Mobile Again, At Long Last!

Moonshine has been out of action for the last six weeks, due to the power steering cylinder being removed.


This had been leaking on its piston seal for quite some time and has gradually gotten worse, so prior to our Autumn weeks holiday at the end of October we decided to remove it for repair. The cylinder was taken for repair to a local steering rack specialist, however after trying several seals over the course of three weeks, they were unsuccessful in their attempts at repair. They agreed that this was due to Volvo using a one off seal which you cannot obtain now. After seeking further advice from IVSS Marine, we were advised to either purchase a second hand unit ( obviously we could still have the same problem), or purchase a new one. Therefore, we were left with no alternative but to research the cheapest deal which we found was from a seller in the USA on Ebay. Overall the new unit cost with import duty and shipping a total of £530 and took a week and a half to arrive at our home address. Not badly priced to say that in the UK we were quoted £660 from Keypart who had three in stock, or the main Volvo agents were close to £900 and these were on back order. It was far too windy on Saturday to test due to Storm Callum, however Sunday was a lot calmer but very wet, but despite this we took Moonshine for a trip along the canal to make sure everything was in good order, which it was.

We have also been busy with making protective covers for the cockpit table and dashboard.


We made paper templates, then made the covers with cream vinyl and used a rot resistant thread. Not very easy making boxed sections on a domestic sewing machine, and due to the thinkness of the fabric the machine was just on its limit. Not perfect, but does the job. We would have preferred matching Silvertex as this is a lot easier to work with, but this would have been quite expensive with any errors potentially incurred due to novice workmanship. This has left Helen hankering after a better machine now.

Lazy Weekend

Its always a good sign when the dog checks the engine's, and Lottie was eager to check them over this weekend. We had a nice but late start on Saturday up to Pollington. After two weeks back home after our holidays, and some long hours at work for Peter, we were looking forward to a short break and a lazy weekend aboard Moonshine.
The new kettle is fantastic. We opted for a 1000w Kampa kettle from wowcamping.co.uk as this looked more aesthetically pleasing compared to other low wattage kettles, plus we needed more gas for the Weber bbq and this was the cheapest place to purchase it from even with postage costs. It is a touch power hungry on the generator, however we have only bought it for use when hooked up to shore power.

The heatwave has finally gone, which makes it a bit more comfortable especially for the dogs. The sun eventually made way for rain on Saturday evening, and we noticed the recently cleaned and re proofed canopy was leaking in various places. After further investigation, we discovered this could be due to shrinkage after the very hot dry weather as water was only permeating through the stitching. We will re proof these areas next weekend, but don't envisaged this to be a major problem.

Next weekend will be taken up with work commitments again, but it is that that pays for the boat and our plans to have the saloon seating reupholstered this winter. I think I will have to wait until next year for a new front door at home......, then we can look forward to yet another predictable trip to Hull over the forthcoming August bank holiday weekend. Roll on some more settled good weather!

Homeward Bound

Day 13.  Chatham to Burnham on Crouch
The start of our last week and we are now homeward bound. We departed Chatham Maritime Marina lock after discovering they penned every half hour as this involves a bridge lift each time. We left on a much quieter river than when we arrived, enjoying help from the last of the ebb until we had gotten into the Medway Approach Channel. We planed from Hoo Island when it was safe to do so, until we heard Medway VTS in conversation with a work vessel at Thamesport Gas Terminal with men working at the waterline. We dropped off the plane for 5 minutes so as not to cause them any problems with our potential wash, and when we were safely away from them we attempted planing once again, however we must have had some weed around Moonshine's drives as she wasn't happy at all. After going astern and releasing said weed, she went back up on the plane with no problem. We were against the flood from the Medway Approach to the  Inner Whittaker, where we dropped off the plane as we crossed Whittaker Spit as the tide was still quite low and we were down to 2.5 mtrs depth. Once back into deeper water we were able to plane once again quickly covering some decent ground, we then dropped down to a slow speed just passed the River Roach off the River Crouch and obtained a mooring for the night in Burnham Yacht Harbour.  You couldn't have asked for any better sea conditions today, as it was flat calm all the way. A keen breeze got up later once we were moored up but we could only put that down to sea breezes, but it freshened the air considerably after yet another swelteringly hot day.







Logged 46.2 nautical miles.

Day 14.  Burnham on Crouch to Woodbridge
This morning prior to heading back out to sea we decided it would be an idea to obtain fuel. Unfortunately the fuel pump in Burnham Yacht Harbour was out of commission, so we ended up heading across the river to Essex Marina to fuel up. We then headed back down river in a very brisk breeze with wind over an incoming tide to get back out to sea. Once out at sea it was pretty calm (but nowhere like the conditions we had enjoyed yesterday) until it got a bit choppy off Walton on the Naze, then plotting a course due north to cross the Harwich deep water shipping channel it calmed off again and we enjoyed a good run up to Woodbridge Haven. Once in Woodbridge Haven we came off the plane to run steady up river, however with a very fast flowing inward tide behind us we had to navigate very carefully as the tide was pulling the anchorage buoys just beneath the water making navigation very challenging. We obtained a mooring in the Tidemill Yacht Harbour for a one night stay.



Logged 49.1 nautical miles.

Day 15.  Woodbridge to Lowestoft
We had a very lazy morning waiting for there to be enough water over the cill at the Tidemill Yacht Harbour moorings before we could set off. We had a walk around the grounds, and just like everywhere else around here the grass is parched and quite uncomfortable to walk on even with sandals. The dogs also have to be carried to shore as the gaps between the wooden jetty boards are too wide for them. Apart from that this is a very tranquil place to be.  With a very light breeze we departed the yacht harbour, and steadily made our way punching the tide in the River Deben heading back out to sea. It was quite choppy in the River mouth, but once out to sea we enjoyed calmish sea conditions, gaining help from the tide once past Orford Ness. When we approached Lowestoft sea conditions had chopped up a bit, however we were able to follow the wind farm vessels in, which were returning back to the harbour in true 'wacky race' form, and they smoothed the path nicely for entry. With all this green energy, it would be interesting to see what the wind farm boats carbon footprint is.....

Logged 47.4 nautical miles

Day 16. Lowestoft
If it's not the wind that keeps us in port, it's the fog! Our intention today was to have an early start to visit Wells next the Sea. Unfortunately the morning started with a loud fog horn  blast! We awoke to the sight of dense fog which at times thinned slightly but repeatedly became dense again. We had a time window of up to 13.40 to safely get into Wells, however since we would have to plane with our now later start, we considered this far too risky with the reduced visibility. The fog eventually cleared late morning, so a day spent in Lowestoft was in order. It isn't such a bad thing as this allows us to restock up on our badly depleated alcohol stock, oh and the four letter word beginning with f.....FOOD!




Day 17.  Lowestoft to Wells next the Sea
With no fog this morning our penultimate sea passage this holiday went very smoothly in very calm seas. We encountered a myriad of crab pots close into the coastline just off Cromer and Sheringham,  and it seemed there was no getting away from them, until we altered course to head further back out to sea. Once passed the Wells leading buoy we could then steadily make our way in following the harbour launch, and upto the pontoon on the quay. Now we are here, this will be a pleasant finale to our holiday, before having to make the final sea passage back to the Humber.



Logged 55.4 nautical miles

Day 18.  Wells next the Sea
A gloriously hot lazy day was spent in Wells today. We love just sitting on the boat relaxing watching the tides change and the boats moving about.







Day 19.  Wells next the Sea to Hull
It is far too easy once ensconced in Wells Harbour to not want to move on, but time is now running short and we need to head back to the Humber today. Our final sea passage was a bit bumpy for the first half hour from the leading buoy, but after that the sea state smoothed off. Once in at Spurn the only chop we encountered was from other vessels, and we made Hull Marina after two hours and fifty minutes of planing. Tomorrow we are heading back to our home mooring in Goole, this means we will be back to dodging floating debris instead of crab pots. It is nice to be back to more familiar territory and our normal stomping ground.

Logged 72.7 nautical miles

Day 20.  Hull Marina to Goole
We enjoyed a flat calm run back up river to Goole, and had excellent service from Goole Docks on a return pen. Thankfully there was no floating debris to contend with today. We returned back to the polluting atmosphere Moonshine calls home after a respectable 58 minute run.

Logged 21.8 nautical miles

We have now been away for almost three weeks, and it has been a heatwave from start to finish with not even a drop of rain. The only slight issues from the weather were sea breezes due to the heat, and one morning of fog. Moonshine has run faultlessly, and it has been a  pleasure to discover new places we never visited before.

Overall total logged 564.2 nautical miles.

Rip Off Merchants

Day 5.  Ipswich

We spent a very pleasant lazy day in Ipswich. It has been far too hot to do much, and it has been a battle keeping the dogs cool and stimulated in this heat, as their walks have now been restricted to the early morning and late evening. 

Day 6.  Ipswich to Woolverstone

A slightly cooler day today, we got up early and eventually found our way to the Lidl supermarket for stores. Somehow we managed to take the long route there, but took a shorter more direct route back. Once the fridge and beer cooler were stocked with Whitstable Bay and the odd bit of food we trundled back down river to Woolverstone Marina. In the afternoon we took a walk along the woodland path to Pin Mill with the dogs. 

Logged 3.0 nautical miles

Day 7.  Woolverstone to Titchmarsh

Our intention today was to venture back out to sea and make the short hop to Brightlingsea, however the forecast northerly breeze put paid to that...for today anyway.  Therefore we decided the best option would be to visit Titchmarsh Marina and have a meal in the 'Harbour Lights' restaurant. After checking out their menu which looked rather limited we opted for yet another meal on board. It looked as if the restaurant had gone considerably down hill since our last visit a few years ago, not just with its menu and it's odd weekday meal finishing serving times, but its overall condition of the building as it isn't as smartly kept as it used to be. Incidentally, we noted quite a few people turning up and finding the doors padlocked.

Logged13.4 nautical miles

Day 8.  Titchmarsh Marina

Day 8 and we are spending another day in Titchmarsh Marina whilst waiting for the northerly breeze to pass and the sea state to smooth out. Walton on the Naze is the nearest town for groceries, it is a fair walk there and from previous experience is not brilliant for stocking up a rapidly empty fridge. We have sandwich stuff, milk, Laura has her veggie sausages and hash browns left, and there are two cooked chipolata sausages from last night's tea....but they have the dogs name on them! So it looks as if we will have to delve into the dried food cupboard, as tuna and pasta bake sounds good for us tonight. I also knew it would be useful to carry a few 1litre whisky bottles, as one was very  handy being appropriately placed on the worktop to use as a mallet to crush the plain crisps to top the pasta bake for tea!

We are now itching to move on now the weather has calmed down a bit, tomorrow we will visit Brightlingsea for a few nights.

Day 9.  Titchmarsh Marina to Brightlingsea

Now itching to be back to civilization, we made our way out of Titchmarsh. The other day we were not sure where the channel into the marina was, but since it was high water we didn't have any problems with depth even though both the depth readings were playing up. This time we stayed in the channel which is in-between the anchored yachts.  There was still a gentle northerly ground swell running, but this got considerably smoother the further down the coast we went. It is always challenging when visiting new places whilst trying to navigate through the buoyed channel, but we made it safely and obtained a mooring within the Waterside Marina...normally when visiting you would end up on the mid river non shore connected pontoon, and would have to use the dingy to get to shore.

Note the cill at low water!

Logged 25.8 nautical miles

Day 10. Brightlingsea

We decided since the fridge was getting low on stock to walk to the large Co-op which is on the other side of town. There are several small grocery stores in the town, but we thought a larger shop would be a bit cheaper...how wrong were we! This shop was considerably more expensive than the ones in town and the term rip off merchants spring to mind. We just bought the bare essentials and will wait until Chatham to stock up again. Let's hope that due to all the residential building work going off here, it warrants an Aldi or a Lidl store to be built near that Co-op to make them more competitive. Apart from that gripe whilst wrestling to feed a family of four, Brightlingsea is a lovely place and is definitely on our list of places to visit again.

Day 11.  Brightlingsea to Chatham

We departed Brightlingsea as soon as there was enough water over the cill of the little marina. We had an excellent run with calm seas, we were against the tide until we had gotten through the Swin Spitway, and then we had really good help from the spring tide all the way up the Medway. You have to carefully plan your passage on the Thames Estuary, as there are several different routes across, making sure there is  plenty of water over the sand banks. Once at Chatham Marina lock we had a short wait whilst the harbour master put the lock into free flow, then we had to carefully navigate our way through the lock entrance with the tide behind us making us shoot in like a cork. There was still a substantial inward current whilst entering our given pontoon as it was near the lock. Now safely moored up we are certainly looking forward to exploring Chatham since this is our first visit here.

Logged 41.0 nautical miles

Day 12.  Chatham Maritime Marina

Another very hot day today inland touching the 29°C mark and too hot to do anything meaningful. A quick mooch around the shops and a lazy look around the marina, we couldn't wait to get back to the boat in the cool of the shade and of course to the two small mains fans we have running. I did purchase a nice electric kettle for Moonshine, after figuring it would be a good idea whilst on shore power rather than using the gas, however this had to be returned as it was a 3kw kettle and would potentially have problems tripping out the electric...I wouldn't mind but Peter was with me when I purchased it, but he was too busy protesting (actually he was moaning a bucket full) about more unnecessary added weight than pointing out what was a more obvious thing to him in the first place. But nevermind, now I have impressed on him the benefits of getting one I have sourced a nice 1kw model which will have to be ordered upon our return. 

With just one more full week left, it is now time to head back up the coast. In reality we only need a good three days to get home, but since the weather is still looking good we are looking forward to visiting more places on the return leg packing as much in for as long as is possible.

Baptism Of Fire

Day 1. Goole to Grimsby
This year we are taking advantage of an early holiday due to the university term ending and GCSEs being completed. We are hoping the places we visit this year will not be quite as busy since normal school term time has not yet ended...fingers crossed!
After a reasonable early start we penned out of Ocean Lock with Exol Pride, CRT's Gawburn and two other cruisers. As soon as it was safe to do so we opened up and planed all the way to Grimsby on glassy waters under a cloud leaden sky, which was rather refreshing after the hot weather of late. We overtook Peter's dad's boat 'Crambeck' at the Humber Power Intake on route to Scarborough, unfortunately we couldn't get many photos due to two inward tugs making a massive wash.
Logged 39.3 nautical miles

Day 2.  Grimsby to Lowestoft 
After departing Grimsby Fish Dock at 08.47, we had an enjoyable run down to Cromer with a gentle north easterly swell. Just past Cromer a fresh SE f4 breeze got up along the coast, and with wind over tide this made slightly uncomfortable short sharp seas, we had to reduce Moonshine's speed to give us a better run.  The seas were a bit smoother past the Cockle, so we increased her speed once again whilst gaining help from the tide. After a slight baptism of fire with the choppy seas considering it was the first sea trip of the year,  we made Lowestoft at 13.15. Our longest leg of the journey now under our belt, we can relax until heading further south on Saturday.

Logged 98.2 nautical miles
Day 3.  Lowestoft
A slightly cooler but still a warm day today, we spent a relaxing day in port. It's certainly made a difference having our holiday earlier this year out of term time, as the moorings are noticeably quieter along with the sea front not being overrun with tourists.

Day 4.  Lowestoft to Ipswich
Whilst constantly monitoring the weather and wind direction, we were undecided where to head next. At the moment the winds are moving to the north mid week and we didn't want to be stuck in Ramsgate if indeed that was to be our next destination. We therefore agreed Ipswich was a good alternative, as there is a lot to go at on these East Coast Rivers once below Harwich whilst not being far out to sea.
After departing Lowestoft there was still a bit of ground swell running from the north east, but once we rounded Orford Ness it was considerably smoother in Hollesley Bay. We came off the plane at Harwich break water, and had a steady 6knot run up to Ipswich with a flood tide, there were no shipping movements as it wasn't that long after low water. Once we had gotten more inland it became very hot, and upon entering Ipswich we could hear the occasional roar whenever England scored a goal beating Sweden in the World Cup, not surprisingly all the quay side bars and pubs were heaving. We will stay here for a few nights before hopefully heading down to Woolverstone if they can accommodate us. It feels like we have been on holiday for ages, and we still have another two full weeks...let's hope the weather stays kind for us.

Logged 49.8 nautical miles

All Change

Spring Bank holiday weekend started off as a lazy one, and after a bit of deliberation we decided to head to Hull first as the Trent would be very busy especially since we were not prepared to get up at the crack of dawn for the early tide and we would be arriving in the evening.
We received prompt service from Goole Docks penning out, and had a quick run down river in breezy conditions but nice and smooth as it was wind with tide. After arriving in Hull Marina, Moonshine was given a berth on B Pontoon as the visitors berth was full. 

After an enjoyable few days in Hull, we departed on the pm tide on Monday, and had yet again a calm fast run to Keadby where we dropped off the plane, and ran steady so as not to outrun the tide to Torksey where we stayed the evening on the pontoon low side.
On Tuesday morning we made the two and a half hour run to Newark town, where we were fortunate enough to acquire a mooring on The Kiln pontoon.
On approaching the pontoon two narrowboats appeared to be heading downstream, however it wasn't until we were on the mooring that one of them decided to moor up behind us without turning into the current, which he did with no major problems. His companion on the second narrowboat was another matter. He was on his own and new to boating, and the first narrowboat whom we were later advised had 30 years boating experience under his belt was instructing him to breast up to his vessel without turning into the flow. After about 20 minutes of him getting nowhere with a lot of engine revving and shouting and being advised by us that he would be safer turning into the current, he eventually gave up and turned and breasted up easily. Neither of them appeared very happy with our added interference, and we were told they wouldn't have had a problem if we hadn't have moored there first, at which point we retorted that we were assertive in our handling and it was obvious what our intention was and that theirs was not, additionally you never know if they would have moored ecconomically allowing us on. Surfice to say they had a very big chip on their shoulders throughout our stay. 

On Thursday after a couple of pleasant nights in Newark, we headed back downstream to Cromwell where five Derby Motor Boat Club boats joined us for the journey down river to Torksey.
We were promptly penned into Torksey and after filling up with water, we ventured up to Saxilby for a fish and chip tea.
After tea we were not sure whether to head on up to The Woodcock's moorings or head straight for Lincoln. We opted for the latter in hope there was a mooring, and we were pleasantly surprised to get one on the CRT visitors.
Last time we visited Lincoln, there was more university building work in operation, and now this has been completed the moorings for Lincoln Marina have improved providing a decent length with shore power and water. 

After an early start in the supermarket on Friday morning and a visit to the town before the heat of the day started to rise, we topped up with water yet again and trundled down to the deserted Woodcock's mooring at Burton Waters for lunch. These moorings are more pleasant to exercise our dogs around rather than in Lincoln city centre.

Once again since our last visit a few years ago it has all changed with more housing and a hotel being built and a landscaped path around the perimeter of the marina. We remember visiting back in the year 2000 on our Seamster 813 'Chelmer', when what is now E Pontoon existed as the marinas main length of moorings along with the sales pontoon and office block.

After discussing potential saloon seating fabrics with Chris Potts with a view to having this retrimmed in November and a BBQ to finish the day,  we battened down the hatches as rain was forecast for the following day.

We awoke Saturday morning to a very wet and once again muggy day. With waterproofs on, we cast off to head back down to Torksey to lay on the empty low side pontoon for tomorrow's early start back to Goole. After the rain had stopped we enjoyed a nice dog walk up to the viaduct.

After a 6am start, we departed Torksey moorings on the ebb meeting the flood at Butterwick. We planed from Keadby, but hit a piece of debris which must have got caught on the front of her outdrives slowing Moonshine down instantly. After making sure there was no damage we quickly got her back up onto the plane, until the Apex Light where we slowed down once again as we had heard Goole Docks on the VHF was very busy. We had an hour's wait until finally penning in just after high water.

The next few weekends will consist of work commitments and maybe the odd trip up the canal for a BBQ. We can also look forward to our summer holiday heading south, and since this year we are not restricted to the school timetable, we are having our summer holiday a bit earlier at the start of July...let's just hope for good weather this year!