I mentioned the wreck which is now sat in the middle of the entrance to Saltfleet haven, the story of the boat is a sad one, involving the loss of the captain's wife, three children and the captain's young brother.
The boat was salvaged after the tragedy, but was lost again some years later in almost the same place, where it now remains.
The tale is told on the Saltfleet boat club website.
http://www.saltfleethaven.co.uk/history.html
Friday, 14 May 2010
Saturday, 1 May 2010
Moving home.....
Not me, the boat!
The mooring at Saltfleet has had a couple more visits, and was as ready as we could make it without having the boat there to measure up, so it was time to move. A break in the northeasterlies we'd been getting for a while was all I needed. It came!
Left Boston about 4pm on Sunday afternoon with the intention of taking my time and heading for the anchorage outside Wainfleet haven for the night.
As soon as we turned the corner near the docks we were confronted by a ship which almost filled the river, Ali was keen to give the tiller back to me! No choice but to turn round and head back upriver until he'd got into the dock lock. Half an hour later we tried again, after another mile we had to keep well in to the bank to let another big boy head for the docks - I thought it would be quiet on a Sunday afternoon!
Nothing else to hold us up, we headed out of the river after getting the sail up.
Uneventful trip to Wainfleet, the only interruptions were a seal which popped up very close to the boat while Ali was helming and made her jump, and a shortcut through the Wainfleet bombing range, just for the fun of it!
Dropped the hook about 9pm, in a very calm and sheltered spot.
Tried to watch "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus" on the laptop, much hyped film which didn't manage to hold our interest....
Woke around 3am to a very rolly boat. Tide was coming in and the wind was going out. Neither was particularly fierce, but enough to set the boat off rocking!
Finally gave up trying to sleep around 5am, by 5.30 I was sailing.
Still almost dark, a fishing boat lit up like a Christmas tree was trawling for shrimp between me and Skegness, I headed a bit further offshore as they normally stay fairly close in to the beach. An hour or so later he was behind me.
I thought that now was as good a time as any to try the self-steering again. I'd been modifying it since I got it and was fairly sure it was close to being "right" now.
There was a bit of trepidation as I dropped the chain onto the tiller pin, but short-lived as the boat carried on in the right direction!
The course varied about 10 degrees each way from my chosen course before being pulled back by "Lee" as I have now named the S/S. Lee is my eldest son, the steering is a vane system. Anyone who knows Lee will understand. Vane, Vain, near enough for me!
The steering was left to it's own devices for a couple of hours with just a need for a tweak now and again. I made myself a cup of tea, had a snack, had a stroll around the deck and one or two other odd jobs, all with a grin on my face due to the new found freedom!
The forecast S/W wind had gradually become a N/W forcing me to head offshore more, before tacking back in, losing half a mile of northwards travel each time. As I neared Saltfleet the tide had also turned against me, on the last tack I lost a mile!
Battling on against wind and tide (COO, DRAMATIC!) I could just make out the wreck of the "Try". The haven entrance has moved south during the winter and the wreck has largely been uncovered and sits mid-channel and marked by buoys.
Making almost no headway towards the haven I finally gave in and started the engine and dropped the sail.
I carried on following the 5m contour north, until I saw the Inner mark buoy a little further out. I headed a little further out towards it in order to line up with the channel properly.
From the inner mark I turned west and headed for the wreck, hoping not to add to it!
The previous week I'd walked to the end of the channel to take a look at the wreck and at half tide there was water over the sandbar and about 4 feet of wreck showing above the water.
As I closed the wreck there was about a foot still showing, so there should be plenty of water as long as I stayed in the channel. The tide was doing it's best to push me south of it....
100m, then at 50m from the wreck, I was still trying to see the creek heading up the beach, and still seeing what looked like an unbroken beach stretching across in front of me!
Having seen the channel the week before, I knew it turned to starboard shortly after the wreck, and as I reached it I could see the pleasant and calm waters of Saltfleet haven.
I knew that at 3 hours before high water, I wouldn't be able to get up the creek to the moorings, so gently poked my way upriver until I felt the keels touch sand. I dropped the anchor out with a little chain and took the chance to tidy up the boat for half an hour.
After the water had risen a couple of feet I pulled the anchor up and nudged my way further up the creek, touched bottom once more before tying up to a boat on the visitor's mooring. We still had to wait another hour before we could get near the new mooring, but eventually managed to get tied up.
A couple of phone calls later and I'd managed to get a lift from a club member (Thanks Pete) to Mablethorpe, where we could start the mind-numbing 3 hour bus journey back to Boston and my car.
The mooring at Saltfleet has had a couple more visits, and was as ready as we could make it without having the boat there to measure up, so it was time to move. A break in the northeasterlies we'd been getting for a while was all I needed. It came!
Left Boston about 4pm on Sunday afternoon with the intention of taking my time and heading for the anchorage outside Wainfleet haven for the night.
As soon as we turned the corner near the docks we were confronted by a ship which almost filled the river, Ali was keen to give the tiller back to me! No choice but to turn round and head back upriver until he'd got into the dock lock. Half an hour later we tried again, after another mile we had to keep well in to the bank to let another big boy head for the docks - I thought it would be quiet on a Sunday afternoon!
Nothing else to hold us up, we headed out of the river after getting the sail up.
Uneventful trip to Wainfleet, the only interruptions were a seal which popped up very close to the boat while Ali was helming and made her jump, and a shortcut through the Wainfleet bombing range, just for the fun of it!
Dropped the hook about 9pm, in a very calm and sheltered spot.
Tried to watch "The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus" on the laptop, much hyped film which didn't manage to hold our interest....
Woke around 3am to a very rolly boat. Tide was coming in and the wind was going out. Neither was particularly fierce, but enough to set the boat off rocking!
Finally gave up trying to sleep around 5am, by 5.30 I was sailing.
Still almost dark, a fishing boat lit up like a Christmas tree was trawling for shrimp between me and Skegness, I headed a bit further offshore as they normally stay fairly close in to the beach. An hour or so later he was behind me.
I thought that now was as good a time as any to try the self-steering again. I'd been modifying it since I got it and was fairly sure it was close to being "right" now.
There was a bit of trepidation as I dropped the chain onto the tiller pin, but short-lived as the boat carried on in the right direction!
The course varied about 10 degrees each way from my chosen course before being pulled back by "Lee" as I have now named the S/S. Lee is my eldest son, the steering is a vane system. Anyone who knows Lee will understand. Vane, Vain, near enough for me!
The steering was left to it's own devices for a couple of hours with just a need for a tweak now and again. I made myself a cup of tea, had a snack, had a stroll around the deck and one or two other odd jobs, all with a grin on my face due to the new found freedom!
The forecast S/W wind had gradually become a N/W forcing me to head offshore more, before tacking back in, losing half a mile of northwards travel each time. As I neared Saltfleet the tide had also turned against me, on the last tack I lost a mile!
Battling on against wind and tide (COO, DRAMATIC!) I could just make out the wreck of the "Try". The haven entrance has moved south during the winter and the wreck has largely been uncovered and sits mid-channel and marked by buoys.
Making almost no headway towards the haven I finally gave in and started the engine and dropped the sail.
I carried on following the 5m contour north, until I saw the Inner mark buoy a little further out. I headed a little further out towards it in order to line up with the channel properly.
From the inner mark I turned west and headed for the wreck, hoping not to add to it!
The previous week I'd walked to the end of the channel to take a look at the wreck and at half tide there was water over the sandbar and about 4 feet of wreck showing above the water.
As I closed the wreck there was about a foot still showing, so there should be plenty of water as long as I stayed in the channel. The tide was doing it's best to push me south of it....
100m, then at 50m from the wreck, I was still trying to see the creek heading up the beach, and still seeing what looked like an unbroken beach stretching across in front of me!
Having seen the channel the week before, I knew it turned to starboard shortly after the wreck, and as I reached it I could see the pleasant and calm waters of Saltfleet haven.
I knew that at 3 hours before high water, I wouldn't be able to get up the creek to the moorings, so gently poked my way upriver until I felt the keels touch sand. I dropped the anchor out with a little chain and took the chance to tidy up the boat for half an hour.
After the water had risen a couple of feet I pulled the anchor up and nudged my way further up the creek, touched bottom once more before tying up to a boat on the visitor's mooring. We still had to wait another hour before we could get near the new mooring, but eventually managed to get tied up.
A couple of phone calls later and I'd managed to get a lift from a club member (Thanks Pete) to Mablethorpe, where we could start the mind-numbing 3 hour bus journey back to Boston and my car.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Work has started....
....on the new mooring.
As I said earlier, there is a stretch of bank, nothing else, so lots to do before I can leave the boat there.
Different setup to what I've been used to at Boston, here the creek is pretty shallow, so the idea is to keep the boats out towards the middle and make best use of the available water.
This means, of course, that I've got to build something to hold the boat where I want it, then something I can walk on to get there - about 20ft from the bank!
The first part of the "platform" is now in place, soon it's going to be extended another 12ft or so, then the usual method is to have a lifting "drawbridge" section which leaves the boat secure when it's unattended.
Most make use of scaffold poles to hold the boat out in from the bank, so I've done the same...
A few pics to show progress so far.
The beginnings....
The scaffold "arms" in place.
The view from the opposite bank, crap phone camera... the mooring is in the middle of there somewhere!
As I said earlier, there is a stretch of bank, nothing else, so lots to do before I can leave the boat there.
Different setup to what I've been used to at Boston, here the creek is pretty shallow, so the idea is to keep the boats out towards the middle and make best use of the available water.
This means, of course, that I've got to build something to hold the boat where I want it, then something I can walk on to get there - about 20ft from the bank!
The first part of the "platform" is now in place, soon it's going to be extended another 12ft or so, then the usual method is to have a lifting "drawbridge" section which leaves the boat secure when it's unattended.
Most make use of scaffold poles to hold the boat out in from the bank, so I've done the same...
A few pics to show progress so far.
The beginnings....
The scaffold "arms" in place.
The view from the opposite bank, crap phone camera... the mooring is in the middle of there somewhere!
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Winter, great if you like sitting at home.....
Only news to report is that I'm moving Yuan Hang to a new mooring. I liked my visit to Saltfleet so much I'm moving there.
To say that I've got a mooring there is a bit of an exaggeration, I've got a small stretch of riverbank! I'll be building a mooring over the next few weeks, and with a bit of luck will be moved and sailing from there very soon.
I've been at Boston for around 6 years, I've enjoyed it and made some great friends and learnt a massive amount (4 years ago I'd never sailed a boat), but it's time for a change. No more 5 mile trips on the engine just to get to the sea, no more dodging sandbanks and sticking to channels.
The run from the new mooring to the open sea is about 1.5 miles, from there I can head anywhere I like as long as it's not into the Donna Nook bombing range while they are firing!
Saltfleet is a peaceful spot, unlike the middle of Boston. Two pubs in the village, a couple of shops and a caravan site is just about all there is. Just the job!
On the "maintenance" side of things, I've done bugger all for weeks, more health problems have kept me pinned down for a while.
I've managed to "acquire" a Rutland wind generator, so there's another job added to the list...
Sunday, 4 October 2009
I know I'm sometimes a bit slow to catch on....
.....but I've only just realised that if you click on the pics on my blog they open up to full-size versions!
No more sailing to report on yet, but hopefully soon.
The self-steering has had another alteration and will be tested next chance I get, it almost worked on the trip back from Saltfleet....
No more sailing to report on yet, but hopefully soon.
The self-steering has had another alteration and will be tested next chance I get, it almost worked on the trip back from Saltfleet....
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Saltfleet to Boston. (With pics!)
As usual, on the trip up I'd forgotten to take any pics even though I'd got the camera in my pocket and the phone takes reasonable pics and video. Seems to be the norm for me!
The return trip is unusual, I took loads!
Alison decided to let me do the trip solo, she had been onboard for almost every trip lately and she knows how I need to get out on my own now and again. So no pics of Ali.....
We'd left Saltfleet on Monday, it was Wednesday evening when I drove back there, tide was already up so I tidied the boat ready for leaving on the morning tide.
Wind was still a gentle S/W which held the boat nicely off the mooring staging, lines were left long enough for the boat to sit on the slightly flatter mud further out. As it got dark, the tide began to fall and I started to settle in for the night.
Then it changed!
First thing I noticed was the wind picking up, enough to rock the boat and I stuck my head out for a look. It was now blowing from the N/W and had pushed the boat down the channel and towards the bank. As the tide dropped the boat began to list, the more it dropped the more it listed....
Half an hour later I was beginning to wonder if it would fall over!
A look outside confirmed that the bow had gone well up the bank and wouldn't be moving until the morning.
I decided on a more comfortable night, so after fixing a rope around the base of the mast (just in case!) I pitched my tent in front of the car and moved in for the night.
The pic is a bit grainy as it was only just getting light, but this is how the boat looked as the tide came up in the morning!
High tide was due at around 9am, so getting away at 8 seemed reasonable. I heard noises at around 6.30 to find Chris and Pete ready to go fishing! They were using a small motorboat and were already afloat. I was on my way by 7am.
After a gentle potter down the short and well-marked channel, one that seems to have an undeserved fearsome reputation, I headed out to where the lads were fishing to shout goodbye and thanks before pointing south, the tide would still be with me for at least 3 hours and the wind was an F3 from the north - I started to fly.
A last look back...
Speaking to Chris later he told me that within half an hour they had lost sight of my sail!
First plan was to have a go at setting up the windvane steering, this was a partial success. The system worked, the vane turned the pendulum which worked the lines to the tiller. Still a bit of tweaking to do yet, the chain which sits across the tiller is too short, but the biggest snag is that the arm from the vane down to the pendulum was catching in the mechanism. The builder has used a piece of aluminium angle, which means that I will have to shave a little off one edge to clear the woodwork. If it had been wood, as per the plans, I could have modified it while I was sailing.
On with the sailing then....
The landmarks I'd passed on the way up looked a little more familiar now, but were passing at a surprising rate, speed was over 5kts all morning, as the tide slowed, eventually turning against me near Skegness, the wind picked up to the top end of F5. A bit of reefing was called for, which made little difference to boat speed, but eased the strain on tiller, rigging and helmsman!
The waves coming past me from astern kept things interesting, never been surfing before!
I reached the comparative shelter of the entrance to Wainfleet Haven at around 2pm, it would make no sense leaving here before 4pm as I wouldn't be able to get on my mooring until 8pm.
Anchor dropped and kettle on, I ate my lunch before a good hour of sleep.
The entrance to Wainfleet Haven. If you look very carefully there are small bouys on the beach!
Around 4 I started the engine and pulled the anchor aboard, not a massive job being anchored in about 5 feet of water!
I would have sailed off the anchor, but had tucked in very close to the shore for shelter and there is a LOT of sand and little water there....
Turning to head out into deeper water I knocked the horseshoe lifebouy off it's bracket and into the water while getting the sail up. I took the opportunity to do a MOB practice, managed to pick it up on the second attempt under sail.
The tide was now in my favour again, the wind still behind me, so I reefed down and had a gentle sail through The Wash, speed was still 4 - 5 kts.
I drifted across towards the sandbanks to get a closer look at the seals, dozens of them sunning themselves and a few decided to swim out to see me.
As I neared Tabs head the wind eased, but still had plenty to sail into the river. The intention was to sail as far as possible, leaving the engine until I absolutely had to use it. It turned out to be about 15 minutes later! The wind seemed to switch off, I tried a bit of Dylan Winter style drifting sideways but there were bends approaching which have rock-lined banks....
Sail tidied away, I motored up the river to moor up around 8pm. A cup of tea followed by pie and chips left me tired and happy.....
P.S. Due to popular demand, a pic of my crew Ali!
The return trip is unusual, I took loads!
Alison decided to let me do the trip solo, she had been onboard for almost every trip lately and she knows how I need to get out on my own now and again. So no pics of Ali.....
We'd left Saltfleet on Monday, it was Wednesday evening when I drove back there, tide was already up so I tidied the boat ready for leaving on the morning tide.
Wind was still a gentle S/W which held the boat nicely off the mooring staging, lines were left long enough for the boat to sit on the slightly flatter mud further out. As it got dark, the tide began to fall and I started to settle in for the night.
Then it changed!
First thing I noticed was the wind picking up, enough to rock the boat and I stuck my head out for a look. It was now blowing from the N/W and had pushed the boat down the channel and towards the bank. As the tide dropped the boat began to list, the more it dropped the more it listed....
Half an hour later I was beginning to wonder if it would fall over!
A look outside confirmed that the bow had gone well up the bank and wouldn't be moving until the morning.
I decided on a more comfortable night, so after fixing a rope around the base of the mast (just in case!) I pitched my tent in front of the car and moved in for the night.
The pic is a bit grainy as it was only just getting light, but this is how the boat looked as the tide came up in the morning!
High tide was due at around 9am, so getting away at 8 seemed reasonable. I heard noises at around 6.30 to find Chris and Pete ready to go fishing! They were using a small motorboat and were already afloat. I was on my way by 7am.
After a gentle potter down the short and well-marked channel, one that seems to have an undeserved fearsome reputation, I headed out to where the lads were fishing to shout goodbye and thanks before pointing south, the tide would still be with me for at least 3 hours and the wind was an F3 from the north - I started to fly.
A last look back...
Speaking to Chris later he told me that within half an hour they had lost sight of my sail!
First plan was to have a go at setting up the windvane steering, this was a partial success. The system worked, the vane turned the pendulum which worked the lines to the tiller. Still a bit of tweaking to do yet, the chain which sits across the tiller is too short, but the biggest snag is that the arm from the vane down to the pendulum was catching in the mechanism. The builder has used a piece of aluminium angle, which means that I will have to shave a little off one edge to clear the woodwork. If it had been wood, as per the plans, I could have modified it while I was sailing.
On with the sailing then....
The landmarks I'd passed on the way up looked a little more familiar now, but were passing at a surprising rate, speed was over 5kts all morning, as the tide slowed, eventually turning against me near Skegness, the wind picked up to the top end of F5. A bit of reefing was called for, which made little difference to boat speed, but eased the strain on tiller, rigging and helmsman!
The waves coming past me from astern kept things interesting, never been surfing before!
I reached the comparative shelter of the entrance to Wainfleet Haven at around 2pm, it would make no sense leaving here before 4pm as I wouldn't be able to get on my mooring until 8pm.
Anchor dropped and kettle on, I ate my lunch before a good hour of sleep.
The entrance to Wainfleet Haven. If you look very carefully there are small bouys on the beach!
Around 4 I started the engine and pulled the anchor aboard, not a massive job being anchored in about 5 feet of water!
I would have sailed off the anchor, but had tucked in very close to the shore for shelter and there is a LOT of sand and little water there....
Turning to head out into deeper water I knocked the horseshoe lifebouy off it's bracket and into the water while getting the sail up. I took the opportunity to do a MOB practice, managed to pick it up on the second attempt under sail.
The tide was now in my favour again, the wind still behind me, so I reefed down and had a gentle sail through The Wash, speed was still 4 - 5 kts.
I drifted across towards the sandbanks to get a closer look at the seals, dozens of them sunning themselves and a few decided to swim out to see me.
As I neared Tabs head the wind eased, but still had plenty to sail into the river. The intention was to sail as far as possible, leaving the engine until I absolutely had to use it. It turned out to be about 15 minutes later! The wind seemed to switch off, I tried a bit of Dylan Winter style drifting sideways but there were bends approaching which have rock-lined banks....
Sail tidied away, I motored up the river to moor up around 8pm. A cup of tea followed by pie and chips left me tired and happy.....
P.S. Due to popular demand, a pic of my crew Ali!
Heading north
Saltfleet Haven hasn't a big entry in the pilot books, although historically important to Lincolnshire it has mellowed in old age into a peaceful spot for the yachtsman who has the nerve for a narrow channel over a sandbar backed by a landscape not overly endowed with any distinguishing features!
I'd been talking about going for a while, quite a while in fact, and with settled weather and a forecast for F4/5 Southwesterlies I had run out of excuses.....
After dragging ourselves out of bed at 5am and, after a 70 mile drive, Alison and me left the mooring in Boston at around 7.30. I kept the engine on until we were past Tab's Head as it is a fairly long passage and I wanted some early progress...
It was clear, after a couple of hours, that we were getting just that. The speed on the GPS rarely dropped below 5kts and often went over 6! The tide really does make a difference in The Wash.
We took the inshore route past the entrance to Wainfleet Haven, situated on the northern corner of The Wash and out into the North sea proper.
The speed stayed high as the wind increased to an F5 and the tide slowed. Heading a couple of miles off the coast we could still hear the noise from Skegness, it's best seen from the boat, although 2 miles might still be a bit close....
As the day went on I ticked off the landmarks, Skegness, Butlins, Ingoldmells, Chapel St Leonards.... Mablethorpe is marked by a massive new red brick building - I assume flats to house the retirees who seem to congregate on the coast of Lincolnshire!
Theddlethorpe gas terminal (slightly inland and unobtrusive) chimneys marked the last inhabitation before Saltfleet, from here the coast is low dunes backed by clumps of trees.
By now the speed had dropped due to the tide running against us at about 2kts, the wind had also dropped to a calm F3, once or twice the GPS indicated 1kt!
A very unusual thing (at least it is where I sail!) then happened, the VHF came to life, I was called up by Billy, the commodore of Saltfleet boat club. He'd come out to meet me at the channel entrance and could see me clearly, sat low in a 12ft rib he was just about visible with the binoculars.
With the light beginning to fade and the temperature dropping, I did the gentlemanly thing and started the engine in order to shorten Billy's wait, it would have been another hour by sail.
Greeted at the inner bouy by Billy and Pete, I followed them in over the bar, watched by seals on either side, halfway along the short channel a Porpoise surfaced between us!
Turning the boat in the river (creek? It's hardly big enough to be a river!) was "interesting", only accomplished with help from the bank, there is probably less than 30ft of width where I was turning.
Moored up, we headed to the New Inn for a meal (very good) and a pint (nothing to write home about), we had to make a quick move to The Crown (Speckled Hen, mmmmmm) after they got the bingo machine ready at the New Inn!!! I did mention the retired often head for this coast.....
The night on the boat was eventful. The visitor's mooring is newly built and the bank still slopes steeply, this meant that as the tide went out the boat sat at such an angle that the "uphill" side berth was unusable, only having 2 berths left us with a problem!
We arranged ourselves to sleep across the boat, me squeezed in front of the mast where the beam is probably about 4ft... We didn't sleep a lot!
As the morning's tide lifted us a couple of hours sleep was grabbed before it was time to get up.
Plan was to leave the boat there for a couple of days until the wind was forecast to go north, ideal for the return trip.
Monday's adventure was to be a journey back to Boston by bus to pick up the car, 40 miles - about an hour by car - this took 3.5 hours. Enough said....
I'd been talking about going for a while, quite a while in fact, and with settled weather and a forecast for F4/5 Southwesterlies I had run out of excuses.....
After dragging ourselves out of bed at 5am and, after a 70 mile drive, Alison and me left the mooring in Boston at around 7.30. I kept the engine on until we were past Tab's Head as it is a fairly long passage and I wanted some early progress...
It was clear, after a couple of hours, that we were getting just that. The speed on the GPS rarely dropped below 5kts and often went over 6! The tide really does make a difference in The Wash.
We took the inshore route past the entrance to Wainfleet Haven, situated on the northern corner of The Wash and out into the North sea proper.
The speed stayed high as the wind increased to an F5 and the tide slowed. Heading a couple of miles off the coast we could still hear the noise from Skegness, it's best seen from the boat, although 2 miles might still be a bit close....
As the day went on I ticked off the landmarks, Skegness, Butlins, Ingoldmells, Chapel St Leonards.... Mablethorpe is marked by a massive new red brick building - I assume flats to house the retirees who seem to congregate on the coast of Lincolnshire!
Theddlethorpe gas terminal (slightly inland and unobtrusive) chimneys marked the last inhabitation before Saltfleet, from here the coast is low dunes backed by clumps of trees.
By now the speed had dropped due to the tide running against us at about 2kts, the wind had also dropped to a calm F3, once or twice the GPS indicated 1kt!
A very unusual thing (at least it is where I sail!) then happened, the VHF came to life, I was called up by Billy, the commodore of Saltfleet boat club. He'd come out to meet me at the channel entrance and could see me clearly, sat low in a 12ft rib he was just about visible with the binoculars.
With the light beginning to fade and the temperature dropping, I did the gentlemanly thing and started the engine in order to shorten Billy's wait, it would have been another hour by sail.
Greeted at the inner bouy by Billy and Pete, I followed them in over the bar, watched by seals on either side, halfway along the short channel a Porpoise surfaced between us!
Turning the boat in the river (creek? It's hardly big enough to be a river!) was "interesting", only accomplished with help from the bank, there is probably less than 30ft of width where I was turning.
Moored up, we headed to the New Inn for a meal (very good) and a pint (nothing to write home about), we had to make a quick move to The Crown (Speckled Hen, mmmmmm) after they got the bingo machine ready at the New Inn!!! I did mention the retired often head for this coast.....
The night on the boat was eventful. The visitor's mooring is newly built and the bank still slopes steeply, this meant that as the tide went out the boat sat at such an angle that the "uphill" side berth was unusable, only having 2 berths left us with a problem!
We arranged ourselves to sleep across the boat, me squeezed in front of the mast where the beam is probably about 4ft... We didn't sleep a lot!
As the morning's tide lifted us a couple of hours sleep was grabbed before it was time to get up.
Plan was to leave the boat there for a couple of days until the wind was forecast to go north, ideal for the return trip.
Monday's adventure was to be a journey back to Boston by bus to pick up the car, 40 miles - about an hour by car - this took 3.5 hours. Enough said....
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