TRIP REPORTS

SAILING BARGE CHARTER 2005

Part 2   -   Thursday & Friday

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THURSDAY

It was another misty start to the day, but the mist burned off earlier than the previous day, and we were again in good sunshine. By the time we'd had breakfast (by Wendy), there was enough breeze for some gentle sailing. I surprised both Kevin and myself by managing the heavy part of weighing the anchor on my own (although I was out of breath for quite a while afterwards). We were under way by about 10:30. Coming through Harwich we were motor-sailing.

Molly served lunch on deck, as the wind improved and we were able to turn off the engine. A lot of the afternoon was spent tacking around the Harwich/Felixstowe area under full sail in about a force 3, trying to make enough ground down-river to enter the Walton Backwaters. Round about the time we achieved this, the wind stiffened a bit and we dispensed with the staysail.

We anchored in Landermere Creek, well into the Walton Backwaters, at about 16:00 after Tim had taken soundings to make sure we'd still be afloat at low tide. The forecast thunderstorms hadn't appeared, although Tim had seen some on the northern horizon.

Nobody wanted a run ashore that evening. Wendy, Molly and myself played Scrabble while Lesley cooked supper (roast lamb followed by rather posh fruit tarts).

FRIDAY

Tim had decided that we needed to start at 07:00 to get the best advantage from the tide, and we'd have breakfast later. After yesterday, I stayed in my bunk until the anchor was well and truly weighed, then I got up and cooked breakfast.

The weather was still sunny but there was a bit more wind than on the previous two mornings. We headed out into the Thames estuary for a sail-around under foresail, topsail & mizzen. At about 12:15, near the Rough Towers defence fort (a WW2 relic), Tim decided it was time to turn back for the Orwell and to deploy the mainsail.

The run back to Landguard Point was a long reach, then we gybed and were heading up the river. Molly served lunch on deck.

We tacked up the river until somewhere near Pin Mill, by which time the yacht moorings on either side didn't give us room to tack, so we were back to motoring up to Ipswich. There was a bit of delay while a fault with one of the lock gates was sorted out, and we finally moored in the dock at about 16:30. I gave a hand with the mooring ropes. While the crew stowed all the gear, the charter party cleaned the cabins & galley and packed our own kit.

Tim & Kevin were off to Maldon, and sailing again next day on a charter on sb Pudge, while Centaur was due out for a Trust sailing weekend under a different skipper & mate. The first arrivals for that trip arrived as we were loading our kit into our cars.

Wendy, Lesley and I stopped off to have a look at Flatford Mill on our way back to London. This, with its adjacent lock, is on the non-tidal River Stour, some miles upstream of where we had sailed a couple of days before.