Settled in the river- Part 2



The World Cruise of Veleda IV

Settled in the river - part 2 October 10, 1999, River Orwell and Pin Mill [Click picture to enlarge] As indicated in my last log, we got across the bar out of the River Ore with no problems, and we had a pleasant sail back down to the mouth of the Orwell. We put the engine on early, as this entrance up the Orwell is one of the busiest in the U.K., because of the large container piers at Felixstowe and Harwich. In addition, Judy wanted to take pictures of the BEACH END and CLIFF FOOT buoys, as they were mentioned in the Ransome book, "We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea" over 60 years ago. As I mentioned in a previous log, most of the buoys over here have names, printed on them, and these two buoys were noticed by the children in the story as they drifted out to sea. Their father worked at the naval base, HMS Ganges, at Shotley Point, and in the novel they were staying at Alma Cottage up at Pin Mill. So, we motored up river and secured to a mooring buoy at Pin Mill. This was only 19 miles from our last anchorage up just inside the Ore at Butley River. We had been having trouble with the fuel line attachment where it enters the gas tank in Sprite, so when at Pin Mill, we found out there was a Johnson dealer at Woolverstone Marina, about two miles walk up the shoreline on a scenic, rustic footpath. We walked up there, helping ourselves to blackberries growing wild along the trail, only to find out the marina was no longer a Johnson dealership and did not have the parts. They kindly indicated the nearest dealership, across the river and halfway down to Felixstowe. No, it wasn't on the water so we could not dinghy to it. No, there was no bus transport, and a taxi would be a long and expensive ride, and the dealership would probably be closed by the time a taxi came down from Ipswich to get us. It was Friday afternoon, and no, they were not open on Saturdays. AAARRRGGGHHH!! We left and stopped in at the Royal Harwich Yacht Club next door, hoping we might meet a friendly member who could give us a lift over there. Weenquired of one gentleman if there was a taxi firm nearby we could call. He asked where we were going, and then said if we could wait a few minutes while he finished some business he would take us. We are not sure of his name, but he was a Vice Commodore or Past Commodore of the Club, and we are very grateful for his going out of his way for about an hour, round trip. He was also one of the designers of the new floating docks that the RHYC has just recently installed. When returning he took us right back to Pin Mill where we had left Sprite. Thank you, sir, and the Royal Harwich Yacht Club. Pin Mill has one of the longest hards in the country. It extends about 200 yards or more, bending downstream at a 45 degree angle for another 50 yards or so before terminating at a post. We had supper that night at the Butt and Oyster Inn located right beside this long hard. In fact they had a cartoon about the hard being so long that the Concorde was depicted landing tourists on it. We tied Sprite beside a dock near the hard where we could keep an eye on it. However as we were waiting for supper, I noticed the tide going out and Sprite was at risk of being stranded on the mud at this rickety old dock. So I excused myself and rowed Sprite over to the hard. At the hard the tide was still running out and there was only a small trickle of fresh water streaming down beside it. So, not wanting Sprite to be marooned up on the hard I walked it down the hard into the water, planning to tie it off farther out on the hard in about two feet of water on one of the posts. I was wearing shorts and could tow Sprite in the small stream beside the hard into the deeper water. However, it was dark, the water was muddy, and up to then I did not know about the hard going off at a 45 degree angle. I walked off the bend of the hard, lost my balance and went right in, slipping on the side of it, cutting my ankle, and going down into about three feet of water. Frustrated, I motored out to Veleda, dried off, noticed the blood, put on band aids, clean clothes, and went back to the Butt and Oyster. I rejoined Judy who knew nothing of the incident until I came stomping in, carrying a flashlight and an oar from the dinghy to be able to sound our way back out the hard without falling over the underwater edge of it again. The next day the Pin Mill Sailing Club was having a regatta, which we entered. There was a good turnout with over 20 boats, seven of which were in our cruising class. We had a poor start, being fifth or sixth across the start line. The start in a river with a 2 or 3 knot ebb current in light winds needs getting used to. The course was about 18 miles long, going down the Orwell, out through Harwich Harbour down to the Stone Banks Buoy near the Naze and back. The tide was ebbing going down, but flooding by the time we were coming back. Out in the harbour the wind increased to about 20 to 25 knots. We had a wonderful sail reaching and close hauled. On the downward leg two boats got into a tacking duel, the one luffing the other up into the shallows, allowing us to get ahead of the burdened boat. Out in the open waters of the harbour we were catching up to the other boat involved in that luffing match, but it had buoy room by the time we got down to the Stone Banks Buoy. We were then close hauled on the return through the harbour. I was overtaking him to windward when he started luffing me up. I sat about five feet off his starboard quarter as he eased up, then I made a sudden swing to port astern of him and was able to accelerate ahead of him on his leeward side. We continued to lengthen the lead up into the river, and overtook another boat in our class as well. However we had to watch not only certain specific buoys we had to pass, but had to look out for shipping and the many other sailboats out racing with other fleets or just out for pleasure. As we tacked up the river, the wind would shift with each bend. We started back into the river close hauled, but by the time we were about a mile or so from the finish line, we were running wing on wing. We cut some of the channel markers, but ran the risk of grounding if we miscalculated. A great sail, however the boat we passed in the open waters of the harbour was catching up as he was flying a spinnaker! We were hoping we could stay wing on wing, but we did not have a whisker pole to keep the genoa wrung out. However, we stayed ahead and came over the finish line third in a fleet of seven (awarded a fourth when the handicaps were calculated). The next day there was the second race of the series. However, there was little wind and we didn't feel like enduring a long windless race, so elected not to start. However, from where we were moored we had a good view of the start line. A Drifter! It was several minutes after the gun before the first boat crossed the start line. We saw one boat that could not get turned around, cross the start line BACKWARDS! We were glad we opted out of that one. At the party that evening we presented them a Toronto Hydroplane and Sailing Club burgee and they gave us one of theirs. The next day we motor sailed three miles up the river to the Orwell Yacht Club where we had a most enjoyable time. They were most hospitable and it was here that we put Veleda on the hard at their scrubbing posts for the first time, as I will describe in the next log.

The World Cruise of Veleda IV