October half term ought to have been a great opportunity for a cruise. As is often the case, strong winds and a heavy seasonal cold had other ideas. There was a bonus, though, in the form of a quick trip over to Harwich - the close season is just about the only time one can guarantee access at Halfpenny Pier.
10.2nm
The next day was hauling out day. Conditions were perfect and the tide ought easily to have been high enough to use the short public slipway at Pin Mill. The tables suggested we were in for one of the highest Spring tides of the year but, although I had no real difficulty, the 'creeping tide' did not scale the expected heights, just lapping at the bottom of the trailer wheels at the expected HW time.
Locals dining in the Butt and Oyster were treated to a Drascombe double as Philip, owner of lugger Truant, was also hauling out
So, that will most probably be it for this year. November is looking stupidly busy and any spare time will be given over to the various jobs that need doing. The annual log record hasn't been broken but then the overall plan is shifting towards cruises and rallies, away from day sailing. Next season and beyond are already being planned for and, with any luck, Daisy II should expect to venture further afield than ever before.
Double reefed main with part-furled jib and full mizzen. F4 gusting 5 along the River Stour. Up to 6 knots achieved against the last hour of the flood tide.
Last week, there was a plan. This week was just a 'suck it and see' sail although, in outline, it turned out to be much the same sail as last week, four hours later in the day. However, as any sailor knows, conditions never quite make any trips the same.
21.7nm
Today, winds were from the north, F4 with some stronger gusts. It made sense to head back to the Stour and enjoy reaching both ways. The sailing was terrific, as can be seen from the photograph heading this blog entry. On the way up the Stour, single reefed main with a few rolls in the jib necessitated a good deal of wind spillage as the stronger gusts came over. Following a lunchtime anchorage in the lea of the north shore, just beyond Holbrook Bay, I decided to put a further reef in the main, setting the mizzen instead. This resulted in a much better balance on the return trip and speeds well in excess of five knots against the last hour of the flood and much less heeling over in the gusts.
I had a go at tacking back into the Orwell against the tide but, along with all the other boats around, furled the sails and resorted to the engine. Sometimes, it's just not worth the hassle!
Motoring up the Orwell
As a result, upon returning to Pin Mill, most sails had been safely stowed and there was even time to hoist a few plastic bags for fending off the local feathered wildlife whilst the boat is kept on the mooring. Many thanks to a local Drascombe owner for the following pictures!
Returning to Pin Mill, sails already stowed and plastic 'bird-deterrents' already in place!
As is often the case, the linked video footage only shows the 'calmer' parts of the sail since this was often one of those days where concentration was key and it was definitely important to hang on as those gusts pushed their way across the estuary.
So, it is hoped that the half term break, the week after next, will yield mild conditions suitable for cruising if only to push the season's log, currently 679 nautical miles, a further 57 miles or so. That would, indeed, be a great way to end the season. Two years ago, during the same week, Storm 'St Jude' had other ideas...
I've accomplished this trip many times but today was slightly different. For one, it was the first and only time I managed the full length of the Stour in 2015 - and there have been several otherwise rather feeble attempts. Most importantly, however, it was a day where all plans came to fruition, where timing and forecast worked out and the outboard motor, the usual 'get out of jail free card,' wasn't troubled at all.
31.0nm
We were on morning neap tides with HW at Harwich expected at 11am. This necessitated a 4.30am alarm, driving to the coast with intention of leaving the mooring at 7am. Shotley Point needed to be abeam at around 8.30am in expectation of a splendid run up the Stour, arriving at Manningtree at least by HW.
Gentle winds on the Stour, approaching Ewarton Ness
The forecast was for a light NE breeze until HW when the winds were scheduled to turn full easterly F4 so it was important to prepare for a lengthy beat back down the Stour in strengthening wind over tide conditions, where waves can pitch quite steeply and closely.
In the event, all of this happened. The run up the Stour could have been quicker and, had it been so, there would have had time to go ashore at Manningtree - it's been a while since I visited an excellent coffee/breakfast shop there. However, the breeze was steady but light in nature, so I was only making just over 4 knots over ground - steady enough to notch up a brew under way off Parkestone Quay. The sail up the Stour passed by without incident, past the gloriously imposing buildings of Holbrook School, the moorings at Wrabness on the opposite side, the ever-disappointing Mistley Quay and then on to Manningtree.
Manningtree
I glided through the moorings at around 11am - HW at Manningtree is usually about 40 minutes after Harwich - and popped round to photograph the lugger Sandpiper moored just off the quay area, with it's attractive burgundy topsides.
Lugger, Sandpiper
She looked a little weary of the year gathering, as she has, most likely a season's worth of weed along the boot line.
Immediately, Daisy II swung back into the wind and tacked her way out of the moorings, with her skipper eating a packed lunch 'on the hoof', as it were.
Departure from Manningtree
A couple of tacks beyond Mistley Quay, it was time to tie in a single reef in the main, put a few rolls in the jib and furl the mizzen and this was how it remained for the long beat up the Stour. Past Erwarton Ness, the waves were pitching quite wildly, so I put in a series of shorter tacks remaining in shallower, calmer waters until passing the red light vessel which is permanently moored off the ferry terminal. The thirty-eighth and final tack helped ease Daisy II past the lengthening shallows off Shotley. The mizzen was redeployed, rolls shaken out of the jib and, continuing with the single reefed main, the reward was a glorious reach against the ebb back up the Orwell, taking some great video footage with the GoPro and reaching speeds in excess of 5 knots over ground against the tide.
Finally, I rounded Collimer for a pleasant run back to the mooring.
At this stage in the season, moments have to be seized: carpe diem and all that... Saturday and Sunday presented themselves with an established area of high pressure sitting over the UK and the promise of a break in recent settled conditions early next week. The usual musical commitments not keeping me at home on Sunday morning, I was free to sail on both days, albeit that I needed to come home in between.
On Saturday, I had company in the form of mother. In the summer, I like to join her on a river cruise in her Viking 23 cruise Alouette. Over the years, we've covered many hundreds of miles of the Inland Waterways from the Thames and its tributaries, the Avon and Severn, the Broads and a large number of canals from the Kennett and Avon in the south, to the Stratford canal and then canals up through Birmingham and into Staffordshire, as well as the network in Shropshire and off into Wales. So, this return trip is an opportunity for mother to join me for a short trip on Daisy II and we've done this every year, albeit in the cold of October.
Of course, Saturday was far from cold although we had to make the most of the little wind there was.
Here's a short video clip taken with the GoPro.
4.5nm
On Sunday, I returned alone and had a longer trip along to Shotley and back along to Woolverstone.
As usual, seals were very much in evidence, although I didn't expect to see one sitting on the stern of a rowing boat!
let's see what we can sea lion around...
The reason for this snap was purely nostalgic. In the 1970s, my late stepfather used to own a Dell Quay Fisher Boat just like this one which was pottering around Pin Mill. I'd not seen it before, and it brought back many happy memories of motoring out of Minehead harbour on the Bristol Channel.
The point of this picture is to highlight the propensity of birds, we think turnstones, to populate some craft at Pin Mill, though not others. It is extraordinary how some boats are left untouched and others are taken over - there seems to be no 'rhyme or reason' why certain boats are targeted. Here, they have clearly shown some good taste in choosing a Drascombe lugger although, as mooring owners at Pin Mill will testify, they are a proper damned nuisance. A thread on the Drascombe forum asks for techniques to dissuade them from choosing a host boat. I always use supermarket bags although, as from tomorrow they will cost 5p, the regular supply of these will undoubtedly cease.
This is a log of sailing activities aboard Daisy II, a 22ft Drascombe Coaster No.280. Formerly named Aquarius, she was built in July 1997 by Honnor Marine(UK) Ltd of Totnes, Devon. The original Daisy, a Devon Lugger, was purchased in 2005 following an unexpectedly early opportunity to realise a mid-life crisis! Daisy II, with cabin, afforded more scope for overnight stops, and was purchased at the end of 2006.
For several seasons she was moored at Pin Mill on the River Orwell, Suffolk. More recently, the trailer sailing option, utilising a versatile ‘roller coaster’ road trailer, has extended the sailing range. Over the years, we have sailed from various locations off the south coast from Cornwall to Hampshire, a number of inland reservoirs and the Norfolk Broads. However, her key stamping ground is the east coast, usually based around the Harwich area and reaching destinations ranging from North Kent up to Southwold, whilst also launching on the North Norfolk coast at Wells next the Sea. Most recently, a trip from Harwich to Whitby has served only further to whet the appetite: perhaps, one day, Daisy II might complete her journey, in small stages of course, around the UK!
