting day
Day 14 Thursday 22nd May 2014 - In port (Woodbridge)
A day so forgettable that it didn't even feature in the blog. I'd hurt my knee and elbow tripping on a doorstep on the way back from the pub the previous night (and I wasn't even drunk enough for it not to hurt), neither of us felt too great and the weather was not great either.
So we stayed put and did very little although I did rouse myself for a look around the Tide Mill which I thoroughly recommend
Day 15 Friday 23rd May 2014 - Woodbridge to Ipswich (Fox's Marina)
Departed Woodbridge 07:17
Arrived Ipswich (Fox's Marina) 13:40
A short day mainly aimed at getting a new float switch for the grey water sump pump which I hoped Fox's would have someting suitable in stock. Unfortunately they didn't.
Another 12l of diesel into the main tank today. It's far from full but there's plenty for our needs
Day 16 Saturday 24th May 2014 - Ipswich (Fox's Marina) to Brightlingsea
Departed Ipswich 10:35
Arrived Brightlingsea 17:39
A whole raft of factors came into play with my skippery decision making on this one. Rik levelled the accusation that had it not been for meeting up with friends we would have stayed in the Orwell given the weather but this was only partially justified
Our sister boat "Apogee" was setting out from Tollesbury with a view to heading up the Wallet (the passage inshore between Clacton and The Naze) but the conditions were not to their liking and I could see on the AIS app on my phone that they'd turned back for Brightlingsea
I very much had in mind a desire to push my limits. I've every confidence that "Erbas" can handle pretty well anything the weather could throw at her but I'm not so sure about me. Especially not after feeling distinctly queasy already on this trip
Although our departure was delayed by heavy rain, it mattered not time wise. What did matter was that, with the rig well reefed down, "Erbas" handled the conditions superbly and so did the crew. It was a bit lumpy to say the least as we motored out of the Orwell but once we were sailing in the Wallet, not famed for being a nice stretch of water in a blow, we actually started to enjoy ourselves.
Brightlingsea is not one of my favourite ports of call. However, I can't complain about the curry or the company although having to curtail the evening before 23:00 to catch the ferry back to the pontoon was annoying.
Day 17 Sunday 25th May 2014 - Brightlingsea to North Fambridge
Departed Brightlingsea 07:50
Arrived North Fambridge 14:08
A foul wind made motoring as far as the Crouch the only viable option. Once in the outer river we were able to make sail and had an excellent sail too
It was pretty brisk sailing and normally we'd have been running with at least one reef in both the main and the genoa in those conditions but in the shelter of the river I was happy to push the boat and the rig a bit and find out how she went. She went well but it would be hard work sailing that hard all day long!
Arriving back at Fambridge we completed the cruise with 495.0 hours on the engine hours meter, put another 18 litres of diesel into the tank (it's by no means full but it's probably somewhere near where it was before we set out - as the gauge was stuck on full we can't be certain of exactly how close) and topped up all the water tanks using the bottom fill point under the cabin sole
Day 18 Monday 26th May 2014 - Departure Day
Offloading gear, putting gear that had been offloaded back on board, cleaning everything and then off homewards. Rik was on his way by lunchtime, I was away by late afternoon
Summary
Total engine hours: 40.2
We motored for 39 hours and 28 minutes covering 157.03 miles at an average speed of 3.98 knots
We sailed for 44 hours 20 minutes covering 177.39 miles at an average speed of 4.00 knots
In total we covered 334.43 miles in 83 hours 48 minutes
We used somewhat more than 40 litres of diesel (but our consumption was not excessive)
Once the decision had been taken to spend the first weekend in Burnham any realistic prospect of reaching Yorkshire went by the board. With Rik being decidely under the weather for the first few days after his delayed arrival it was clear he needed as much rest as possible
Effectively, the first week was virtually single handed with help, and despite my lack of energy (something I need to look at, lack of physical fitness probably) we acheived our primary goal of reaching the North Norfolk coast and actually making it into port this time!
The two key highlights for me were the sail from Harwich to Southwold and the overnight passage from Lowestoft to Wells (although I was shattered by the time we anchored off Wells Harbour)
Towards the end of the fortnight I began to feel I was getting to grips with sailing "Erbas". She's a different proposition to "Brigantia", bigger, heavier and more physically demanding and I don't think I'm even close to getting the best out of her. It's early days with a new, to us, boat so I'm reasonably pleased with the stats
One thing that is niggling me though is that we seem to have lost performance under power compared to last autumn. I suspect fouling of the prop, and of the bottom too probably, is robbing us of some speed under power and sail alike. That's the drawback of not coming out of the water last winter
I had hoped for an opportunity to dry out during the cruise but it didn't pan out like that.
The "hop and stop" strategy that Jane prefers (a short day at sea followed by a long day in port) translates well into longer days at sea too. Whilst it doesn't lend itself to racking up the miles it is a very relaxed way to go cruising. Given the circumstances it was absolutely the right approach and the fact that both Rik and I felt we'd have been happy to carry on for another week or longer (unlike last year when we were knackered by the time we got back) speaks volumes
Overall, a very satisfactory and largely enjoyable fortnight
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