What a grand weekend.... After missing last weekend through family commitments, we were all looking forward to this weekend on the boat..... especially given the forecast... C had a friend along, so we were 5 up.... We rushed away from work Friday evening, to attempt to get away Friday, but traffic, and the 'to-do-list' conspired against us, so we had a relaxing evening on the boat in the marina... The girls, despite going to bed after 21h00, mucked about until after 23h00, when the threat of packing up and going home quietened them down, and they finally went to sleep. They then arose before 07h00, and by 08h00 were in full flight.... We slipped at 09h00, and made our way down to Walton Backwaters.... there was about 7 or 8kts, but very close on the nose, so while we sailed for a while, there was a bit of motoring involved as well.... by 13h00, we were firmly anchored, and getting ready to go ashore.... Blowing the tender up on the boat isn't easy, so that took a while, but we were soon ashore to let the kids blow off some steam... By 17h00, we were back aboard, and spent a pleasant evening, with a decent meal, and a sensibly early night for the littluns who were all showing signs of wilting at this stage! The following morning dawned equally hot, and so we slipped ashore for an early morning walk..... we had decided to take a walk through the dunes, and my weekend was made when M had his toe gently nipped by a rather large land crab... It was only a warning nip, so no damage, but he lept a mile, and ran for hs life..... we couldn't help ourselves, but he was mortally offended by the fact that we were all rolling around on the floor laughing..... male ego huh! By 11h00, we lifted the hook, and set off back towards Ipswich.... a truly beautiful day.... 10kts of wind, and temperature in the high 20's.... this time, the wind was across the beam, so we had a lovely reach across to Harwich, and then gybed our way rigth back down the river, and dropped the sails just before the Lock gates... perfect...... A couple of times the wind filled in to 15kts as a sea breeze kicked in, and much more on the nose, so I had a fun passage, constantly setting and resetting the sails.... kept me occupied, and with the tide assisting us, we made in back to Ipswich really quickly... It took a bit longer than normal to clear up.... how do 2 girls make such a chaotic mess? By 16h00, we were in the car and off home.... , coolbox full of food to munch on the way home, suntans starting to show real progress, and kids fast asleep in the back... Great weekend.... reminds me why I have a boat!
Miles logged 20nm
Miles this season 263nm
Miles since this blog started 1,044nm
No comments:
Post a Comment