Record Breaker

Upon returning from holiday the other week, myself and and the girls had had enough of tidal work to last us a lifetime due to the wind causing lumpy conditions during most passages (not Peter it seems to be bred into his blood!). We were all set to have a sedate bank holiday weekend up the canal, however now that the winds had died down we really couldn't miss out on the opportunity to visit Hull again.
Hull Marina are still having issues with their outer lock gates, and are only penning 3 locks, 2 hours before, high water, and 2 hours after. It is always prudent to phone ahead, but they are still welcoming visitors to the marina, however upon arrival we had to lay on their waiting wall within the outer basin.

This weekend we had an extra furry crew member...my mum's elderly Yorkshire Terrier who will be 13 next month. She was exceptionally relaxed and well behaved during the trip, unlike our own dogs which at this rate may very well need pacemakers fitting within the next few years!

After lots of shopping and not many dog walks due to this weekends record breaking August bank holiday temperatures, we departed a very full Hull Marina lock on the earliest pen, as the lock keeper was trying to limit the amount of gate operations. 

We traveled at displacement speed until Reeds Island waiting for another Goole boat (Mijo) which was in the following lock pen to catch up with us. By mutual agreement we both decided to plane up to Goole as there were three ships inbound for Goole, and we didn't want to be left waiting for Ocean Lock to deal with the commercial traffic prior to us.

It's been a fabulous weekend, however next weekend Moonshine needs her port turbo tending to. Here's hoping for cooler weather more appropriate to working in the engine room.

Making A Run For It

Day 13. Ipswich to Lowestoft

We are now into our our final week, and slowly making our way back up north. Due to today's forecast wind later in the day ,we had an early 7am start to get to Lowestoft. After penning through Ipswich Lock, we had a steady run down the River Orwell at 6 knots with the ebb and then went up onto the plane at Harwich Breakwater. Conditions were quite lumpy in Hollesley Bay and off Lowestoft, and we were glad to finally arrive at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club. The winds got up a lot stronger than forecast, and there were some rather impressive waves rolling into the harbour entrance, making navigation difficult/arduous for several yachts entering the harbour. However 'Kingfisher' ABP's brand new pilot boat made very light work of it.
The forecast for the week ahead doesn't look clever at all with yet more wind forecast.

Logged 52.5 Nautical miles

Day 14&15. Lowestoft

We are now itching to get moving again, and as much as we like Lowestoft, we need to make progress towards the Humber before the next batch of bad weather hits. If we don't make that move tomorrow, there will be no alternative but for us to leave Moonshine down here, and for us to return home until the weather abates.

Day 16. Lowestoft to Wells to Grimsby

We departed Lowestoft at 7am with the intention of making Grimsby. We had a decent ish run to Winterton Ness, then as  we headed towards Cromer the sea conditions really chopped up with wind against tide making those pesky crab pots very hard to see and making for an uncomfortable ride. Despite this we still managed to stay on the plane, and decided we would head into Wells for a few nights and considered it was the best thing to do for our dogs. Once moored in Wells Harbour we had lunch and a rest, but more importantly this gave us time to contemplate the forthcoming bad weather forecast and possible sea conditions and the possibility of becoming weather bound in Wells (this happened to us a few years ago, and we swore it would never happen again as it is such an awkward place to get to, and with fast running tide and other boats manoeuvring not carefully!).  Natalie wanted to stay due to the previous bit of a battering, and the weather was beautiful once in the harbour, so it would have been so easy to ensconce ourselves there. However, one of our friends on 'Serenity' had just departed Wells after our arrival, to head north, and said sea conditions were more reasonable...this spurred us on to make a run for it and to cover that final sea leg back to Grimsby, whilst keeping close to Skegness to get a smoother ride. It is safe to say that the Wells to Grimsby trip was by far the best this holiday...not flat calm, but NOT choppy, but most certainly a decision well made! We are now safe and sound and back on home territory. 

Photo courtesy of Henry Young Master of Putford Harvester. Moonshine just departed Lowestoft.

Logged 117.2 Nautical Miles

Day 17,18&19. Grimsby

We have spent a few days in a very windy Grimsby recovering our land legs yet again. We are so glad we made the right call by leaving Wells the other day. Once Sunday day 19 arrived (Peter's final day off work), it became pretty apparent we would be stuck here for yet another day. Monday looks a lot calmer, so it looks like Peter will have to call work to advise of our situation. We are all looking forward to getting back home now, as there is only so much you can do in Grimsby whilst waiting for that all important weather window.

Day 20. Grimsby to Goole

The weather was a lot calmer today to get back to Goole on the pm tide, or so we thought! The morning was spent with the mammoth task of packing up. As soon as the lock gates were open we departed the moorings at Grimsby. We went slow at first as there were some pretty big troughs off Immingham despite the neap tides as there was still a fair bit of wind against tide. As soon as we reached Sand End LF the river calmed off, and we then had a very fast run back up to Goole. Once we reached our mooring at Goole Boathouse we had to tidy all the carnage up in the front cabin, as all the previously neatly packed belongings had spilled out from their bags. 

Logged 34.9 Nautical miles

The last two and a half weeks have passed very quickly. Moonshine, as ever, has run exceptionally well despite a weak port turbo which will be replaced within the very near future, along with the need to replace Moonshine's tender. We have certainly covered some ground this holiday, visiting Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, Essex and finally home to East Yorkshire in some quite choppy seas which were far from pleasant at times....at least we will be able to reminisce about our experiences like old sea dogs.
Planning ahead to next year already, we have decided on a sedate coastal holiday that we can ALL enjoy without rushing from port to port, with our no 1 destination being Wells and actually being able to enjoy our stay next time for a longer period. Once in Wells the wind can do what the hell it likes!
Total Logged 548.2 Nautical miles

A Change Of Plan

Day 6. Ramsgate to Rochester

A change of plan this morning. We would have liked to have moved further down the coast to Eastbourne, but since strong winds are forecast over the next few days we decided to head back and go to Rochester in the Medway. We had a good run at sea into the Thames Estuary, but it was a bit choppy off Whitstable Bay as there was a large fetch for the SW breeze, but once in the lee of the Isle of Sheppey it was a lot smoother. We arrived at Rochester Crusing Club at high water, which made mooring up a lot easier as the tide can run very hard here.

Logged 44.7 Nautical miles

Day 7&8. Rochester

The next few days were spent sight seeing, dog walking, shopping in neighbouring Stroud and relaxing in Rochester with a view to waiting until the strong winds abated. However, even Rochester has succumbed to the UK's homeless population, as there were loads of rough sleepers in shop doorways in the high street.

Day 9. Rochester to Brightlingsea

Time to move on today after three very enjoyable days in Rochester. We ran at displacement speed to Darnet Ness, from where we could plane out of The Medway into The Thames Estuary, heading to the Medway secondary channel. Sea conditions were quite calm, which due to the recent high winds had fortunately been blowing off the land...it would have been a different story had the wind been in the NE. We was against the flood all the way until we entered The Colne Estuary where we then got help from the tide. We arrived off the town moorings just before high water, where we had a short wait for the Harbour Master to escort us into our allocated berth in the East Marina. We have a very pleasant panoramic view across the harbour.

Logged 48.2 Nautical miles

Day 10. Brightlingsea

We spent a lovely day at Brightlingsea, dog walking and looking around the chandler's looking at replacement brands for Moonshine's tender. We would like a slightly bigger version to our Narwhal 240 to accommodate 4 adults and 3 dogs whilst still allowing us stern access. The Narwhal has given us sterling service over the last 15 years, but has now nearly reached the end of its life.
We have loved Brightlingsea, being moored in the East Marina, watching the world go by and will be sorry to leave.

Day 11. Brightlingsea to Ipswich

We left Brightlingsea as soon as there was enough water over the sill, and had a good fast but short run against the tide to Harwich, where we dropped off the plane and then went steady up The River Orwell. Once in Ipswich we came through the lock on the level and immediately took on fuel. Time to relax once again amongst the hustle and bustle of busy Ipswich.

Logged 32.6 Nautical miles

Day 12. Ipswich

We have had fun exploring the vast marina and town that has some impressive historic buildings. We popped into the most prestigious Lakeland store that is known as Ancient House in the Buttermarket area  which dates from the 15th century. Considering Natalie hates the Lakeland store, she rather enjoyed investigating it's quirky layout, and didn't bat an eyelid whilst I spent ages debating with myself whether I could justify a £20 spend on 16 large pegs to fit Moonshine's tubular rails for drying towels etc.
As ever we have loved it here, but time to move on once again back to Lowestoft, where hopefully we can purchase another 7" fan, as one of ours has just this minute packed up!