Slightly damp

Is it June?We got down to the boat a bit late on Friday to be greeted by a persistent drizzle.... never mind.... we got the kids to bed... no small challenge given the two extra kids being dragged along, and got ourselves to bed at a sensible time....Arising Saturday morning, it was unsurprising to see a fairly consistent grey cover of cloud, and the odd slightly threatening darker cloud on the horizon.... never mind... we set off with vague plans for Stone Point..... we'd only been out an hour or so when this plan seemed somehow inappropriate... out past Landguard point, it was a nice 18kts of breeze, but actually quite cold..... I can't believe its the height of June.... this was more like March weather... along the way we'd seen CliveG out on Sirenia, single handing again... he's getting to be quite a dab hand at this solo stuff!So we turned tail, and decided to head up the river towards Pin Mill to grab a buoy for some lunch.... a short tacking contest entailed between us an Sirenia.... not really a fair competition for Clive, but his excellent boat handling kept him ahead of us for a lot longer than I would have liked.... After maybe 20 tacks, the crew were complaining of exhaustion, a little excusable considering we were tacking every 45 seconds!We saw Clive heading for the shallows to drop his hook, so called him up and invited him over for lunch... a lot easier for him to raft alongside us anyway.... and a pleasant lunch was enjoyed.... the sun even shone for 10 or 15 mins....Then we decided to head back for the marina.... While we waited to lock in, the heavens opened, and a wet and cold crew entered the marina, and took a while to dry out...1 hour later, we all agreed that, given the improved weather conditions, a walk was in order, along the footpath up the side of the Orwell.... if anyone ever wants a nice walk, try this one... its lovely... load of wildlife, fabulous vibrantly coloured wild flowers, and great scenery....About 2 miles in, we could see black clouds looming on the horizon, so decided to avoid a soaking and head back... as we walked back (a little faster than the casual stroll heading out!), we saw Clive heading up the river towards Shotley.... looked like he was coming into the marina... he'd been to Levington to collect a visiting friend....We got back to the marina, just 500yds from the boat when there were several ominous flashes of lightning..... I looked towards Clive and then all hell broke loose.... there was a huge flash with an immediate crash... a very very close strike, and the rain started to come down so hard that visibility was reduced to just a couple of hundred feet..... Crikey... that strike had looked awfully close to Clive.... We sprinted into the shelter of the shower blocks, and looked out while the car park flooded in seconds....5 mins later, it seemed to have eased slightly so we made a dash for the boat... just 500yds.... half way there, the deluge restarted.... 6 very soggy people clambered into the refuge of the cockpit tent....I tried calling Clive.... no reply on his VHF, no reply on his mobile.... oh dear.So I stuck the VHF on ch80.... just 10mins later we heard him request a lock in.... phew.....So with the rain eased right off, I ran down to help him.... as he came through the lock he was obviously a little wetter than when he had left!!!!!! (he told me afterwards that the rain had put 3 inches of water in his cockpit despite the drains!!!!)The lock keeper informed us that the lightning had hit one of the cranes at Felixstowe.... just another 500yds farther away than Clive.... not a nice thought...So... we provided a cold beer or two to Clive and his crew, which seemed to cure their ailments.... and then all went to the Shipwreck for a pint and a bite to eat....On getting up Sunday, the weather seemed to be offering much the same pleasures, with perhaps even more rain.... so by 10h30, we packed up, locked up, and went home....So much for 'flaming June'....

Miles logged 16nm
Miles this season 524nm
Miles since this blog started 2,318nm