At the beginning of the year I started a Yachtmaster Theory on-line course. It got off to a flying start but after a while I have to admit it became rather boring and I let it slide. A year later and I still haven't finished more than about a quarter of the course material and, if I'm totally honest, I don't feel I'm learning a great deal as yet. Brushing up a few things, yes, and adding a little to my existing knowledge for sure but basically it turns out that I'm already pretty well informed on the topics covered. I shall have to get back to it though as I'd really like to finish what I started!
In February, the Bosun and I fitted a new sink drain sump pump amongst other maintenance works during a weekend visit on board. (The sump pump worked fine for a few months until it stuck on one day and burnt out the switch. It also suffered from poor design and had a tendency to leak. It went in the skip and we reverted to the manual pump switch for the time being). During that visit we also sorted out a lot of the storage and equipment.
March saw Jane and I down for a long weekend on board with lots of little jobs done. Then at the back end of the month it was in with a fairly big chandlery order or two for all the bits needed for fitting out ready for the sailing season.
And as we moved into April, the motley crew of myself, Rik, Glen and Mark converged on Fambridge for a fitting out "weekend". In fact, I was on board for five days with the others coming and going as it suited them! New spreader boots and a spinnaker halyard block at the masthead involved hauling Mark up the mast. I serviced the engine, Rik did some things, and by the end of the trip Erbas was ready to go sailing.
Later that month it was back to the online chandlers to order all the necessary bits and bobs to put together a decent emergency grab bag. Then we had a family weekend on board which was supposed to be a training weekend but in the end the weather wasn't really suitable. It was the first sail of the season though as we voyaged from Fambridge to Burnham on the Saturday and then back again the next day.
The Spring Cruise 2014
The big epic of the year was to be a reprise of our attempt two years
ago to head North in Brigantia. It really was a case of digging out my
outline passage plans for that excercise, dusting them off and having
another go.Fri: My arrival on board was a somewhat hairy experience. Our 7' GRP stem tender is not the most stable of beasts and although it was a gloriously sunny spring afternoon the breeze was kicking up quite a chop on the river. I half swamped the dinghy and nearly went in!
In hindsight, given the forecast, it would have been more sensible to have delayed travelling down to the boat until the following morning when the moorings trot boat would have been running. Although had I done so we might not have collared a berth on the inside of the visitor pontoon where it is sheltered from the chop raised by the prevailing Sou-westerly breeze.
Sat: The weather had in no way, shape or form moderated by the next morning and as I had a "do" to attend that night I had to choose whether to go for it or stay put and drive. As beer would be involved I went for it! I made no bones about it - although I was ready to set some sail if an emergency arose, this would be a passage under engine from start to finish. The passage was made safely but not without some excitement, it really was a wild day out on the river with gusts of well over 30 knots.
Sun: Rik arrived at Burnham by car, loaded his gear on board and then parked the car up at Fambridge, catching the train back to Burnham. The weather was definitely saying "stay put" so we did!
Mon: And at last we get to go sailing! It was a mixed bag of a day weather wise but we made a good passage to Harwich grabbing a very nice spot on the inside of the pontoon at Halfpenny PierTue: With Rik still a little under the weather (he'd not been well the previous week and indeed his joining the ship had been in some doubt at one point) and myself feeling rather jaded, we were not enticed to go sailing by a forecast stiff breeze and heavy rain.
We therefore elected to remain in port for the day and explore the historic sights of Harwich. You might be surprised, if you dismiss Harwich out of hand as people often do. There's more to the place than you might think and I urge anyone who has an interest in history and who hasn't visited to make it there sometime
Wed: We planned to sail to Lowestoft. We didn't make it that far!
It was a challenging day under sail but very satisfying from the skippers point of view. Rik enjoyed it rather less though! It gets you that way some days, later in the trip the roles would be reveresed with Rik thoroughly enjoying a day that I just wanted to get over and done with!
Today though I greatly enjoyed making a passage almost entirely under sail that, in the past, would certainly have had me resorting to the engine. With the stiff breeze heading us as the day wore on Lowestoft became an increasingly unappealing prospect; we'd have had to motor most of the day to make it at a sensible time and there was no pressing need to do so. Southwold was altogether more enticing and achievable under sail to boot. We did motor the last mile up to the habour entrance as the tide had turned foul and it would have taken an age to claw our way up to it by sail.Thu: And we were starting to settle into a pattern here. After a very brief debate about pushing on up to Lowestoft, we decided to stay put for the day.
It was a lazy day in the sun, beer was involved. Very pleasant and relaxing. Oh apart from the sink sump pump failing. Oh well.
Fri / Sat: It ocurred to me, as I perused the charts and tide tables, that we could simply skip Lowestoft altogether and make an overnight passage with a fair tide to Wells-next-the-Sea (hereinafter simply Wells) arriving on the rising tide after dawn on Saturday morning.
This was such a good plan that we went for it!
We left Southwold at about half past midday and motored out of the river. Off we set on a downwind sail although after a while we bore off onto a very broad reach to cut the rolling and went outside the Scroby Sands rather than take the inshore passage. As the sun set it took the wind with it (as it so often seems to do, bearing out this bit of old sailors folklore for which there is no scientific justification whatsoever!) and we motored for several hours into the night.
The breeze got up again as midnight approached and we made sail and stopped the engine after which Rik went off watch. But not for long as within the hour I called him on deck as we needed to put a reef in with the wind rising to 18 to 20 knots.
Dawn found us off Blakeney Point with no wind and a sea like a mirror. It was back on with the trusty diesel and soon we were dropping the anchor just off the bar at Wells to wait for the tide to rise. We were a good hour too early to attempt entry even in such idyllic conditions.An hour or so later and it was on with the engine and up with the hook to motor into the tricky channel down to the visitors pontoon in the rather lovely Wells harbour.
A few hours sleep saw us refreshed and looking for trouble. OK, so we weren't looking for trouble but it sounded good! Actually, we were looking for bread, milk and cigars which we duly found.
Later we were looking for fish and chips followed by beer and we found those in copious quantities and excellent condition too! Far from the early night we expected to have, we were happily esconsed in the bar of the Albatross listening to a very good three piece rock / pop covers band until chucking out time.
Sun: Having got this far, we were going to make the most of it! Although our beer consumption of the night before did lead to a rather lazy start to the day. A wander round Wells led to the discovery that at least some buildings from the market garden that my ancestors once ran hereabouts still remain extant. And a local chandler supplied a bulb to repair the forward nav light that needed fixing.We once again boarded the Albatross, this time for a lunchtime pint or three and more excellent live music, this time with a Latin flavour, on deck in the sun. Later on, and sober, I went for an explore around the harbour in the flubber dinghy. Fish and chips and a sensibly early night followed.
Mon: My golden rule is that we must be heading homewards before the halfway point in the cruise. We were already in breach of that rule so tempting though the prospect of a visit to Blakeney Harbour was, the plan was to head South for Lowestoft.
The tides dicated a relatively late start time of 08:20. The morning was spent under sail although with an Easterly breeze we had to claw our way offshore, close hauled on starboard, and then tack back in towards the coast. This was a frustrating excercise and when the wind got up, the chop got worse and our progress slowed to a snails pace enough was more than enough and it was on with the engine, apart from a brief spell of motor sailing, all the way to Lowestoft.
This was the day that I did not enjoy. Rik had fully recovered from his pre-cruise illness and perversley enjoyed himself mightily. I was definitely suffering from a touch of sea sickness and I was very glad to roll our way into Lowestoft in the dark and get alongside the pontoon at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club after a 14 hour passage. What a shame the bar was shut!
Tue: After yesterdays exertions we awoke late and it was no great hardship to decide to stay put for the day. Some general maintenance was undertaken, a can of diesel and fresh supplied procured from the local Asda superstore and in the evening we dined ashore in the sumtuous surroundings of the yacht club, having spruced ourselves up a bit beforehand!
Wed: The forecast out to the next 48 hours was not looking promising so we decided to make for Woodbridge at the top end of the Deben. It would make a good bolthole to shelter from the overnight heavy weather plus we hadn't been there by boat as yet (we were, of course, reasonably familiar with the place as we purchased Brigantia there back in 2011)
We had to motor to begin with then eventually we got to do some sailing including our first spinnaker hoist. The last time I flew a spinnaker would have been about 1980ish I guess and that was on a dinghy, not a yacht. It's a faff to set up but once up it really gave our speed a boost. What goes up must come down though and all too soon it was time to start the engine and motor into the Deben
The Deben entrance has a deservedly wicked reputation with tales galore of groundings but we made it safely without drama. Our usual luck of avoiding heavy rain whilst on the move deserted us however and we were most thoroughly rained upon arriving in the Tide Mill Yacht Harbour rather soggy but otherwise OK.
A rather long hike took us to the recommended pub, passing several rather less salubrious (but probably, in hindsight, perfectly adequate) establishments along the way. Never mind, the beer was good and the food was excellent. The evening was only marred by my taking a potentially nasty fall in the pitch dark and pouring rain as we walked back to the boat. Fortunately no great harm was done.
Thu: The weather wasn't great, we were not feeling great, it was great just to stay put.
Fri: A motor down the Deben, an exciting thrash out over the Deben Bar, followed by a downwind sail up the Orwell to settle for the night at Fox's Marina. An umremarkable and nice enough day.
Sat: Heavy rain kept us down below to begin with and we made a delayed departure from Ipswich intending to head for Shotley. However, on reflection I decided to brave the weather out in the Wallet and make for Brightlingsea instead. Contrary to accusations from the crew, this was not entirely so that we could meet up with our sister ship "Apogee" who had decided not to tackle the Wallet in the weather conditions.
Certainly the prospect of company for the evening was enticing, however so was getting to within an easy sail of home given that we were getting down to the wire time wise. I didn't really want to run into a third week, although I had a couple of days in hand if necessary, and getting the Wallet out of the way made a return to base on Sunday a near certainty. And I will confess that after feeling rather less than comfortable on board during the run from Wells to Lowestoft I felt the need to test myself in less than ideal conditions. If I can't handle the Wallet on a lumpy day I need to know it.
A night on the town with our friends Ian and Jo off our sister Sabre "Apogee" ended all too soon as we had to catch the last ferry ride back to the river pontoon.
Sun: Today was just a run for home. We motored from Brightlingsea down the Ray'sn, across the sands and into the Crouch and then we were able to set sail which we held onto all the way upriver until just shy of the moorings at Fambridge.
Mon: It was time to go home. We offloaded our gear, tidied the boat, filled the tanks and so on before departing howewards. As another boat had pinched our mooring "Erbas" was left on the pontoon for the lads to move her to where she belongs when they've sorted it out.
Summary: It had been an excellent fortnight. We made the sensible decision not to push the envelope too hard although in fact we put in some quite long days. To follow a long day at sea making a passage, some of which were quite challengine, with a day in port relaxing and seeing the sights is surely the way to do it.
We covered a total of 334.4 miles in 83 hours and 48 minutes at sea.
We sailed for 44 hours and 20 minutes covering 177.4 miles at an average speed of exactly 4.0 knots.
We motored for 39 hours and 28 minutes covering 157 miles at a shade under 4 knots using rather more than 40 litres of diesel in the process.
Joyful June and beyond ...
Friday the 13th saw Jane and I risking the wrath of the Gods and driving down to Essex for a weekend on board. The main purpose of the weekend was to potter round to Bradwell on the Saturday to meet up with "Apogee" and collect the Avon RIB that we've purchased off Ian and Jo for a song to replace the grotty GRP dinghy.
The trip round to Bradwell was a drag, frankly. The evening in the marina bar was very pleasant and then the trip back on Sunday was yet another drag only more so. The reason things were dragging is because we were quite literally dragging - a vast garden of weeds and barnacles on our bottom.
What little sailing we attempted during the trip was an excercise in frustration and basically we motored virtually all the way there and back
Happily, we had already booked a heavily discounted (compared to the cost earlier in the year) Summer Lift Out with the marina. So after removing the genoa and bagging it up, we left "Erbas" on the pontoon when we headed for home on the Monday.
The following weekend saw Glen and I back in Fambridge on Friday evening and by early Sunday afternoon, when we headed for home, "Erbas" had a clean bottom, two coats of antifoul, a repainted boottop (the white stripe at the waterline) and polished topsides. And very smart she looked too!Sadly, that's the last of the Jotun Seaqueen a/f though so I don't know what we'll use next year
The beginning of July saw me and my good friend and sometime colleague in matters sound and light Tony aboard for a weekend on the river. We pottered down to Burnham under just the genoa on Saturday, stayed there on Sunday, stuck our noses out of the river on Monday morning and then we pottered back upriver again on Monday afternoon! "Erbas" was back to sailing well with her clean bottom, we even manged to overtake another boat for once!
Mid July would see Jane and I aboard for our a long weekend. We'd arrived on board on the Friday to find no room at the visitors pontoon but happily the new RIB proved it's mettle by ferrying us and our kit out to the boat and then giving us a safe and secure ride ashore for an evening in the pub and then back aboard afterwards.
Ian off "Apogee" had dropped off our liferaft and joined us for a swift drink part way through the evening. Ian and Jo had split the cost of having it serviced with us in return for the loan of it for their trip across the channel (and of course they'll be welcome to borrow it any time in the future when we're not out) and now it was back complete with a service certificate good for another four years.
What wasn't looking so good was the weather and we made a dash for the pontoon as the twilight faded, even abandoning half a pint, to make it on board barely five minutes before the heavens opened. That was followed by a fairly spectacular thunderstorm. It was the first time we've spent the night on the buoy in four seasons at FambridgeAn idle start to the next day was inevitable after the disturbed night and with a desperate need to get on shore power due to rather low charge in the domestic batteries we pottered down to Burnham Yacht Harbour once again for the night.
Sunday saw us ghosting round into the River Roach eventually fetching up at anchor in the Yokesfleet for the night. Then on Monday we had a very satisfying sail all the way from the Yokesfleet to within yards of the pontoon at Fambridge, only starting the engine to power the anchor windlass at the start and actually come alongside at the end.
Our last day aboard for this trip saw every locker on the boat emptied out and reorganised, the galley stores replenished, the stocks of booze supplemented, all in preparation for our upcoming London cruise. Then is was off home the next morning with work looming over the horizon
Not The London Cruise
Friday the 8th of August saw Jane and I on the road straight after finishing our night shifts. After shifting ourselves and our gear out to "Erbas" in the RIB, we got our heads down for a few hours before heading downriver to anchor in the Brankfleet ready for a pre-dawn start in the morning.
My alarm was set for 3:00am however some seriously windy weather came through in the early hours and by two I was up, coffee in hand, and firing up the VHF and the laptop to get the latest news.
As if the ongoing Mayday whilst the Harwich lifeboat and various fishing boats and even a couple of ships tried to locate a yacht over-pressed by the weather whose dingy had gone west and whose electrics had all but failed wasn't bad enough, as soon as Channel 16 was clear the Coastguard issued an imminent gale warning for the Thames area.
My gut feeling from the synpotic charts was that the worst had, in fact, already blown through but the conditions would still be far from ideal for a passage to the Medway as we'd intended. I'd been exchanging texts with Karen aboard "Laurin" - they'd dropped out of the Yacht Harbour onto a buoy at Burnham ready for a similarly early start - and we spoke on the phone briefly to confirm that we all felt the only sensible course of action was to get into the safety of the Yacht Harbour without delay.
That we did in the dark, despite the tiller pilot throwing a wobbly, and despite nearly fetching up on the mud at the marina entrance! Jane went back to bad whilst I visited "Laurin" for a coffee and a chat before turning in myself.
Stormy Weather
When we surfaced late in the morning it was blowing top end of F4 with gusts of F5 to F6 and a rather nice day to boot. That's good, if brisk, sailing weather is that! We decided to go out for a play with our storm jib and three reefs in the main. It's not a setup we'd tried as yet and I was keen to see how she sailed under this rig. I was pleasantlt surprised to discover that she handles rather well under such shortened sail. She was even making progress to windward against a slightly foul tide in about 18 knots of breeze which is very reassuring.
We do have a storm trysail which is flown instead of the mainsail in severe weather but I honestly cannot see it ever being used. With the third deep reef in the main that's all the reduction in sail area we are ever likely to need and then some. The storm jib, on the other hand, is I think worth the locker space it occupies.
We were still harbouring (geddit?) some hopes of making London but the ongoing forecast on Monday morning put paid to that. We visited London by train on Tuesday, generally messed about in Burnham on Wednesday and did some work on "Erbas" on Thursday.
Throughout the period, whilst not extreme, the weather remained just on the wrong side of the "go, no go" line as far as maintaining a happy and cheerful crew was concerned. It really was very much a case of we would if we had to but we didn't have to so we didn't!
The weather finally moderated on Friday and we were off to Brightlingsea in loose company with Laurin. We had a good but rolly polly sail up the Rays'n, a thorough soaking from a serious bit of impressive weather frontage (that had me going round and round in circles thankful I'd had the sense, as soon as I saw it coming, to get the canvas down and hit the engine starter. Couldn't see a blasted thing, the rain was so heavy!), and a slightly eventful arrival on the pontoon at Brittlesea when I had a complete brain freeze and forgot to allow for the tide.
I was only slightly mollified to learn that Karen had done exactly the same thing. Jane was slightly more mollified to learn that Karen too had felt queasy in the rolly conditions earlier.
The evening passed in much pleasantry aboard "Laurin". Food, beer, guitars and scotch were all involved, I vaguely recollect!
No room at the basin
The plan had been to head down to Heybridge Basin but when Karen contacted them by phone she found there was no hope due to two party bookings already clogging the place. I suggested Tollesbury and that's where we went. Jane even had a sucessful hour or so on the helm! That bodes well for the future and it also allowed Laurin to catch us up and allow us to lead them in
We found Brigantia back up for sale again in the yard at Tollesbury Marina. I wasn't wild about the new colour scheme but she looked smart and well presented. Apparently the chap who bought her off the chap I sold her to then landed a job in Greece or some such.(She disappeared of the brokers website shortly after our visit and from the yard too by later in the year. I have no idea where she is now, I hope she's in the hands of someone who'll get as much fun out of owning her as we did).
After a night in Tollesbury, we had to regretfully get on our way back to the Crouch. The "Laurins" had another week of their two week cruise to go, we had to be back by Sunday or Monday at the latest and the weather forecast was looking iffy again a day or two out.
So Saturday saw us heading back to Burnham via the Spitway for once - having to wait until a couple of hours before high water to escape the clutches of Tollesbury ruled out our usual shortcut over the sands. We had an excellent sail out making such good progress that the tide was still foul when we came round into the Whitaker Channel and started the slow process of beating into the Crouch
This is always savage amusement and on this occasion it was made doubly so by a piece of utter stupidity on my part putting us well and truly aground on the Foulness Sands. Somehow, with amazing good fortune, we got off after about fifteen minutes despite the falling tide otherwise we'd have had a miserable three or four hours waiting for the water to come back.
Enough was enough and we motored into Burnham for the night where we were joined on board by the crews of "Sirenia" and "Alchemist" for a booze and natter session of epic proportions!
Sunday saw us back to Fambridge for a night on the pontoon before heading for home on Monday morning. All in all, despite the weather, a most enjoyable week (drawing a veil over the grounding!)
Unfortunately, the problem with the tiller pilot proved to be terminal and there was no option but to spend the considerable pile of pennies necessary to buy a new one. Thus did August finish on an expensive note.
Into the autumn ...
As September came around, the 4th saw Jane and I make a mid-week bid for freedom from the daily grind,arriving on board on a warm and sunny Wednesday morning. The usual story ensued - grab some sleep, get our kit on board, go to the pub!
Thursday saw a gentle meander round to the Yokesfleet where we anchored nice and early for the night. There were a couple of motor boats in the anchorage when we arrived but they both left later leaving us in splendid isolation.
Friday came around and we made an unremarkable passage up to Shotley. I'd hoped for Halfpenny Pier but the only vacant berth was on the outside which can be uncomfortable so over the river we went.
Saturday morning, with no breeze at all, we just motored the five miles or so upriver to Wolverstone Marina. We'd considered picking up a buoy somewhere in the viciity of Pin Mill but nothing doing as far as we could see. A fair hike up the hill to Cholmondiston enabled us to procure some essentials like coffee and sugar, then we called in at the Butt and Oyster on our way back for food and drinks. The walk back through the woods to Wolverstone is not too far, even in the fading light although a torch was a definite must. Then it was an early night.Sunday morning dawned very foggy indeed. So foggy, in fact, that the booming foghorn and gentle wash of a passing coaster making her way upriver to Ipswich docks was all we knew of her despite her passing the marina within a stones throw.
Once it cleared we went for a drift downriver, and it really was a drift too with barely enough wind to fill the sails. Drifting around Felixstowe Docks was not, I felt, a wise move so once we finally got that far downriver I started the trusty diesel and got on with the job.
We motored into Hamford Water for the night, the first time we've anchored in the main part of the backwaters (previously I've gone for the more sheltered but tricky to get into Stone Point anchorage). Later in the day the breeze got up rather too much from the East, the one direction in which the anchorage is exposed, and for a while I thought we might have to cut and run for a more sheltered location. Given the looming night and the tide, it would have had to be Shotley, about an hour and a half under motor, rather than a shift of anchorage as I didn't fancy mucking about in the shoals in the dark on a falling tide. Happily, as the night settled in properly the wind dropped and the anchorage calmed down, precisely the opposite of what had been forecast!
Monday morning dawned bright and beautiful and we considered our options. Had we not had to dumo the 5l petrol can for the outboard at the start of the trip (on arrival at Fambridge it was found to be leaking so we donated the contents to the jerry can on the decks of Ironsides and threw the can away) we might have considered leaving "Erbas" at anchor and taking a dingy ride the four miles or so up to Walton-om-the-Naze
Looking back, I'm glad that wasn't an option without spare petrol as we'd have only had time for a fairly short visit. Instead, we motored around into The Twizzle and picked up a buoy near the entrance to the creek up to Walton. On the second attempt, I got through to Bedwells and confirmed that we'd be able to find a berth in the yacht basin. We gave it an hour or so to let the tide rise and then felt our way up Foundry Reach with one eye firmly glued to the echo sounder!Arriving in the basin, we moored to the end pontoon, tidied the ship and then headed off into Walton for a day of exploring. We even walked as far as the tower on the Naze and climbed to the top. It was a very pleasant day! We dined aboard before repairing to the Walton and Frinton Yacht Club for a couple of drinks. A truly magical place.
There are still a few gems on the East Coast, Walton, Pin Mill and Southwold spring to mind, where time seems to have passed by.
Tuesday was another glorious day in the sun. The factor 30 was much in evidence even though it was technically the autumn. The tidal gate at the entrance to the yacht basin dictated a very civilised start at just gone eleven in the morning and we motored out past Stone Point with the wind virtually on our nose. Once clear of the shallows, we were able to come across the wind, stop the engine and beam reach across Pennyhole Bay in fine style.
Once clear of Walton Pier, it was time to hoist the spinnaker as we were virtually dead before the wind. Much faffing about later, the thing was finally up and set although by now we were almost abeam of Clacton. In hindsight, I should have had everything ready for the hoist before we turned before the wind but never mind.Once up and drawing we took off like a scalded cat! We were able, by dint of some very careful helming and trimming, to cling on to the spinnaker all the way to the Inner Crouch buoy. The value of that being proven by our reduction in progress as I doused the spinnaker in the last of the daylight and set the genoa again. We went from making two or three knots to a virtual standstill!
That was clearly no use so it was on with the engine for the short thrash round into the Brankfleet where we anchored close to the Eastern bank for once, to gain a more sheltered position. A quick dinner and an early night followed.
A late morning start, as dictated by the tide, and a gentle goosewinged sail upriver brought us home to Fambridge on the Wednesday in time for a pub lunch. Then we tidied the boat and made ready for the journey home tomorrow before once more repairing to the pub for the evening.
And then it was off home on Thursday morning after a most enjoyable week aboard.
Late in the month. Jane and I had a weekend aboard where we entertained a couple who I'd made contact with through the YBW forum. They were in a similar position to us a few years back and I'd invited them for an afternoon aboard "Erbas" to see what it was like.
That went well and we dined pleasantly in the dining room at the White Hart in Burnham. Yes, we were once again back in Burnham Yacht Harbour! Sunday morning saw us at the Burnham boat jumble where I resisted the temptation to buy a Taylors paraffin heater (and have been wondering ever since whether I should have) and failed to resist the temptation to buy a plastic sextant.
The we had a pleasant sail back upriver to Fambridge, a night on board and away home in the morning.
The Blackwater Booze Cruise - take two
Glen and I had planned this trip for last year but our unexpected purchase of "Erbas" got in the way. So now we were back for another attempt at drinking the Blackwater dry. Actually, these days that's probably beyond us as even the Bosun's legendary appetite for beer has been somewhat curtailed by the passing of the years.
We made the usual Friday afternoon run down, dined in the pun and retired early. Saturday saw a an uneventful passage under motor to anchor in the Pyefleet for the night.
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| A sunny afternoon in the Pyefleet |
We had ample time in hand so we ghosted upriver almost to Maldon itself before turning tail and making our way into the lock. Oh, I must admit to running "Erbas" out of diesel off Osea Island. I knew she was low but the gauge was at the top of the red and I hoped we'd make it. I know better now (and I would never have risked it under more dangerous circumstances - as it was we just drifted for the quarter an hour or so it took to put the spare can into the tank and bleed the system!)
We awoke on Monday morning to the sound of heavy rain, much as forecast. Happily, later in the morning it cleared and whilst it remained threatening all day held off apart from the occasional light shower whilst we set off on foot to explore Heybridge and Maldon.
My maternal ancestors were, en passant between Suffolk and Sunderland, resident in Heybridge and Maldon for three generations so this was something of a family pilgrimage. Not to mention a pleasant meander around a very pleasant town - Maldon that is, I'm afraid Heybridge doesn't have a great deal to commend it being little more than an industrical suburb of Maldon these days.
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| Tescos by dinghy |
Wednesday saw us lock out of Heybridge Basin in the dark at 05:30 for a motor down the Blackwater in a flat calm. Off Bradwell the visibility began to close in and in hindsight I perhaps should have bailed out and either gone inshore and anchored or headed into Bradwell marina
As it was, by the time we were feeling our way into the Colne the visibility was less than 100 yards, if that, and I was very glad to work our way round into the Pyefleet and pick up one of the visitor mooring buoys for a few hours. After a morning nap, we found the fog had cleared and with the tide on the turn we let go to ghost upriver to Wivenhoe.
The pontoon at Wivenhoe has two visitor berths on the inside of the outer pontoon but they are very tidal. We stuck briefly getting in as it was quite early but made it OK. After an explore and a pint, we were back at slack water and I decided to move to the downriver side of the pontoon as this would make our exit in the morning easier and we could make a later start too.
Then it was back ashore for the evening. It was not unpleasant but the night was disturbed by the angle at which we settled when the tide went out and the creaking of the pontoon as it dried out. There isn't really enough at Wivenhoe to overcome these drawbacks although it does have the significant benefit of being a rare free walk ashore mooring. Will we be back? I think Jane and I might give it a go sometime and see how it goes.
Thursday we elected to return to the Crouch in good time and, inevitably, after a cracking good sail we fetched up in Burnham Yacht Harbour once again! Then on Friday it was a gentle amble back to Fambridge, and home on Saturday. The early finish had been dictated by some pretty breezy weather being forecast and proved to be a wise decision.
And so the season draws to an end ...
The first weekend of November saw me making a rare solo visit to the boat with the sole intention of moving her round into the marina for the winter and putting her to bed for a couple of months. I arrived on Friday, had other things to do on Saturday, and carried out the primary purpose of the visit on Sunday before heading for home.
We knew it would be January before we'd be back again.
Summary
FYS = Fambridge Yacht Station
BYH = Burnham Yacht Harbour
Total Hours, Total Miles, Ave Speed (Sail; Motor)
Sat 11 Jan :- Boat show weekend (night on board, Skipper and Bosun)
Fri 21 Feb :- Maintenance Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Bosun)
Sat 22 Feb :- ditto
Fri 14 Mar :- Maintenance Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Sat 15 Mar :- ditto
Sun 16 Mar :- ditto
Fri 4 Apr :- Fitting Out Weekend (night on board, Skipper, 1st Mate, 2nd Mate & Bosun)
Sat 5 Apr :- ditto
Sun 6 Apr : ditto (Skipper and 1st Mate)
Mon 7 Apr :- ditto
Fir 25 Apr :- Training Weekend (night on board, Skipper 2nd Mate, Purser and Crew)
Sat 26 Apr :- FYS to BYH, mostly under sail
Sun 27 Apr :- BYH to FYS, mostly under sail (night on board)
Spring Cruise
Fri 9 May :- Spring Cruise (night on board, Skipper)
Sat 10 May :- FYS to BYH, under engine 1:23
Sun 11 May : In port, Burnham Yacht Harbour
Mon 12 May :- BYH to Harwich. 7:43 33.1m, 4.3kts; (3:46, 14.6m, 3.9kts; 3:57, 18.5m, 4.7kts)
Tue 13 May :- In port, Harwich (Halfpenny Pier)
Wed 14 May :- Harwich to Southwold. 11:30, 41.2m, 3.6kts; (10:36, 38.7, 3.6kts; 0:54, 2.5, 2.8kts)
Thu 15 May :- In port, Southwold
Fri 16 May / Sat 17 May :- Southwold to Wells. 18:40, 69.8, 3.7; (11:30, 49.0, 4.27; 7:10, 20.8, 2.9)
Sun 18 May :- In port, Wells
Mon 19 May :- Wells to Lowestoft. 14:03, 62.2, 4.4; (4:15, 19.6, 4.6; 9:48, 42.6, 4.3)
Tue 20 May :- In port, Lowestoft
Wed 21 May :- Lowestoft to Woodbridge. 10:57, 45.9, 4.2; (4:21, 18.0, 4.1; 6:36, 27.9, 4.2)
Thu 22 May :- In port, Woodbridge
Fri 23 May :- Woodbridge - Ipswich. 6:21, 24.1, 3.8; (3:56, 13.3, 3.4; 2:25, 10.75, 4.5)
Sat 24 May :- Ipswich to Brightlingsea. 6:59, 30.0, 4.3; (3:03, 14.2, 4.6; 3:56, 16.0, 4.1)
Sun 25 May :- Brightlingsea to FYS. 6:18, 23.0, 3.7; (2:52, 9.9, 3.5; 3:26, 13.1, 3.8)
Mon 26 May :- disembarked for home
Fri 13 Jun :- Summer Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Sat 14 Jun :- FYS to Bradwell
Sun 15 Jun :- Bradwell to FYS
Mon 16 Jun :- disembarked for home
Fri 20 Jun :- Lift Out and Antifoul Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Bosun)
Sat 21 Jun :- ditto
Fri 4 Jul :- Grumpy Blokes Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Tony)
Sat 5 Jul :- FYS to BYH
Sun 6 Jul :- In port, BYH
Mon 7 Jul :- BYH to FYS via Raysand Buoy, disembarked for home
Fri 18 Jul : - Early Summer Cruise (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Sat 19 Jul :- FYS to BYH
Sun 20 Jul :- BYH to Yokesfleet
Mon 21 Jul :- Yokesfleet to FYS
Tue 22 Jul :- In port, FYS
Wed 23 Jul :- disembarked for home
Fri 8 Aug :- FYS to Brankfleet
Sat 9 Aug :- Brankfleet to Burnham
Sun 10 Aug :- In port, Burnham
Mon 11 Aug :- In port, Burnham
Tue 12 Aug :- In port, Burnham
Wed 13 Aug :- In port, Burnham
Thu 14 Aug :- Burnham to Brightlingsea
Fri 15 Aug :- Brightlingsea to Tollesbury
Sat 16 Aug :- Tollesbury to Burnham
Sun 17 Aug :- Burnham to FYS
Wed 3 Sep :- Autum Cruise (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Thu 4 Sep :- FYS to Yokesfleet 10.7
Fri 5 Sep :- Yokesfleet to Shotley 36.8
Sat 6 Sep :- Shotley to Wolverstone (for Pin Mill) 6.5
Sun 7 Sep :- Wolverstone to Hamford Water 11.6
Mon 8 Sep :- Hamford Water to Walton Yacht Basin 3.6
Tue 9 Sep :- Walton to Brankfleet. 9:20, 32
Wed 10 Sep :- Brankfleet to FYS 8.3
Thu 11 Sep :- disembark for home
Fri 26 Sep :- Just Another Weekend (night on board, Skipper and Purser)
Sat 27 Sep :- FYS to BYH (again!)
Sun 29 Sep :- BYH to FYS (night on board)
Fri 10 Oct :- Blackwater Booze Cruise (night on board, Skipper and Bosun)
Sat 11 Oct :- FYS to Pyefleet 17.5
Sun 12 Oct :- Pyefleet to Heybridge Basin 19.4
Mon 13 Oct :- In port, Heybridge Basin
Tue 14 Oct :- In port, Heybridge Basin
Wed 15 Oct :- Heybdridge to Wivenhoe via Pyefleet 21.7
Thu 16 Oct :- Wivenhoe to BYH 27.7
Fri 17 Oct :- BYH to FYS 5.3
Sat 18 Oct :- disembark for home
Fri 31 Oct :- Laying up weekend (night on board, Skipper only)
Sat 1 Nov :- ditto
Conclusions ...
I spent an astonishing 74 nights on board "Erbas" this year. We do get some use out of her! Jane, inevitably, was aboard a good deal less but that is expected and accepted.
We got around a bit too.
Reaching Wells-next-the-Sea and the North Norfolk coastline on the second attempt was extremely satisfying and extremely enjoyable even if the run back wasn't. To put the question mark that some have raised beyond issue, yes I had planned for the possibility of reaching further North, even perhaps as far as Sunderland, but it was always a case of getting as far as we got.
Changing the plan in the light of the prevailing circumstances is never a failure. It is failing to change the plan that is likely to be a failure. I plan, I sail, I adapt the plan. The time spent on the original planning is not wasted either, one day we'll make those passages and every time you plan a passage you increase your knowledge of the art of navigation and of the waters in which you'll potentially be sailing. Nuff said.
Jane and I did a great deal more this year than we'd ever managed on "Brigantia". The greater comforts and the more secure feel of a larger yacht suit Jane much better and I think she'll readily agree that she's felt a lot more involved. I have also made more of an effort to involve Jane in the planning and taken into account her expressed desire to spend time in port when we do reach somewhere, rather than just up and leave again the next morning!
We explored new bits of the local area as well as further afield. Heybridge was a great location, Wivenhoe perhaps less so. It would have been nice to reach London by boat but we'll have another crack at that in 2015
We did spend quite a lot of time in Burnham Yacht Harbour it has to be admitted! Mind you, then again, why not? It's a handy port of call just downriver from our home base, there's a selection of shops, pubs and restaurants, and it's available to us in any weather.
I don't have an accurate mileage figure readily to hand. The logging all went a bit awry during the course of the year. The mobile phone apps all failed to keep the track at one time or another and on several occasions I forgot to switch on the GPS tracking bug. The chart plotter is sadly lacking in logging facilities too, it's track log function being so basic as to be all but useless.
We sailed or motored about 730 miles over the season. It's an estimate, but a fairly accurate one. The two week cruise to Norfolk accounted for 330 odd miles of that but we managed to cover some 390 miles or more in and around the Thames Estuary during the resr of the season and that despite effectively losing most of the London Cruise week to bad weather.
We were somewhat over budget on both the sailing and maintenance accounts. Having to replace the tiller pilot broke the budget on the latter, the sailing account was more a case of choosing to spend the money for the sake of comfort and pleasure but we'll have to be a little more judicious next year with less guaranteed income to rely on
All in all, a most sucessful season. Cheers ...
and goodnight ...
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