Greetings Family and Friends!
Here we are back in England, enjoying some adventures ashore
as we prepare for our summer sail in the North Sea and the Baltic: we plan to
visit Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Holland.
When we arrived in Woodbridge on Friday June 5 we found that
Adventuress had weathered very well her winter rest in the Tide Mill Yacht
Harbour. The car also had not done too badly: a flat battery and two flat tyres
were soon fixed: then we had to have her insured, inspected and licensed.
An old but reliable good 'un - no, not John, the car!
As soon as the car was ready to go we headed to Northampton
to see Dad and celebrate his 90th birthday. A group of 60 family and friends celebrated
in the community room at St. Crispen’s Village where Dad resides. John arranged for a special surprise…a
Scottish bag piper to celebrate Dad’s half Scottish heritage!
We returned to Adventuress to begin the process of
recomissioning….installing the sails, canvas and running rigging; and checking
every system on the boat. And of course we
had to test some food and wines ahead of provisioning for our summer cruise.
Lamb chops seasoned with mint, sautéed in the griddle pan with peppers and mushrooms.
The Tide Mill Yacht Harbour is approximately 10 miles up the
Deben River which is narrow and mostly dries out at low tide. At low tide the marina is kept full of water
by a dam called a “sill” across its narrow entrance. The 10 foot tide range allows 6 feet clearance
above the sill at high tide. At low tide
4 feet of the sill is exposed on the river side and there is sufficient water
remaining in the marina to float the boats (dredged to 8 feet). It’s a perfect place to park Adventuress for
the winter and the best advantage is that it’s in the heart of the scenic town
of Woodbridge: so there are many amenities within walking distance of the
marina.
View of the harbor at mid-tide
n And here's the Tide Mill....
...with the river Deben looking South
Admiral Nancy getting ready to go up this mast and put some varnish on it!
Here's a sail boat coming into the marina with the tide two thirds in: she must draw only about four feet as that white marker post is showing just 1.3 metres of water above the marina's dam.
When Adventuress was ready to leave the marina, John
arranged to satisfy the European Union red tape bureaucrats - to be tested by an instructor to see if he knew how to sail! and be awarded
the various certifications needed to sail in Europe and on the inland waterways
(Europe does not recognize the US Coast Guard 6 Captain’s certificate). The instructor was with us when we left the
marina. Within 10 minutes when we were
at the narrowest bit of the channel, the hot engine alarm sounded, the engine was indeed overheated, and we were
forced to turn off the engine. Within
minutes we were aground in mud on the ebbing tide and we spent the next 12 hours waiting for the tide to
come back in. The good news was that John passed and received all three
certificates! Even better news was that as the tide went out and we were left
high and muddy in the middle of the river, our heavy full keel sank about 30
inches into the soft Deben mud: and so instead of falling over to maybe 40
degrees from vertical, we leaned over a very acceptable15 degrees. Here are some interesting pictures:
Well and truly sunk into the mud...note the cluster of mussels
around the cutlass bearing
Hard a Mud!
While we sat in the mud, John was able to troubleshoot the
engine and solve the problem.
So three days later we left the Deben River and sailed a
short distance to the Orwell River to be hauled at Shotley Marina. The bottom paint was in excellent shape after
three years of sailing so only a short haul was necessary: thank you Trinadad
SR.
On July 4th we sailed down tide 45 miles to Lowestoft
to shake down any problems: none found and a lovely downwind sail averaging 7+ knots. We found a berth for Adventuress in the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club: we squeezed our 14 feet 3inches beam into a slip just 15 feet wide!
This week we should find a window to sail the 110 miles over the North Sea to Amsterdam and meet up with friends Willem and Annehei on S/V Meerlust: and in company with them cruise the Ijsselmeer and Waddenzee, with Willem as our splendid local Dutch tour guide! Then we plan to cross the North Sea to Norway, staging at Den Helder, at the top of Holland.
Basking in gentle evening sunshine in Woodbridge, and John smoking a Churchillian cigar.
Posted 5th July 2015 from Lowestoft
