This weekend, the weather inevitable cheered up considerably, and the sun shone consistently... the kids have gone back to school of course, so good weather is almost guaranteed.We'd arranged to meet a group of friends at the Rocks anchorage in the river Deben. This was a good plan in many ways.... firstly, the tide timing was excellent, and secondly, SWMBO had never been up the Deben, something that needed fixing as a matter of urgency!We slipped from Shotley at 08h30, and headed out towards the guard buoy, just 1/4nm from the marina, where we found a lovely 12kts of breeze.... it was up the chuff, but we'd had enough of motoring recently, so we set sails, switched the engine off and pootled out towards Languard.... as we reached the Languard buoy, we headed north, and the wind came across the beam, presenting a fabulous reach at 5kts SOG to the Deben entrance..... it was hot, sunny, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed getting the sails out again.... as we were arriving at the Deben bar 1hr after HW, I couldn't afford to be sloppy with my course, so I dropped the genny, and we motor sailed into the river, and then on up to the Rocks anchorage...For those that don't know this anchorage, it is fantastic... a reasonably wide bit of river, with loads of space to anchor, great holding, a lovely little beach, and wonderful views....Half an hour later, Bernie came and tied up alongside us... she'd yet again had engine trouble, and so was less than keen to anchor, and being alongside us gave her more options to get away quickly...By 18h00, we were all on the beach, and a great BBQ was had by all.... and a few new faces in the gang, which was great....We eventually returned to our boat by 20h30 (party animals!!!) and with the kids exhausted, and pretty much straight to bed, SWMBO and I sat and relaxed for a short while, listening to the total silence, interrupted only by a wide range of bird calls.... this has to be one of the very best bits of owning a boat. By 22h00, we too retired for the night.... folowing a trend, I slept like a log... something I never managed on Magna Carter.... I don't know why, but I sleep really well on Morgana at anchor.... not complaining mind!We arose quite early the next morning, around 07h30. I guess the early night was to blame, but yet again, it was already beautifully warm, so we enjoyed a silent coffee in the cockpit, and watched the world wake up....About 08h45, I had to fulfill a promise made to the kids the previous evening, and we jumped into the tender, and set off to motor up a small creek.... what a great decision that turned out to be.... we crept a good way up the small creek, and as we rounded yet another bend, there sat on the mud was a young seal, sunning himself.... we immediately shut the engine down, and I rowed gently towards him, while he sat and stared at us.... we got to within 30 feet of him before he decided we were a bit close, and slipped off into the water.... he then proceeded to poke his head up, and watch us, as we left the creek.... what a wonderful thing to be able to do.... how lucky all us boat owners are!By 10h00, we weighed anchor, along with all our friends, and all set sail, and mooched up and down past one another for 15 mins or so, taking photos.. hopefully some of them will be good!Sadly, by 10h15 we set off towards the bar for the second time, and by 10h45, had safely crossed back out to sea... The Deben bar has a fearsome reputation, and I can see why.... at HW neaps, there was plenty of sand showing, and you do have to stay quite close inshore.... but follow the route correctly, and its perfectly safe... and even SWMBO has to admit that it wasn't that bad, and certainly worth it for the lovely anchorage at the Rocks.We had a bit less wind heading back, and by half way, had to give up and motor sail.... with the tide turned against us, it was slow going under sail..... nevertheless, we got a good 3 hours of sailing this weekend, out of 4hrs of travelling time, so a welcome relief after our 'sail free' summer cruise!We were a bit slow locking in, as we had to wait for a casualty in the lock... someone feeling very unwell aboard another boat, and carted off in an ambulance... hope you get well soon whoever you are.We ate on board, and then after tidying up, and getting Morgana put to bed properly, we were away by 15h00....A grand weekend... hot and sunny all weekend.... even feeling a little burnt... perhaps the nicest weekends sailing so far this year?
Miles logged 25nm
Miles this season 985nm
Miles since this blog started 2,782nm
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