typical bank holiday

As usual, a British bank holiday weekend provided the standard package of grotty weather, and as usual, this was completely contrary to the rather nice forecast provided beforehand. Its not a problem though. We expect it.

We managed to get down to Morgana at a very reasonable 18h00, due to a half day of annual leave on my part, so it wasn't the usual rush....

And when I checked the tide times it became even less so.... if we wanted to head towards the Deben, then we either ste of at 'oh no' o'clock, or left it until early afternoon. The lay-in won.

So, around 15h00, we locked out into a steady 18kts of wind.... and made our way at a decent pace down towards the Deben entrance... we were a tad early for the perfect entry, but given that it was a very neapy weekend, we risked it.... and never saw less than 1.5m below the keel.... (along with the usual 12kts SOG on the GPS that is always a feature of the Deben tides)

It seemed like a bit of a friends reunion in the Deben, with boat after boat calling over to say hello.... we saw at least half a dozen familiar craft waving...

The anchorage at the Rocks was busier than normal, but not busy to the point of space becoming tight, so we anchored easily.... with 23kts not blowing, in the same direction as the tide, there was little concern that the anchor was dug in.... I was more concerned about how easy it would be to retrieve!

We met up with Clive on Sirenia, and Peter on Karouise, and soon a plan was hatched for a BBQ ashore... which we duly completed.... yum!

A really good nights sleep in the excellent holding followed....

Again, we couldn't leave early unless we left really early, so instead we opted for a lazy day and to take the afternoon tide... during the day we all jumped in the tender and motored the 1.5nm to Waldringfield, enjoyed a visit to the pub (I had coffee!!!!), and then heading back got within 0.5nm on Morgana when we ran out of fuel.... thank god that the tide was supporting us... it was a long row in an inflatable....

We upped anchor at around 17h30, and slowly meandered down to the bar.... we were a bit more sensible timewise this time around, being just 2.5hr before HW, which proved a good job... the westerly wind was more easterly than westerly, and a decent swell was running into the entrance.... much more wind and it would have been downright dangerous... as it was, with 1.5m under the keel, dropping into the troughs of the waves had my heart in my mouth... I was certainly glad to see the safe water mark when we reached it and to watch the depth grow rapidly...

It was miserable really heading upto Hamford water.... a grey overcast evening, with 27kts in the gusts, probably averaging 21kts, and straight into the wind, we motored.... bang, crash off each wave.... fortunately, its not that far, and within 5nm we hade made it to Pye End which marks the entrance to the Backwaters channel, and the lee of the land had reduced the seastate considerably...

However, Hamford Water also benefits from a huge anchorage, and so we had no trouble finding a good spot, and again, the anchor set well with a decent length of chain out...

It wasn't a good night.... for the first time in a long while I didn't sleep well at anchor... probably due to the wind whisting through the rigging....

The following morning, I took the kids up Bramble creek in the tender to spot the seals... loads of 'em as ever... including the one inevitable curious one that can resist coming over for a look at the boat!

By midday, we'd had enough of the grey skies and wind, and upped anchor and set off for Shotley.... we had a brilliant downwind sail under just genny, and as we neared Shotley, the sun came out!!!!! (talk about poor timing)

A perfect lock in, and a perfect arrival at our berth (in fact I think probably the neatest we've ever done), and we were back....

A rotten weekend weatherwise, but actually, two nights at anchor made up for it... we have great quality family time when we anchor... you are all stuck in a small space, and we end up enjoying each others company a lot more than normal. We play cards, and a multitude of other games and the kids love it....

All in all... not bad!

Miles logged 32nm
Miles this season 471nm
Miles since this blog started 4,368nm

bank holiday weekend

.... and the forecast is looking good!

The remnants of hurricane 'bill' look like they'll pass well north, and the Azores high will re-establish itself.

So perhaps slightly breezy on Sat, but getting better and better throughout the weekend....

My withdrawal symptoms will be dealt with adequately!

I can see the anchor!

Its hard to believe how different it is sailing in clear blue water under a deep blue sky!

The boat we had chartered for the day was a 27'er, of early 80's vintage.... not a rocket ship, and had led a clearly hard life...but was solid, and obviously well maintained...

The aisles in the marina at Palamos were narrow, so it was interesting getting out of the berth, not having any idea of how she handle in reverse.... but all was well, and we set off out safely...

Just outside the marina, we pulled the sails up, and shut the engine down... A long tack out to sea, and off we went... fabulous.... clear blue water that you could see through..... and 10kts of wind.... we stood off out to sea for about 4nm, tacked back and headed down towards Castell.... a small bay... it was quite full, and so we set back, and ran down the coast to Calella, where we anchored in a free space.... there wasn't much space.... and I thought that i'd seen busy anchorages....

But somehow anchoring seems so much safer and easier when you can see the bottom!

A swim, and lunch, and we set off back.... with one crew member dropped off, we set off out again...

The wind had built with a stiff sea breeze, and a reef was put in.... we reached out, and eventually had to give up when around 16h00 the wind died... a slow motor back in and we tied up somewhat reluctantly...

All I can say is that sailing in such conditions has reinforced two points...

1] A bimini isn't a luxury... its an essential

2] I will love long term cruising!

Miles logged 24nm
Miles this season 439nm
Miles since this blog started 4,336nm