Bosuns Weekend - Day 3

The alarm went off at twenty past four and I rolled a cig and stuck my head out of the fore hatch for a smoke and a looksee. No problems as we swung to the turning tide, I just enjoyed the view both above and below. Not only was there a spectacular starscape to gaze at, but some sort of bioluminescence in the water around us was simply stunning to see.

A nebulous blue background was dotted with winking flashes of bright blue and every now and again an expanding circle of light or an arrow shape would scoot across the surface. I watched in fascination for several minutes until the night chill started to take effect at which point I retired down below, set the anchor drag alarm on the GPS just in case and got my head back down for some more zzz's.

After the late night, we slept in until nearly half nine! After fetching in the anchor light and topping up the main tank with 10 litres of fuel from the jerry can, I decided to hoist the main in the still air and sunshine to dry it off and then put a proper harbour stow on it. The chances of any sailing today looked slim.

Under way at ten past ten on the engine, we pootled back down the Roach on the last of the ebb, accompanied by a seal in Devils Reach before turning back up the Crouch to head back to the moorings.

For a brief period we got an extra knot of speed motor sailing with the genoa up but as the river turned to bring the wind into our teeth for the last leg we rolled it up again and steamed gently up to our buoy.

Now I know you should really pick up a mooring heading up tide but as we came closer and closer I figured there was no reason why I shouldn't nip forward and snag it with the boathook without further ado. I caught it first go, held on tight, got enough slack to drop the eye over the samson post and we swung gently around without any drama. Maybe it isn't textbook but it worked!

Engine off at 12:50 and that was that. Glen tidied up below decks whilst I swabbed down on deck, remembering to put my wellies on first this time, then we packed up our kit before calling for the ferry. We were on the road heading home by 14:50 and another trip was over.