Return to Pin Mill - trailer woes - End of term cruise to Southwold

Pin Mill Barge Match, 16th July 

It's been a busy old month not least due to various end of term activities.  Last weekend finally saw a clear day and an opportunity for Daisy II to wet her hull in the Orwell - strangely, for the first time this season.  The visit happened to coincide with Pin Mill Barge Match which is always a real spectacle.

It was made all the more enjoyable due to the opportunity for a rendezvous with coasters Bounty and Pamela.

Later, the skipper of Pamela kindly took some lovely photos of Daisy II beating up the Orwell.

I had no need to head for home early so enjoyed watching the barges gather at Pin Mill...

...before a final trip to the Orwell Bridge and back.  For reasons which become apparent below, Daisy II spent the next few days on the pontoon at Pin Mill.

22.8nm

Trailer woes
The visit also heralded trailer problems which eventually resulted in the boat being left on the pontoon at Pin Mill and a return inland with the trailer.  The problem eventually turns out to be the brakes which needed replacing and was probably self-induced.
Earlier last month, I replaced the breakaway cable.  It seemed to be slightly shorter than the old and, as a result, was set too tightly.  This tripped the trailer brakes to act whilst driving.  Even though I stopped fairly soon afterwards, the damage had been done.  I'm now due to pick up the mended trailer on Monday and Daisy II will return to dry land forthwith.
Whilst this is annoying and, most likely, expensive, the silver lining enveloping this cloud is that I was forced to leave Daisy II on the pontoon at Pin Mill, by kind agreement of the proprietors of Kings Boatyard.  This left her rigged and ready to access for my planned end of term cruise.

End of term cruise: 20-23rd July
And so, term finally ended and I charged down to the coast for a celebratory mini-cruise.

red track - Wednesday evening through to early Friday morning; yellow track - Friday; white track - Saturday

20-21 July - Pin Mill to Southwold, night sail return trip 
Mindful of the famous Ransome book title: 'We didn't mean to go to sea', I really didn't mean to go to Southwold.  It really was a case of seeing what the wind and tide were doing and then taking advantage of what was on offer.
Casting off from the pontoon in the late evening on Wednesday 20th, after a splendid pint of Broadside at the Butt and Oyster...well, the pint was essential since I had to wait for the tide...

... I found a welcome dusk-time anchorage in the shelter of The Cliff off Pin Mill.  This set things up nicely for the next morning where a mixture of sailing and motoring in light winds saw me to Languard Point where a gentle SE wind and an ebbing tide enabled a trip up the coast.
Initially, I thought Woodbridge would be an option but passed the mouth of the Deben and headed on to Orford Haven.  I then considered a trip up to Snape, but imagined there would be insufficient time to reach the head of the Alde by HW.  So I found myself pressing on north east for the first time and rather impulsively.

Orford Ness passed by...

...it was interesting to see the various architectural features of the River Ore from the other side of the extensive spit of land - the military buildings, the castle, the communications masts and the seemingly non-functioning Orford Ness lighthouse.
After Orford Ness, the coast takes a significant turn to the north, passing Aldeburgh...

...and then Thorpe Ness after which a further northerly turn brings the huge dome of Sizewell, the treelined nature reserve of Minsmere and Dunwich and then finally the harbour and welcome of Southwold.

I should have stopped at Southwold for the night but, having reached this point on a whim, the prospect of a night return sail beckoned in increasingly benign conditions.  The tide had now turned and I would have the flood with me - just as well since there was little wind until Orford Ness was back in view.  On the way back, was it sunset over Sizewell, or are we in the throes of an apocalyptic nightmare...!?

At this point, the engine was dispensed with and night sailing truly happened, more or less all the way back to Languard Point.  It made sense to motor in through the still exceptionally busy commercial port before finding a suitable place to drop anchor in the shelter of Crane's Hill on the west shore of Lower Reach at 2.10am.

Mad trip to Southwold with night time return sail: 68.5nm

21st July - Halfpenny Pier - refueling at Harwich - River Stour to Walton Backwaters
After yesterday's mad antics, today demanded more leisurely arrangements.  

I was also somewhat taken aback to have dried out in a bit of a boating graveyard...

There was a welcome berth at Halfpenny Pier and a 20 minute walk each way to refuel, both in terms of petrol for the boat and for the skipper.

An easterly wind had set in so I took the last of the flood up the Stour just short of Wrabness, and then had a pleasant beat back downstream, rounding Harwich and then crossing Dovercourt Bay to the Walton Backwaters and my usual anchorage in Landermere Creek.

https://youtu.be/6g_A0XyCh8A

Halfpenny Pier, River Stour to Landermere Creek: 17.6nm

 21st July - Landermere Creek to Pin Mill
Landermere is my favourite anchorage and didn't disappoint - a tranquil evening with beer, wine and a couple of films to watch.  The next morning brought in a familiar return to 'base' - a trip I've done many times before.  Winds were NE and light.  I motored from the anchorage past Crabknowe Spit and then hoisted sails for a pleasant reach across Dovercourt Bay.  The wind turned more northerly as I approached Harwich so I had to put in a tack to round the pier at Blackman's Head but then sailed uninterrupted across the harbour, into the Orwell and back to Pin Mill.  Daisy II is now once again on the pontoon there and I will hopefully return with trailer early next week to bring her home.

Return to Pin Mill - 10.8nm

Inter-sail maintenance

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One of the advantages of and, hence, a key reason for keeping the boat off the mooring this year has been the greater possibility of doing maintenance.  This seems to be a way in which this season is developing: fewer sailing trips, more time to meddle.  

I didn't really plan to work on the gunwales but they were in need of attention.  One possibility was to touch up the Sadolin teak coating which has been a feature of Daisy II for the past several years.  It has served its purpose well during this time, particularly so since it looks smart and is durable, maintaining its finish thoughout a season's wear and tear on a mooring.  Other finishes had been tried prior to this, including a couple of years attempting to use Deks Olje.  It took ages to put on and always looked great for about a month but then needed patching up: that was not feasible with the boat on a mooring. However, with the boat at home, these teak oil finishes start to look attractive again. So, to start off the process, I've set about returning the wood to its formative, bare state.

The previous post showed last weekend's work:

These photos show the updated progress.

It has taken a couple of days and a great deal of scraping but, in terms of gunwales and the stern transom, we're finally there.  In due course, I will also need to work on the two grab handles on the cabin roof as well as the rudder capping and mizzen support.

I decided the stern transom needed removing to strip the wood effectively.  On removal, one of the brass holding screws sheared off and I will need to find a way of removing the bit that's still lodged in the fibreglass.  That's a bit of a pest, but I've ordered a screw extractor kit and read up on what to do...

The next post will hopefully feature this and the new teak oil coating I've ordered, together with the reason for using it.

In the mean time, it has finally been time to make more progress with the Hopwood Memorial boarding ladder.  I constructed a template for this over winter.  Recently, I found a decent piece of 12mm exterior plywood and thought I'd use this to construct the ladder.  If it goes well, I may find a piece of superior quality marine ply and do a proper job.  The photo shows the two side hook pieces cut out and hanging in the place I intend to use the ladder (for which the boat needed to be winched back on its trailer).  Next job is to cut out the central step piece and start to shape and sand down the wood, prior to assembling the whole.

At the moment, I haven't decided on the length so, in keeping it this long, hope to keep my options open!

Rutland Water and gunwale maintenance

'Twas branded a birthday sail this, since the skipper has one such event on Monday.  Hence, Daisy II was once again graced with crew.  In fact, five filled the cockpit and there seemed to be space for us all.  Rutland Water was the venue, for my first time this season in a Drascombe.

Winds were generally exceptionally light so we were never going to trouble any distance records.  In fact, it made better sense to stick around the Whitwell Creek area just in case we had to row back - there being no private outboards permitted on this reservoir.

What follows is nothing more than a set of family snaps.  But, they do confirm once again that happy sailors are Drascombe sailors!

5.2nm

Ongoing maintenance

The other weekend activity has been a complete rethink on the wooden capping on the gunwales.  Previously, I've been an advocate of Sadolin which has served well whilst the boat is on a mooring since it maintains its colour throughout the season, is tough and durable.  However, it is just brown paint, at the end of the day, and the wood probably deserves better than this. Now I'm keeping her at home, a more aesthetically pleasing solution is called for.  So far, I've used a mixture of Nitromors and general scraping to bring the stern end back to bare wood.  Fortunately, it's been a remarkably straight forward job thus far.  Watch this space!

Wells-next-the-Sea: Drascombe Association Rally 11-12 June, 2016

Daisy II and other Drascombes making slow progress in light winds against the incoming tide

Another rally, this time a return trip to north Norfolk and the delightful Wells-next-the-Sea.  With coastal sailing, tides always dictate terms of engagement and never more so than here.  Water rushes into the harbour a couple of hours before HW and disappears just as quickly afterwards.  Building in a safety net for skippers, such as myself, unfamiliar with the qwerks of this location and we're really looking at a sailing window of little more than three hours per tide.

On my last visit to Wells, tides were on springs, with HW early morning and evening.  This allowed for two daily sails with a long hiatus between.  The drawback of this was the exceptionally early start.  This time, we were on neaps and a lunchtime tide.  I can see advantages both ways but, having seen it both ways, would probably favour the two tide option on future visits.

11.7nm: Red track - Saturday; Yellow track - Sunday

Saturday 11th June

Arrival at 8.30am, rigged and launched by 9.30 and sailing until 1pm.

Launching at the public slipway, steep at the top with a necessary 90 degree turn onto the quay.  However, Daisy II was successfully launched and recovered with no major dramas.  Single handed launching would be difficult since there's nowhere to tie up 

Wooden lugger Rita May with ingenious plastic green seats

Lugger Piper leading the way but where's the wind?

Dabber Mary Jane 

6.7nm: Saturday track.  We sailed in light, dwindling winds, out of the harbour.  The winds died away completely, leaving us drifting eastwards in the now ebbing tide, so we motored back into the harbour.

After-sail entertainment 

Berthing on the pontoon: excellent washing facilities for visiting boatmen although one of the duty harbour masters seemed reluctant to release the key code.

View of the pontoon and the harbour beyond.

A spell of beach cricket gave an opportunity to look at another of the many retired lifeboats which are moored in the harbour.  This one is, apparently, used as a holiday home!

Sunday 12th June

Lugger Jimbo at 6am.  Skipper Yann yet to surface from his ingenious tent

Lugger Piper.  Crew performing a 'wind dance'

Winds finally arrive!

Lugger Jimbo's turn to host additional crew

Dissension in the ranks.  The fleet opposes the admiral

Dabber Mary Jane

Winds drop, once again, opposite the lifeboat station

5nm Sunday track.  Once again, we motored out of the harbour, hoisted sails and made something of the light breeze