Click on a picture to see an enlarged version with a
caption.
Pudge at anchor
Photo © Mike Stevens |
In the Saloon
Photo © Mike Stevens |
The Skipper wanted an early start to get the best advantage of
the tide. The first stirrings from the Charter Party were about 05:00, when
Glen got up to take some early-morning photos. We weighed anchor at 05:45 with
most of the charter party still in their bunks. After a short burst of engine
power for the initial manoeuvring, we set sail and headed down-river. Glen and
I were rostered to cook breakfast which was served at 07:10 over a period of
time as various members of the charter party crept out of their sleeping bags.
Libby was the last to appear.
A long way from anywhere
Photo © Mike Stevens |
Under way
Photo © Mike Stevens |
By 08:30 the sun had broken through the initial mizzle, and
most of the day was sunny, with, in Kevin's words, "enough wind to know
you're sailing but not enough to get uncomfortable". One or two of us had a
bit of a doze during the morning.
The Skipper and Mate had thought of running along the coast
to Clacton and back, but decided against that on the grounds that the run back
would be a bit of a hard punch against wind and tide. Our target for the
evening's anchorage was Brightlingsea, but before arriving there we had some
very pleasant sailing, tacking across the mouth of the Blackwater and round a
few buoys. Jill steered for quite a while and Glen and Steve took a lot of
photos, as they'd promised to prepare a slide show of the trip for their local
IWA Branch.
Mainsail & topsail
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
The Mizzen
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
We turned into the Colne and anchored at 12:45 off
Brightlingsea, just as Mandy & Steve had finished preparing a lunch of
soup & sandwiches. We planned serving it on deck as the weather was so
good, and thought it would be easier if there was a dumb waiter to lift the
food up through the galley skylight. The we looked at Glen and though "Well,
how dumb do we need?"
Kevin was late to the trough - most unusual for him. As we
ate we saw a lot of sailing activity all round us including a number of smacks
and a very attractive bawley owned and sailed by Jimmy Lawrence, who'd been
skipper on our charter last year.
Anchored in the Colne
Photo © Mike Stevens |
Essex smack
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
Bawley
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
After lunch we discussed the whether, when and where of a run
ashore in the barge boat. We decided to do this at 16:30 with the aim of
finding some decent draught beer and getting back in reasonable time for
dinner. That also gave people some time for a kip to recover from the previous
late night and today's early start. But should we go ashore at Brightlingsea on
one side of the River or Mersea Stone on the other? One anonymous contribution
to the discussion was "You don't want to go to Brightlingsea, that's where
the beer bottles grow on trees and the whores pay you". The decision
came down to a nearby pub in Brightlingsea, or a better one about
half-an-hour's walk from the shore on the other side. We decided on the
latter.
Filling the tank
Photo © Mike Stevens |
In the boat
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
There weren't many takers for the run ashore, a single
boatload consisting of Martin, Kevin, Lesley, Glen and myself. As we landed, we
saw another barge come up the Colne, but were too far away to recognise her,
although the hypotheses were flying thick and fast. We even considered that
we'd been through a time-warp and were watching ourselves arrive a few hours
ago.
Landing from the boat
Photo © Mike Stevens |
On Mersea
Photo © Mike Stevens |
SB Repertor
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
We walked to the Dog and Pheasant and it wasn't
open! Martin said he knew of a caravan park bar "about ten minutes
walk away" and he decided to set off to reconnoitre it. Kevin and Lesley
followed his example, but Glen and I worked out that if the Dog &
Pheasant opened at 18:00, as we thought likely, we'd get just as much
drinking time by staying there, so we sat on a bench in the pub garden with our
backs to a table, passing the time in idle chat. After a few minutes I felt a
heavy paw on my shoulder and turned round to find a large red tabby tom-cat
introducing himself.
Glen and I continued our conversation until the others
returned and pointed out (to our shame) that in the intervening time the
pub had opened and we'd not even noticed! We went inside for a couple of
refreshing pints, then walked back to where we'd left the barge boat. The other
barge had now anchored and was recognisable as Repertor which we
reckoned had probably left Maldon on the mid-day tide and sailed straight
round.
Re-launching the boat
Photo © Lesley Pryde |
Reception Committee
Photo © Mike Stevens |
Back aboard
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
Hauling up the boat
Photo © Mike Stevens |
We arrived back on board Pudge to find everyone else
sitting on deck quaffing wine. Then we went below for an excellent
three-course lamb dinner cooked by Mary, David and Lesley and eaten by the
pleasant light of a number of Tilley lamps. The arrangement for alcohol on
board during the trip was that everybody was to make their own arrangements,
and most of us had done so pretty generously, so there were rivalries as to
whose wine box should be opened next.
The cooks at work 
Photos © Mike Stevens |
Dinner
Photo © Mike Stevens |
After dinner, Mandy and Glen showed me how to play The Great
Game of Britain, and I showed them how to win it. Because of the day's
early start, people felt like turning in early (by barge standards). Glen and I
were the last survivors, killing the lamps soon after midnight. |
