THE RETURN OF SAMURAI

Up at 0530, hearty breakfast and off to Levington to join Alex, Gordon and David on Samurai to sail her back to Melton. Having done a passage plan just to keep in practice, I realised we were in for a difficult trip. The trouble is that to get the right height of tide at Melton and working back, at sea we had to beat, against wind and a strong northerly tide, up from Felixstowe to the River Deben. Not only that, the East Coast Pilot advises that the entrance to the River Deben is particularly difficult in an easterly wind.

http://www.gpsnauticalcharts.com/static_html/
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We had an easy start down the Orwell at the bottom of the tide with a steady gentle north easterly wind allowing us a broad reach. There was no commercial traffic in sight, nevertheless we held to the recommended small boats track south of the main channel. Steadily the seas got bumpier and lumpier but Samurai was a good match for them. We headed further out to sea before turning north as we hoped the deeper waters would give us a smoother ride than sailing over the shallows. This did not really work. The easterly wind had been blowing for over a week and had worked up a substantial swell of some five to seven feet at twenty feet intervals, not ideal for Samurai with a three to four foot free-board and a length of thirty six feet.

Progress was painfully slow and extremely bumpy. If we took a long reach out we had the swell on our port bow to beam, which gave us a strange corkscrew motion, pretty uncomfortable especially as the wind was no longer steady. If we took a long reach in we had the same problem but on the opposite side. We spotted the buoys, but against a 2.5 to 3 knot and a heavy swell we were making only 2 to 3 knots over the ground, so we were out there bouncing about for over two hours. How do these round-the-worlders do it, I was thinking. I was knackered after an hour!

Samurai home at evening after a stormy journey.

The Woodbridge Haven buoy was a gladdening sight. We crept ever so slowly up to her and gazed with trepidation at the river entrance. The swell was pounding the sands of the bar mercilessly. Oodles of foaming breakers. The narrow channel seemed narrower than ever before, but Alex took her in with impressive aplomb. Oh the joy of the quiet river waters! The wind was good so we managed to sail most of the 12 miles up past Woodbridge to Melton.

A great day out. My bunk was particularly cosy last night. Aching all over this morning!

CATCH UP

Back on board having returned from a break to attend Max's birthday party and Dartmouth Term of '65 Reunion.

Blogging

I deliberately did not take my tablet with me as I felt I needed a break. So I was very annoyed to discover the two posts I had scheduled were not published.

Boating

Yesterday, went for a lovely trip down the river and out to the Woodbridge Haven buoy. Local chum Tony came too and did much of the driving, so I had a better chance to admire the view and check out Lady Cate's performance. The weather was perfect; fluffy clouds in a bright blue sky. A strong easterly wind had built up a massive swell during its long fetch from the Dutch coast, so we had an exciting time leaving the river through the very narrow channel out to sea and bounced around for some 20 minutes rounding the buoy and returning up the narrow channel again. Lady Cate is happily seaworthy but does seem to be rolling wildly when we stand on the upper deck.

As I mentioned earlier, a small four legged jacking rig has been set up in the river about a mile from the bar. Apparently it there to establish a power cable link between the national grid and the offshore wind farm. It all happens up here in Suffolk!

Great news for me. Tony is an electrical and electronics engineer and got much of Lady Cate's instrumentation working at the connection of a multi-channel SeaTalk plug hidden under the instrument panel. A lot of stuff ticked off my to do list. Nevertheless still have to connect up the masthead instruments and check all calibrations.

TO '65 Reunion

BRNC Courtesy The Britannia Society

The Reunion of Dartmouth's Term of '65 was also judged a great success. Imagine a gathering of some two hundred 68 year old pensioners catching up on old times! Many came from Australia and a long term chum , Norman Sawyer, came all the way from New Zealand only to be staying in the same B&B as me. It was a massive memory fix. Some of us met at The Floaters pub on Friday evening; tripped up the river Dart to Totnes and out to sea before the main dinner on Saturday; Chapel, with all the great sea hymns, followed by a short guided tour and a BBQ on Sunday. This gave us good time to chat. Great to have the ladies with us. Very happy weekend.

Max's Birthday Party

Max's birthday party was wonderful. Apart from the simple joy of some twenty 6 year olds screaming around with apparently endless energy, there were animals brought by specialist entertainers, which kept adults and children enthralled alike. Tarantula, fruit bat, skunk, an 18ft albino python and many more. 2 year old Iris more than held her own amongst these great big 6 year olds; sweetly self-assured. Most impressive. Party a great success. And the promise of another grandchild due next month.

Open skies

East Anglia is famous for its open skies. This I took on a bleak rainy day mid-September, looking through rigging.

Weird weather sailing in Samurai to Suffolk Yacht Harbour

Samurai is a beautiful wooden unclassed bermudan sloop, some 30ft, built in 1968. 

http://www.photo-boat.com/

 (Picture of her to follow. Meanwhile here is a beautiful one someone did of something like her earlier.) Her slender wooden mast reaches gracefully for the sky. ( Not many wooden masts these days, sadly. Unsustainable aluminium is the norm.) Her narrow waist tells of her speed. She is a lovely yacht and is one of Lady Cate's neighbours.

She owns Alex who invited me and Gordon to sail her round to the Suffolk Yacht Harbour on the north side of the River Orwell, 10 miles by road, 20 miles by sea as we have to avoid the shallows near the coast. This turned out to be three semi-retired chaps enjoying surprisingly weird weather.

Setting off from the Granary Yacht Harbour at Melton we headed downstream against the last of the rising tide. The sky was cloudy but bright. The outlook variable. Of course when told the outlook is variable there is only one assumption to make. The weather will get worse. And it did. The distant dark clouds roiling dramatically higher as they approached from the West, got darker thicker and severely threatening. Quite romantically threatening. But there was little wind. Odd.

The River Deben winds gently down from Woodbridge past Waldringfield to Felixstowe Ferry for some 10 miles. The channel is narrow and well buoyed until past Waldringfield when one just sticks to mid-stream. The rain began. This is the place to hoist the sails if the wind is favourable, which it was, so we, well Alex actually, did, whilst Gordon steered and I held on to sheets.

Samurai

The air turned cold, not just cold, seriously cold. The clouds overhead were deep blue-black. The rain switched from mild drizzle to drenching in a matter of seconds. There were four memorable sheet lightening flashes that lit up the dark clouds brilliantly. We took it turns to stay below for a few minutes. But still no wind to speed us on our way. The engine started making weird noises. The water pump? Fan belt? The noises came and went. Unlike the hail, which came and stayed. Really belting down. Not too large, say 1cm at best. But a lot of it. On the 2nd September? It was seriously cold. And still no wind to speak of. It must come, we said. And eventually a bit did, so we enjoyed a few minutes motor sailing at 45 degrees as we sped down river.

The bar at Felixstowe Ferry is very narrow and demands 100% attention. I had crossed the bar on the previous day in Lady Cate when there had been a strong 3ft swell coming from the east. This swell was the last of it. Today it was still there but only about 1 – 1½ ft. Unlike Lady Cate, who rolls happily, if somewhat inconveniently, with the swell, Samurai cut through the swell with ease, giving us a comfortable ride. But the rain was not making life comfortable.

We headed SSW well clear of Wadgate Ledge, the swell behind us, the tide against us, no wind to speak of. Plod. Plod. The rain stopped, which was a great improvement. We were uncertain however that we were leaving Woodbridge Haven buoy behind. Eventually it began to recede. The bummer was that there was a little bilge keeler whizzing along on a shore breeze about a mile to starboard. Alex broke out the victuals like all good skippers should.

The sea was most peculiar. As the tide poured over Wadgate Ledge it roiled and spun, giving us a strange ride. Trouble is we could not time it any other way as we had to leave near high tide Melton to get clear of the marina. The later we leave it the worse the coastal tide against us.

At last the River Orwell beckoned. There are some well named buoys on Harwich Approaches. We saw Pitching Ground buoy ahead but turned starboard to pass Rolling Ground buoy to port, staying out of the main channel all together. The container terminal seemed very quiet. Are we heading for another trade recession?

At last our destination was in sight, just as a the setting sun gave us a beautiful Turneresque display of richly coloured cloud set in a bright blue sky. That made up for everything. Even the engine had stopped complaining. 

Courtesy Suffolk Yacht Harbour.

Gordon and I had fish and chips with an Adnam's beer in the clubhouse, which is the former Cromer Lightship. Alex and Jane, who had driven down to take us all home, had more exotic stuff! Very welcome, as we began to dry out. A strange weather trip but a great day out. Thank you Gordon, Alex and Jane. 

Racing on Saturday!

Wildlife by Lady Cate

In the previous post I mentioned the birds I had identified here at the Granary Yacht Harbour. So here are pictures of some of them. They are really good photos; not mine I hasten to add. Rather I'm learning how to raid the web for pics!

A lapwing seen from the Robbie Garrett Hide at Slimbridge, which is just up the road from Melton, autumn 2014, taken by 
Edmund Kennerley.


www.flickr.com.

The oyster catchers were very entertaining. Comical characters one can watch for ages. I say were, as they all seem to have left a couple of days ago. My book says they gather in large flocks outside the breeding season, so maybe our dozen or so have gone to find more friends. I don't think we have enough food here for a flock!
This pic was taken by Margaret Holland 'Oyster catcher hunting the tide line in Norfolk' 24 02 15. www.flickr.com.

I have seen cormorants working up and down the river. They can stay underwater for a very long time and they usually surface where you are least expecting them.

This picture was taken by David Adamson on 22.06.14 but he doesn't say where. www.flickr.com.

The snipe is well camouflaged and practically invisible if you are looking up sun. It's about 25cms long, struts purposefully and suddenly strikes for its prey.

Photo by mjeedlbr 23.08.15. www.flickr.com

The curlew with its down turned beak is easily recognised. They stride haughtily along the tide's edge seemingly with their nose upturned.  How can this be?! Then they nonchalantly lower their beaks in to the water, stir it up a bit and, lo, food!

Photo by Nick Wakeling 10.09.14 in the Wader Aviary at  Pensthorpe Nature Reserve, which is also near here. www.flickr.com

Finally the little egret. This graceful creature strides languidly through the shallows, stops dead still, focuses without movement then pounces. It is so beautiful, especially for being delicately small at only 60cm in length.

Photo by Janet Sharp 23.06.15 www.flickr.com




Gulls and terns another day.