This became pretty much a repeat of my sail earlier this month. Again, I was rather dependent on forecasts and had hoped to get up to the Ore/Alde. However, I decided not to, given the forecast for later in the week which, yet again, turned out to be unduly pessimistic. However, following a very enjoyable non-sailing holiday in Portugal, it was nonetheless just so good to be out sailing again!
73.6nm; Season's total 369.5nm
Red track 22nd August; White track 23rd August, Green track 24th August
I arrived at Daisy II at 2am on Wednesday 22nd. After several hours of kip, I arose, had breakfast and took the last of the ebb down the Orwell and sailed round to the mouth of the Deben. For the first time, I think, I sailed in without using the engine. I stopped, briefly, for a coffee just beyond Felixstowe Ferry and then worked the flood all the way up to Woodbridge for HW which was around mid afternoon. I intended to call in at Woodbridge, but there was little space at the quay, so I kept going past Robertson's Boatyard and beyond, eventually returning with the tide to a favourite anchorage on the south-west shore just seaward of Ramsholt.
On Thursday 23rd, I took the last of the ebb out of the Deben entrance, this time not experiencing such dramatic overfalls as I had earlier in the month. Winds were initially light and flukey. I motor-sailed out through the Deben entrance...
Entrance to Deben, looking out to sea
....to sea, and then shed the engine and tacked back towards Felixstowe Pier. Finally, a decent breeze carried me around Landguard Point and into Harwich harbour. I looked for landing at Halfpenny Pier, but the harbour was full so, after some pottering around taking snaps of big boats in and around Old Harwich.....
... I worked my way up the entire length of the Stour estuary as far as Manningtree and then back again, with a final trip out to Landermere Creek in the Walton Backwaters.
On Friday 24th, I returned to the mooring and met Mike who has just purchased his new pride and joy, the coaster Bounty which he sourced in Germany. Mike spoke to me earlier in the season, when I was launching Daisy II, and mentioned that he was looking for a coaster. She looks a real picture, is in tremendous condition and, I'm pleased to report, will be moored at Pin Mill for the remainder of the season. Hopefully, we'll have several sails together before she eventually goes to a new home in, of all places, Kenya!
The original plan was to take in the rivers Deben, Ore, Butley and Alde. However, having viewed the long range forecast, I decided that discretion is the better part of valour and postponed my trip to the Ore and its associated tributaries and, instead, returned to take in the Stour and the Walton Backwaters. This was disappointing for various reasons:
I really wanted to explore the Ore again and also since I had planned to reach Snape in time for a concert my wife was taking part in on August 1st. Instead, I had to attend this by road, thus curtailing the whole trip by one day.
In the event, the forecast turned out to be pessimistic, and I could have probably managed plan A anyway.
It was difficult, on August 1st, looking from land across the marshes at Snape and thinking about what might have been. Still, another summer, and I'll be back to settle this score...
On 29th July, I made my way from Pin Mill round to the Deben. Conditions at sea were loppy, and I heard over the VHF radio of a boat which had gone aground at the entrance. Fortunately, when I arrived, the Harbour Master was keeping watch just inside the entrance as Daisy II and a number of other boats negotiated this difficult entrance.
Deben entrance, north shore
I anchored for the night just short of Ramsholt. On 30th July, I worked my way up to Woodbridge on the flood, and wondered into town for a coffee and some provisions.
Woodbridge mooring
Woodbridge mooring close-up
After the break in Woodbridge, I took the ebb downstream, and briefly called in at Waldringfield before departing from the river and returning to the Stour. On the exit from the Deben, mid ebb, the overflows at the Deben entrance were very difficult to negotiate: note to self, find a better state of tide from which to leave the Deben.
Departure from Woodbridge
Stour weather
The trip up the Stour yielded some interesting skyscapes.
Stour sunset
I reached Manningtree and picked up a mooring for the night.
Stour sunset (2)
In the morning, 31st July, I paddled into Manningtree for breakfast, before taking the ebb down the Stour and out of Harwich harbour along to the Backwaters, taking an afternoon anchorage in Hamford Water, and having a kip whilst some stormy weather went over.
In the evening, I decided to take out the navigation lights and circumnavigate Horsey Island by dusk/night. I managed this sailing the entire way without any use of other means of propulsion! The navigation lights amount to little more than a set of coloured bike lights, but they seem to do the job. I'm not sure what other boats would be able to see from broadside on, but they certainly worked from ahead or astern. The rig below needs to be modified, since the jibsheets were inclined to foul each light as I went about. I think I may look to rig them further forward - perhaps design a piece of wood from which to hang clip them.
Night sail navigation lights, port/starboard
Night sail navigation light, stern
Night sail, Harwich from Hamford Water
I worked my way along Hamford Water, into the freshly dredged entrance to the Walton Channel by Stone Point, up the channel, past Titchmarsh Marina and out into Horsey Mere. Once in Horsey Mere, I anchored for 45 minutes and had a bite to eat whilst waiting for the tide to rise sufficiently to be confident of crossing The Wade without damaging anything. Once past The Wade, I used some GPS assistance as well as keeping a careful eye on the compass since it was very dark and the moonlight was behind rather than ahead, which made it difficult to see where I was heading.
Having found Kirby Creek, I sailed back along to Hamford Water and turned into Landermere Creek and set anchor at about 23 30 hours.
Night sail, Horsey Mere, waiting for higher water
Night sail, nav lights
Night sail, stern nav light, looking back towards Titchmarsh marina
On 1st August, I sailed back to the mooring at Pin Mill.
Track, 75.3nm; Season's total 295.9nm
Red track: 29th July; White track: 30th July; Green track: 31st July; Purple track: 1st August
Following a bout of food poisoning, I wanted to come down for a sail as a prelude to a planned cruise next week - to check everything was in order...! The winds were very pleasant F3 and enabled a splendid sail up and down the Orwell.
Whilst under way, Lugger Truant came out to play, so I took some snaps.
Time to return to the Walton Backwaters for a Drascombe Association rally. Fortunately, summer arrived just in time and, as the weekend progressed, we were blessed with increasingly pleasant summer sunshine; light winds on Saturday gave way to a bigger breeze and strong sunshine on Sunday.
On Saturday, we sailed down the Walton Channel, into Hamford Water, whilst the fleet gathered. We then sailed with the tide along Hamford Water and into Landermere Creek. The aim had been for lunch at Beaumont Quay, the far western point of the Backwaters, but light winds hampered progress, so we rafted up for lunch just short of this point, opposite Landermere Quay.
After lunch we sailed back along Landermere Creek, into Kirby Creek and made our way across Horsey Mere and The Wade, which can only be crossed close to HW.
On Sunday, we made our way into Pennyhole Bay for a bit of sea sailing; some boats made it out as far as the Pye End buoy. On the return trip, we pulled in at Stone Point for lunch, after which most boats returned to Titchmarsh Marina to begin the long process of hauling out and returning to the various quarters of the UK.
As well as local boats, we had boats from Somerset, Bristol, Cheshire, Sussex and London.
List of participating boats:
Coasters: Daisy II, Windsong, Pamela, Espiritu, Mudskipper, Nonsuch
Luggers: Tango, Piper, Peewit of Parkgate
Dabber: Teal
Longboat: Krykkje
Peterboat: Peterkin
Coaster Nonsuch in the Walton Channel
Coaster Nonsuch, Hamford Water (the recently extended Stone Point astern - see notes below)
Fleet enters Landermere Creek
Lugger Piper with jib furled for convenience of snap-happy crew
One of many snaps taken by snap-happy crew on Piper - many thanks!
Luggers Piper, Tango and Coaster Nonsuch in Landermere Creek
Rafting-up preparations aboard Daisy II
wooden Lugger Peewit of Parkgate
mid-munch!
Coaster Pamela at anchor
Fleet at anchor
Coaster Windsong
(from right to left) Peterboat Peterkin , Coaster Espiritu and Longboat Krykkje
Fleet enters Kirby Creek
Coaster Espiritu
Berths at Titchmarsh Marina
Evening meal in the Harbour Lights restaurant
Coaster Pamela
Coasters Nonsuch & Windsong; spot the differences!
Stone Point for Sunday lunch; much of this section of Stone Point is a recent extension, due to coastal erosion; the section beyond the Drascombe folk is reclaimed land! (see note below on the Google Earth map)
Titchmarsh Marina slipway - all good things must come to an end...
Backwaters rally detail
It's interesting to see that Stone Point, which is in the top right hand corner of the above slide, is rather more developed now than was previously the case. Evidence of yet further east coast erosion elsewhere, the spit now extends as far as the top-most green loop in my track which was where we first tried to come ashore, but decided there was too much swell to make such a landing point viable. Instead, we chose the western bank just inside the Walton Channel which, according to Google Earth, is 'water'!
These changes to this particular part of the Backwaters have resulted in a much greater tidal flow with some very complex eddies at the mouth of the Walton Channel. I noticed on my previous trip that, on the early flood, the currents through this narrow entrance make this channel very unsafe at low states of the tide with a significant risk of grounding. At mid tide, as we were, things were still 'interesting' but safe.
Daisy II track 44.6nm, Season's total 210.7nm
White track: Pin Mill to Titchmarsh Marina on Friday 20th July
Red track: Saturday trip up Landermere, and then round Horsey Island
Green track: Sunday rallying out to sea, and then back to Stone Point.
Once most of the departing boats had safely negotiated the slipway for the various trips home, I decided to set anchor for Sunday night in Landermere Creek followed by return to Pin Mill on Monday 23rd July (purple track). Thanks to the official school 'summer holiday', it made a pleasant change not to have to rush back home myself following a weekend rally!
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!
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