ONWARDS TO LONDON

The best of company down Middle Deep.











Two beautiful full size Thames barges under full sail.

My plan was to anchor in Stangate Creek, off the Medway, overnight and catch the tide up to South Dock Marina. However, with Lady Cate being slower than I thought and needing to punch the tide for part of the journey I realised we could not make the lock gates in time, so I decided to keep going up river. This would mean cruising up in the dark for some of the time. More trepidation!

Given the busy traffic which was driving me South I decided to enter the estuary by the small boats southern route and cross over to the North side further upstream.






So I passed by the sunken ammunition ship SS Richard Montgomery.












Just think of all that unexploded ammo under there!

 We headed up river into the sunset, which I forgot to photo, buoy hopping up to Gravesend in the dark, where we moored up for a few hours kip.










Off again at 0500 riding the tide up the town.

An infinity of docks from river mouth to town centre. Rather dreary, like the trains entering cities through bleak industrial landscapes.

The Thames Barrier, with its green guiding lights.

The Docklands development skyline, now well matured and dramatic, with one of the Emirates cable car pillars, twisted white, in the foreground.

I travelled in the cable cars just a month before, already thinking then how it would be when we cruised up river.

Gently sculptural pillar showing up the crude block form of the cheaper constructions.

Well I had to take my own pic of it.

Further upstream, opposite Greenwich, some early morning company. Brave folk in very small boats in a busy waterway. But this morning, Saturday, was nice and quiet.








More soon!

OFF WE GO TO LONDON

Weather on Friday 26th turned out perfect so, with some trepidation I must confess, off down the Deben at 0600. Anchored at The Rocks for breakfast and to get the best tide timing, for which I needed to wait some three hours. Then I would go out of the river mouth about an hour before low tide and in to slack water. Later the tide would turn and help me on my journey to the Thames.

Susie and Mick rang at about 0800 to wish me well. What a lovely and very welcome surprise.

The trepidation was getting to me and I didn't wait three hours, for which I paid an, albeit little, price later. The sea is completely unforgiving. It was my first time out on a serious trip with Lady Cate. I was on my own. It has been a long time since I was last at sea proper. Oceans are empty; the Thames Estuary is very very busy and its waters are notorious for its ever moving shallows. Here's hoping the charts are still good and the GPS is sound. However the weather is fine and set fair. Deep breath!

Down the beautiful Deben to Felixstowe Ferry. A wide open place where huge East Anglian skies meet the vastness of the open sea.

 
Being earlier the tide was higher which made it easier to thread the narrow channel close to the retaining blocks that restrain erosion. The Deben mouth must be treated with the greatest respect. The bar is half a mile further out from here. Following the buoys closely is vital. Thank goodness the river mouth is surveyed every year and the buoys shifted accordingly. The annual chart is on the web.

http://www.debenestuarypilot.co.uk/




Arriving at the Woodbridge Haven buoy I set course along the coast. Nothing remarkable for a couple of hours except that I was only making speed over ground of about 6 knots as the tide was still against me. Dear old Lady Cate is a displacement vessel designed for comfort rather than speed, which is what I wanted. However I was a little disappointed that this was all she would do. I'll have a closer look at the Morse control system. I suspect it's something simple like that. But it's not important.

The weather was kind and it was not long when the Gunfleet Sands Wind Farm hove in to view. It is an impressive sight. I don't find these generators offensive to the view though some do. As a green nut I am very supportive of them.








I got as close as I could to get a photo but nearly ran out of  water as I was still earlier than planned albeit now on the rising tide. Thank goodness for the depth alarm! Ooops! Too early.











So I quickly retreated down past Wallet 6 buoy to the Wallet Spitway, crossing across the Swin in to Middle Deep.
                                                                                       

The tale of adventure continues tomorrow!

  

THAMESWARD

After three earlier tries, all blocked by family matters, Friday 26th August seems like the right day to go. The plan is to go up the Thames as far as Lady Cate can which I think is just downstream from Oxford. Lady Cate's air draft is three metres. Folly Bridge has exactly the same.

The synoptic chart looks good.

All those lovely highs with isobars miles apart means quiet weather. Here's hoping. I am not in need of any challenges.

I plan to go down with the rising tide to Queenborough and anchor overnight in the small boat mooring area in Stangate Creek. A nice buoy-hopping track all the way. The problem is that I can't get the ST5000 Autohelm to take a course to steer. It keeps switching off when I try to set course. So far none of us can sort it so I'll just have to drive myself all the way. It's a tough life!

FOLLOWING FIVE CHARTS COURTESY OF IMRAY LAURIE NORIE & WILSON 

 C1, Y18 and EAST COAST PILOT

On Saturday middayish I'll catch the rising tide along the outer Thames reaches to carry me in to either Limehouse or South Dock Marina. 

I'll keep you posted.

MY OWN POWER STATION - GAS SUPPLY

I need an independent on board power supply if I am to wander off in to places wild. As most of the systems are on the 12V circuit the generator is primarily for charging the batteries. However there are occasions, such as power tools, when a 240V supply helps.

There is a wide choice of generators. Most of the small ones are petrol powered. I want to avoid having petrol on board. Dangerous stuff. In the end I chose a propane/LPG powered Greengear 3kW electric start model. Apart from it being coloured green it has a very low greenhouse gas emissions profile. It is also very quiet. Best of all it worked out cheapest. 

Here it is. This photo makes it look rather large.

That's better. I will cut out the existing butane gas store, the white box behind, and stand the generator there with a pair of 13kg propane bottles behind. Then build a weather cover around them all.

My exisiting gas supply, now only used for cooking, is butane so I will need a new regulator and supply line from the propane bottles to the cooker. As you can see the butane regulator and supply line is mounted on the storage box itself so I will have to rerun the piping as well as change the regulator. Life gets complicated!

Butane has a problem. It freezes at -4 degreesC. I had my supply freeze this winter. Propane freezes at c.-44 degreesC. Much more convenient. A bit of work to be done but a good improvement. 

One last thought. As Mick pointed out the generator plus two gas bottles are heavy, adding a lot of top hamper on the starboard side. I may have to shift some ballast.

Be good - if you can!

Chris

FENDER RACKS & GIGGLEMUG

Fender racks

Getting tidier is an endless battle in the little world of the lived in boat. On deck fenders are a culprit so I've invested (they're not cheap!) in a pair of fender racks now installed on either side of the poop deck. (From the French for stern poupe.)

They make Lady Cate look smarter. No fenders needlessly hanging down just to keep them off the deck.

Gigglemug


My search for a non-alcoholic long quaffable 'savoury' drink continues. Like beer but non-alcoholic though non-alcoholic beer doesn't work for me. Tomato juice and other vegetable drinks on the market are too thick. Though many are very palatable they do not fill the bill as quaffable.

I came across Gigglemug at Holland and Barratt. Does not fill the bill but a very pleasant ginger drink with a splendidly silly name.

I've just looked at the ingredient list. It's just ginger flavoured sugar water!! Emphasis on ginger flavouring - not the real thing. Still it's very cheap as it should be.
Ciao!

HARWICH CLASSIC YACHTS RACE

A perfect sailing day. Middling breeze, blue skies and classic yachts.

[All out of boat photos courtesy of Haven Ports Yacht Club http://www.syharbour.co.uk/index.php/news-events/138-2016/514-classic-regatta-results.]

 

Josh and Brian joined me and owner Alex on Samurai.

Motoring down the Orwell to the offshore start

Registering with the Committee at the start line.

Eyeing up the competition as we approach the start line.

The start - for our class.

Without doubt our most beautiful entrant.

Another lovely classic gaffer.

Samurai racing along.

Clashes round the buoys.

Pulling through at the finishing line.

After handicapping Samurai came 7th out of 14 in her class
and we got an honourable mention type prize!

KITTY IN PLACE

Kitty will spend most of her life on Lady Cate's davits. I've rigged up a set of straps for her and she now sits snug on the stern, our tender and liferaft.

TOMMY LEE

Lesley lives on Tommy Lee, an aged (?1928) converted Thames tugboat, 32 tons.

She had decided she would live in Woodbridge rather than Melton, moving to the centre of the action! Would I run Tommy Lee down for her? Not half!

 
So off we went. Tommy Lee sits on the mud so we had to wait for the tide but needed to get away on the rising tide so that we arrived at her new mud berth before the tide started to fall. A fine bit of timing.


Only just missed a gaggle of freewater swimmers on the way. They forget that they can see us easily. To us they look like blobs of seaweed. Wish they would wear bright yellow caps. So easy for them to be sucked in and under by the prop.