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.
There are two
little balls of dark fluff, about 20cm long, swimming about the boat and
diving, presumably for food. They spend as much time under the water as on it.
They insist on keeping up sun, so I find it impossible to see them clearly. If
I get close, they dive and hide under the marina walkways. I think they are
young Common Scoter.
