Despite some trials and tribulations, it was a fantastic fortnight and I am glad we did what we did.
My plans for the fortnight were undoubtedly and unashamedly ambitious and it was always accepted that we were unlikely to make it as far North as we'd planned for. And OK, it is a little disappointing that we didn't even quite make it to Blakeney or Wells.
However, I feel we proved that had the weather been a little kinder we absolutely COULD have made it at least to Yorkshire and back in the fortnight (whether we would want to in the light of experience I shall waffle about shortly!).
Was the decision to turn back to Lowestoft in the early hours of Tuesday morning the right call? I'll never know for sure! We certainly could have made the entrance to Blakeney Harbour under motor but it would have been some two hours after high water (or in other words a good three hours later than I would have liked) and in a rising Westerly F5 with a building sea. Whether we could have got into the sheltered water in those conditions or whether we'd have been stuck outside unable to get over the bar for several hours (or even at all) is the question.
Turning back was the conservative and ultra-safe option and every time I mull it over I come to the conclusion that it absolutely was the right choice. There were multiple question marks over the wisdom of pressing on and to do so was to put the boat and the crew at risk.
That overnight passage was a most peculiar experience in any case. It started out so well. It was a lovely evening as we pottered up the Norfolk coastline. The sun setting over Winterton Ness was a quite magical sight - I've never see the sun set over the land from at sea before! Into the night we were fascinated by the lights of all the ships further out to sea (and relieved that they WERE all further out to sea I might add!). It was interesting to discover that we found it much easier to judge the position and aspect of the ships at night from their lights than it is during the day.
The mechanics of the decision to turn back would fill an article all of their own (and may yet do so). Suffice it to say that after making that decision (which I believe was the right call) the conditions deteriorated and my mood went South a great deal faster than the boat! OK, it was not what you'd call comfortable - the motion of the boat was unpredictable and tiring, I was a great deal more fatigued than I'd anticipated and stupidly I'd worn trainers instead of wellies and ended up with wet feet. However none of that fully accounts for just how completely and utterly p*ss*d off I was by the time we got back into Lowestoft! At that moment I could have cheerfully sunk the boat and caught the train home!
With the benefit of hindsight ...
We would have been much better off three handed (as originally planned)
I should have had a much longer spell "off watch" earlier in the day
I should have used the kit I'd got to ensure I stayed warm and dry
We should carry a flask or two and make up coffee and/or soup before a night watch*
Snacks and nibbles should be on hand for the watch keeper to grab
* This was something we intended to do - the flasks were purchased but proved too big for the available space. We've never got around to buying smaller ones. We should!
And, of course, having done it once I would be much better prepared mentally a second time. Actually, in the light of experience I would probably not have set out from Lowestoft that afternoon given the forecast F4 gusting F5 with gusts of F6 forecast for later.
That said, had the evening weather (a South Westerly F3/4 for the most part) continued on into the early hours and through dawn, we felt when subsequently discussing it that we might very well have elected to push on North towards Scarborough which, in reasonable conditions, we could have done.
Would I do it again? Yes, without hesitation. As stated above, I'd do it differently and I'd prefer to do it with three rather than two crew and I'd be reluctant to do it with a 5 or above in the forecast. All that said, I certainly want another crack at that particular whip.
We very much needed the break for a couple of nights in Lowestoft. The Yacht Basin and the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club are a good place to stop over, the new Asda is a 10 minute walk away but other than that you are in Lowestoft which, with the best will in the world, isn't one of the more attractive places in the UK. The forecast wasn't too hot for Wednesday anyway and we were suprisingly tired.
Arguably, we were a little too keen to get out of Lowestoft on the Thursday. Certainly, the conditions started out OK but it got steadily worse and it really did look as if we'd end up right back there for the third time. The decision to have a look at Southwold was a good one, the decision to go in two hours before low water was most emphatically not. We really should have jilled around off the entrance for at least an hour, uncomfortable as conditions out there were. We didn't realise just how rough it would be in the harbour mouth which was one thing and we certainly didn't realise that once we were over the rough into the smooth waters of the river we'd be faced with an outgoing tide that we could only barely make headway against.
We were altogether too blasé about the effect on our performance of the damaged prop and to be find ourselves making barely 0.2 knots over the ground at full throttle was a little disconcerting. I was quietly grateful to the skipper of the Voyager tripper RIB who throttled down and followed us in, when he could easily have nipped in five minutes ahead of us, and who didn't leave our side until it was clear that we'd managed to make our way far enough into the harbour to make it all the way. He also kindly waved us off the shallows to the South side of the entrance although we'd have probably been OK on that score with our shoal draught.
Southwold is a magical place and its charms, coupled with the need to arrange delivery of a new prop and less than enticing weather forecasts, kept us in port for four nights! I've no regrets about that. Yes, we'd set out to sail as much as possible but conditions and circumstances had rearranged matters for us and it made sense to make the best of things as we found them. In any case, it was only Sunday that was lost as a sailing day (and it would have been a little churlish to chuck my brother off the boat at first light and clear off!) as the conditions on Friday and Saturday were definitely not conducive to leaving harbour.
Back out at sea on Monday of week two, it was now a simple matter of gently tootling back down the coast with the general objective of being back at Fambridge by Friday or first thing Saturday at the latest. We had four days of fairly typical English summer weather. The wind varied from nothing at all to a reasonable working breeze but never piped up to the point of kicking up the waves. The sea state varied from millpond to gentle chop. The factor 30 was much in evidence in the cockpit and so, on occasions, were the foulies! Yep, typical summer weather!
It was much in contrast to the conditions of the previous week and very welcome indeed. In fact, it was near ideal weather for sailing around the East Coast in a small boat. Much experimentation with sail trim and rig settings etc. had led to my working out how to get her to point up at least 5° close to the wind. A second experiment with poling out the genoa worked even better than the first time and had us making cracking progress before the wind.
All in all, upon arrival back in our home port I felt I could claim to be some sort of sailor at last. Still very much a novice but the cruise has given me the chance to finally get to grips with sailing Brigantia and I'm starting to feel that I'm usually getting the best out of her (although I'm still struggling a little with the best trim when reaching).
As far as navigation was concerned there were no concerns. Throughout the trip, the combination of detailed advance planning (which ensured we had all the relevant information readily available) and the plethora of technology meant there was never any doubt about our position or course. In the extremely unlikely event of all that tech dying at the same time we had the info and the paper charts to cope but it's not likely to happen!
We both felt that running Memory Map on my Galaxy Note in view of the helmsman was a great boon. It was too vulnerable in the companionway though and had to be moved to over the chart table where it was still useful but not quite as handy. Certainly, a small chart plotter has considerable attractions (although we both agreed that we MUCH prefer the raster Admiralty charts over the vector charts displayed by Navionics on the phone).
Our decision making was, with two notable exceptions, excellent and we worked very well together as a crew with no arguments or disputes at all. Yes, there were discussions, of course, and we didn't always entirely agree (mostly about post mortems actually) but about the important things an agreement was reached and the decision implemented without further ado.
The two mistakes we did make (not including the anchoring mishap which, whilst uncomfortable, was never dangerous) were ...
a> entering Southwold Harbour in rough conditions against too much ebb tide
and
b> exiting Orford Haven later than planned at low water instead of on the last of the flood
Either of those mistakes could have had serious consequences. We got away with it so all was well!
And to summarise the conclusions ...
It was a fantastic fortnight and a massive learning experience. I'm glad we did it and I'm even glad to have experienced the worst of the weather and conditions we had thrown at us in the first week. My implicit faith in the ability of the boat to keep us safe no matter what is now an explicit faith - we have, as the saying goes, been there and done that. I'd as soon not do some of it again (the thunderstorm off Lowestoft was extreme by any measure) but the confidence is there to face the worst that nature can do.
That said, I'm rather pleased that we had some proper summer weather for the second week as we were beginning to ask questions about whether we'd ever have really suitable conditions to take Brigantia out further afield than the Crouch and adjacent rivers.
Would I do it all again? In a heartbeat. In fact, I'd happily grab my kit and go right back out there if only I could!
