I sailed!

Getting off my mooring this year has been almost as rare as an England player scoring a penalty...

Illness has been a problem, I've been wondering if I could cope at all with a boat all to myself, but it was about time I tried!
The forecast was pretty good for Saturday, the wind might pick up before I got back in, but nothing above an F4 was mentioned, so that was it, no more excuses.

I drove over to Saltfleet on Friday, complete with the re-covered headlining to screw back into place, it had got "milldewed" over the winter and hadn't scrubbed up well at all. £20 spent on new vinyl seemed a bargain, all I had to do was to screw it back into place and take a pic...

Commodore Billy turned up, he'd been moving the channel marker buoys during the day, the channel is now on it's third revision this year, it doesn't seem to want to settle at all yet, but, as Tom Jones would tell you, it's not unusual.

He'd be going out early on Sat to put the inner buoy out for the first time this year, not much point so far when the end of the channel keeps moving!

Eventually I settle in for the night, after reading, but not really enjoying "Sea Egg Again", when I get around to sorting out my books, that one will be going...

I woke to the sound of a family of ducks around the boat, quacking constantly. I wasn't to bothered as I wanted to be away around 6am. I was a bit bothered when I realised they were quacking away at 3.15am!

I managed a little more sleep, but was up at 5, all sorted and ready to go at 6.
As I motored down the channel I caught up with Billy in the RIB, on his way out with the inner mark.

Over the winter I'd replaced my dodgy NASA depth sounder display with a possibly dodgy one I'd got off Ebay for a few quid, as I left the muddier parts at the top of the river and started to cross the sands - it settled down and started to work. Result!
A good job really as I've already taken the fishfinder off that I'd been using for the last couple of years...

I left the channel, then after a quick chat with Billy, headed south.
The tide at Saltfleet heads that way for a couple of hours after high tide, so I'd got about 3 hours of favourable tide, and the wind (what little there was) behind me. I gently made my way past the chimneys of Theddlethorpe gas terminal, then Mablethorpe - mostly hidden behind sea defences, accompanied by seals, lots of seals!
As usual, as soon as I lifted the camera they became invisible...
Somehow I caught them out once or twice, usually when they were too far away for a good pic.

As I passed the southern end of Mablethorpe, the tide was beginning to change, my speed had dropped to 1 - 1.5kts, but as I was still making some progress I decided to carry on.
I'd had an alternative plan, to change direction with the tide, head out around Donna Nook bombing range, then drop the hook at the southern edge of the Humber until the tide changed again to carry me back to Saltfleet. This was a bit more ambitious, and depended on how I felt once I'd got out there. I wasn't feeling my best.
After an easy morning, basically just drifting with the tide and enough wind for steerage, I was already feeling weak, and my back was beginning to remind me all wasn't well.

So I decided on the easy option, head south until I'd just got enough of the north-going tide to take me back to Saltfleet, drop the hook and wait for enough water to get back in - probably 4 hours, enough for a rest and a meal, maybe some work on the boat...

I eventually turned round somewhere off Sutton-on-Sea and headed north. The wind had picked up a little, probably F2-3 from the N/E, and after a little playing with the sail position I settled in close-hauled and let go of the tiller, for the next 2 hours I think I gave it a slight tweak twice, the Coro going to windward balanced perfectly. I lay back and stuck my head over the parapet now and again as the Windfarm boats headed south, never coming close enough for a pic..

Even in my state of relaxation, not even having to steer, I was not feeling any better, my back was hurting badly whatever position I tried to sit or lie, and I still had that "weak" feeling.

After a couple of hours I was getting near to Saltfleet, I could see that Billy had got the job done with the inner mark. I decided to anchor somewhere near to it.
The wind had got up a little more now, a good F4. When the time came to drop the hook I wished I'd planned things better and had the anchor in the cockpit as I often do. The trip to the bow was taken very slowly and carefully, I couldn't risk pulling my back any more!

All went well anyway, and once the hook was down, and I'd made a note of my position on the GPS (not really necessary as I was only 50 metres from the inner buoy!), I settled down for a a rest with around 4 hours to wait for the tide.

An hour later I was woken by the rolling of the boat. Sticking my head out I could see that the wind had picked up to F5 and gone round to the east, the tide was running strongly to the north, and I was sitting beam on to 3ft seas. Oh well, head down and sit it out.

I dropped off again more than once, but was constantly woken by the rolling. This was tiring  and was also doing my back no good at all. I was beginning to wish I hadn't bothered today...

Watching the depth slowly come up, I knew that when it read 7 metres I'd have plenty of water to get right up the channel, in the past I've come in early and bumped my way up channel as the tide rose. I'd decided not to do that today, but to wait and do the whole run in one go.

It became too uncomfortable to lie in the bunk, so I wedged myself into the corner of the cockpit for the last hour, contemplating going forward and pulling the anchor up, not a prospect I was looking forward to...

30 minutes before the dreaded crawl to the bow came, I saw Billy in the RIB, checking the channel markers. After a few minutes he headed out to me. Saved!
He could see I wasn't happy, and thought I was seasick (I wish that's was all it was...). I explained about my back (he knows all about it) and asked him if there was a chance he could help with the anchor. 5 minutes later he was passing it to me in the cockpit.

He headed off in front, with a shout that he'd put the kettle on!

Unusually, near the bar, as the channel is entered, the seas flattened out, so the ride in was easy and pleasant.
With the boat back on the mooring I headed for the clubhouse around 100 metres away, I hardly made it!
I couldn't straighten my back, and had trouble walking at all.

Lots of chatting, and a couple of drinks later, things had eased up.
I tidied the boat and fired up the car for the trip home...

So, I'm still not sure if I'm fit enough for sailing. It could have been that I was having one of my "bad days", I felt the same a few days later without seeing my boat!

On the plus side, the work on the boat over the winter seems to have paid off, the repaired sail worked nicely, although there are a couple of crossed lines to sort out - nothing that makes much difference.
The depth sounder is working properly for the first time ever.

I'm going to have to try again...