A sticky situation....

Is both what we were in and what was needed today. I'll come to the needed one in a bit but first the tide!

Who pulled the plug out?

This morning was a very low low water indeed. Predicted to be 0.2m below Chart Datum and one of the lowest tides for many years. So low, in fact, that when I awoke, little did I realise we were well and truly in the mud

That's not a problem for Erbas, with her twin keels and even a fin would simply have buried itself in the soft mud. No, the problem was that I used and pumped the heads on the main intake and thus pumped a load of mud into the pipework and toilet bowl

That was doubly annoying given that we have the facility to close the intake in the bottom and open one just below the waterline specifically for use in a drying mud berth, which is what we now found ourselves in temporarily.

Switching intakes, I vigorously and thoroughly flushed the system with clean water, later doing the same via the main intake when the tide had risen again.

I'll have to check the engine intake filter when I start the engine next but I don't expect a problem


Over the winter, the dummy cockpit locker lid that's mounted above the quarter berth (so that the port and starboard lids are symmetrical) had started to come apart at the joints

The first mission was getting it off which meant a head first trip down the quarter berth. I wasn't wild about the prospect as I tend to suffer a bit from claustrophobia but it had to be done.

As I'm on board alone I thought it wise to phone a friend to arrange that they'd ring the marina to come down and pull me out if I got stuck and didn't ring back within the hour!

It turned out to be quite easy to get in and remove the screws securing the lid and with a bit of a wiggle not that hard to get out again.

With the lid off and cleaned up, the problem was clear to see...

Off to Wickes in Maldon I went for some suitable glue and an hour later the second sticky situation led to it being back how it should be and all cramped up to set

I then set about sanding the other half of this lid, all of the exterior woodwork needs sanding down and varnishing this spring. Actually, I'm not using varnish but a concoction that is sort of half way between a varnish and a wood oil baked International Woodskin

It remains unseasonably cold and I even resorted to putting the fan heater on in the cockpit tent in order to lift the temperature a few degrees to aid the glue setting

The water came back!

I'd had enough by four-o-clock and after sorting out my kit for tomorrow and moving my personal gear on board (very easy with the tide well in and the ramp fairly flat) I sat down with the travel guitar for a good practice session.

Then it was on with a tin of macaroni cheese with a couple of slices of bread for dinner. I'd scoffed two rounds of corned beef and pickled onion sandwiches earlier so that was all I fancied for tea

A further half hour or so on the guitar followed and then it was time to do the washing up. I'll not be up much longer as I've got an early start for Suffolk in the morning. Sadly it's by car rather than by boat