Heading North

Thought we'd head North this coming weekend, and try out the Deben..... The following weekend is the Old Gaffers Association Swallows and Amazons weekend at Walton Backwaters, so we didn't want to do the Twizzle two weekends in a row, so its northbound... The tides are actually quite friendly, with sensible departure times OK at both ends... might mean a little bit of tide bashing, but its only 6nm from Harwich, so hardly a problem.... We are hoping to grab a visitors mooring in the Deben, perhaps at Ramsholt.... but if none are free, then we'll drop the hook somewhere.... as a fin keeler drawing 1.65m, we cant take the ground, so somewhat restricted on what times we can get all the way into TideMill..... besides, we quite like the tranquility of a mooring or an anchorage...... The forecast for the coming weekend is looking pretty darned good at this long range.... very hot, but maybe not too much wind.... perhaps 30deg, and 4 to 5 mph..... still its a long way to the weekend yet... My other news, is it looks like I've found an outboard at a price we can afford.... I was nervous of buying a cheap outboard, as I don't want the hassle of an engine that is reluctant to start, runs intermittently, overheats etc... all normally the territory of a cheap/old engine..... but a friend of my father has one for sale... a 12yr old Evinrude 4hp.... and my father knows him well enough to be comfortable that he isn't going to try and rip me off, and as a consequence it looks like a good deal.. not a guarantee, but a better bet than a complete stranger... its just being fully serviced by a professional outboard maintainer as part of the deal, and then I'll fetch it on Thursday.... so less rowing on the agenda... which can only be good!... and also opens up a few more anchorages to us, that currently are just too much of a row against the tide (such as the Deben on springs!)... Really looking forward to this weekend... after 2 enforced weeks off, we all have withdrawal synptoms.... kids are so keen to go sailing that it warms my heart!