It's frustrating, we just don't seem to be able to get a decent sail under our belts at the moment. Something, be it weather, gear failure, time constraints or whatever, always seems to get in the way.
With hindsight, I'm not sure dropping the hook to wait out the tide on Saturday morning was the best plan. We should have either left Fambridge at first light to catch the tide further down the Whitaker or slogged it out with the foul tide making the best progress we could - by the time we got going again we'd lost momentum and the better part of the day.
That aside, I made a mistake going up the North side of the Whitaker. I should have either kept as close to the Foulness sands as possible or perhaps better still nipped across the Rays'n where we'd have been in the lee of the Buxey with the whole width of the Blackwater to leeward. A lesson noted for the future.
Another lesson worth noting is that if at all possible we'd be best served by avoiding wind over tide in the Whitaker. The conditions were nowhere near as lumpy as the last time out in the channel but it wasn't comfortable for either of us - it was grin and bear it conditions rather than yippee stuff - and Brigantia, being fairly lightweight, doesn't go her best in a steep chop.
My other big mistake was not ensuring we had maxed out the fuel reserves before departure. Maybe its a bit paranoid but I'm not happy unless we've got sufficient petrol on board to make it back from wherever we're going within the time available to us.
On the positive side, Jane seemed more at home on the boat this trip and even rose to the challenge of steering under power with a smile on her face. There were some very positive comments forthcoming about possible future plans, both short and long term and even some sensible suggestions about the engine problems (the sort of thing Jane would usually be totally disinterested in).
What little sailing we managed to get in on the Saturday demonstrated once again that she's no slouch. Although we were undoubtedly the slowest boat out there we were not comparing like with like and whilst we were being overtaken by bigger, newer boats they weren't going past us as if we were standing still. I'm convinced there's even more performance to be extracted if only I can get some suitable conditions to experiment with rig tuning and sail trim.
My attention must now, perforce, turn to the IWA Waterways Festival. I've got to sort out the camping arrangements for my team, get all the kit organised and on site and so on and it's only 3 weeks until we're on site - eek! So it's going to be about five weeks before I can turn my attention back to Brigantia and sailing. Far too long but needs must.
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