Launch and first sail, 5 April 2014

As the previous post stated, 5th April has been my stated goal in terms of launching this season.  Tides were just about ok to launch at 3.50am at Pin Mill.  Unfortunately, tide heights thereafter were due to decline as the moon waned and I would have had to pay to launch elsewhere.  So, silly time as it was, I just about managed to roll the boat off the trailer at high tide at the public slip by the Butt and Oyster pub - not a soul about although it was rather dark.  Fortunately, I could make use of an excellent head torch.

I punted my way out into deeper water, pulled the starter cord twice and gently worked my way out to some vacant moorings as close to my own mooring as I could imagine in the available light and, by 4.40am, was in the cabin ready for slumber.

The morning was not without its drama - I almost lost the cabin entrance lid, just watching it glide with the tide past the boat and scrambling a loose oar into action, retrieved it in good time.  The remainder of a long and leisurely breakfast was spent cooking, eating and sorting - masts raised, spars attached, various bits of kit stowed.  Additionally, I located the correct mooring - my original stab in the dark was two buoys away from the correct place.
From then it was time for a sail!  Conditions were strange, F4 southerly but with some rather marked F5 gusts as well as a few lulls.  I set off, initially under jib and mizzen since I wanted to test out the new mizzen arrangements.  Steve, owner of coaster Pamela Jean noticed me and sent me some snaps

Daisy II maiden voyage of 2014 captured from shore

The woods at Pin Mill made a fickle wind into an annoyance.  During the gusts, I was moving along at over 4 knots against an incoming tide; eventually, however, the gusts subsided for a while and I hove to and hoisted a reefed main.  After a few tacks, taking me past Suffolk Yacht Harbour, I turned for a wonderful run with the flood reaching a top speed of 6.7 knots.  Working my way towards the Orwell bridge I cast out the anchor for lunch in a favourite spot opposite Freston.
After lunch, the winds still gusting, I returned, against the still rising tide, to the mooring, passing Pamela Jean as she stretched her own sails for the afternoon.

Coaster Pamela Jean 

Back at the mooring, it was time to put things back in order and leave Daisy II to brave the elements from her mooring vantage point.

10.4nm; top speed 6.7 knots; moving average 3.2 knots

Hopefully, this Easter break will yield some opportunities for a few short cruises.  I'd like to see some of the old haunts!