Today, the lesson is about tides.
Our departure from the delights of Tollesbury was dictated by the tide. HW around seven-ish meant a departure around, well, seven-ish actually!
We motored out to the Nass beacon and then got her sailing. With the wind from dead astern, we found it better to dog-leg it on a very broad reach rather than try to lay the course to the Spitway directly.
Apart from it being a bit rolly polly, it was a decent sail out but once we crossed the Spitway, the combination of a foul wind and a foul tide made progress difficult.
Progress, though, we made albeit measured in fractions of a knot. Still, compared to our total inability to get anywhere at all with the old sails in such circumstances a definite improvement.
The monotony of tacking to and fro between the channel markers was relieved by the approach of no less than four Police boats! One off the RIBs came close astern and the officer in the bows made brief enquires as to where we'd been and where we were going.
Apparently satisfied with our responses, they wished us farewell and zoomed off to rejoin the convoy.
That bit of fun done with, we soldiered on until eventually, as we approached the Sunken Buxey, enough was enough and it was on with the engine and down with the sails.
The breeze soon kicked up and the entrance to the Crouch was quite choppy but things settled down as we progressed further upriver.
Back at base by five, we put the boat to bed, ate a tinned stew and then headed for the pub for a couple of beers and a yarn swapping session with the crew of Penny Black
Tomorrow, we hit the road as soon as the rush hour is over as we have to be back at work tomorrow night.
A good weekend which has implications for the future which shall be addressed in due course!
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