A long planned weekend for my son Matt and myself with my friend Tass and his son Chris.... I'd been looking forward to this, as Tass is a very very good dinghy sailor, having competed in the Seoul Olympics, representing Greece in the Laser class, so it was going to be nice to have someone on board who could take the helm without me having to keep an eye out... not only that, but Tass is a larger than life character, having worked on among other things, underwater bomb clearance with the Navy, and taught Scuba for a living... and great fun to be with.... and so the weekend was to prove.... we were treated to a long series of tales of daring do, mishap and pranks that made the whole weekend an absolute pleasure...
The forecast had been some what iffy, with F6 to 7 forecast for the Saturday, and nothing at all for the Sunday.... it wasn't quite right in the end though...
We slipped Shotley at around 10:30 Saturday morning, and within just yards of the marina, had the sails up, and engine off... bliss...
We then had a roller coaster dead run down to Bradwell. passijg through the infamous Wallet, which had (for the Wallet) a large swell running.... however, we were dead downwind, and with just the Genoa out (the main is hard work dead downwind in a big sea - and we also wanted the kids to be able to take the helm)... this was also a good idea as we have 24kts of wind... it was fine downwind, but would have been pretty unpleasant bashing the other way.... we had a squall at one point of 31kts, but with Tass to help it was a non event.... we did hit 10.8kts over the ground at one point....
When we arrived at Bradwell, the shelter of the land made life somewhat easier, but such a quick passage meant that we were a bit early, so we squeaked into Bradwell marina with at one point just 20cm under the keel....
Throughout the whole trip it had been quite cold, but the sun had shone, and this had made it a classic sail... very enjoyable...
The evening entailed a few games of pool for the boys in Bradwell marina's bar, and then a very good meal in the Green Man, washed down with excellent beer as is always the case at that particular hostelry.
The great sailing of the previous day was to take some topping, so we started again with a big fry up, and a surprise visit from Jim, out for a ride on his ferociously quick bike, and then we slipped at 10:00...
Unbelievably, the sailing was to prove even better....
Almost certainly one of the best autumn sails i've ever had.
The wind was still northerly, but with just enough west in it to allow us to hold a single close hauled course the whole way up the Wallet.... with 20kts, and bright blue skies, with a blazing sun, it was an absolute ball.... a reef in the main and geno to start with, shook out after half an hour, and we belted up the Wallet at 30° of heel, with the boat powering its way through the little remaining swell at a fabulous 7.5kts..... it was utterly glorious.
After reaching Walton headland, we were enjoying the sail so much that we continued to tack all the way up to Harwich, where with regret we furled the sails and motored the last 5 minutes into the marina.... a total of 18 minutes of engine run in 2 days and 50nm.
Tass and Chris made a great job of both the lock and the berthing work with the lines, and after tying up we sat and enjoyed the slight glow in our faces that is inevitable after a day out in the sun....
Thanks to Tass and Chris.... a brilliant weekend that both Matt and I enjoyed immensely.... we'll both be very keen to do it again!
Miles logged 50nm
Miles this season 1,126nm
Miles since this blog started 5,706nm
