FullCircle
Well-known member
So, what happens when you abandon your pride and joy because the weather exceeded your threshold, and you leave it somewhere?
Astonishingly, this takes a lot of organising, and appears to involve fluid dynamics, coupled with random pattern theory.
So, I put up a post requesting crew. Thats easy. Crikey, I even got moree replioes than I needed, even in (or perhaps because of) November.
1st curved ball was actually a nursing team down in Brentwood who are all sub optimal healthwise. They have a quota of sick to get through, and so assiduaously applied their apparent right to go sick this very weekend. That put SWMBO in the unfortunate position of having to work this weekend, instead of boat recovery. (random pattern upside: More dosh for the Christmas pay packet).
So, a bit of replanning required then, already.
First up on the crew volunteer list is Artemis, who, fortunately, is a Gentleman of Leisure, and able to be flexible in his pursuit thereof. Originally, we had planned for his good lady to drop him off at his boat, so he could monkey about doing boatfixing until I would swoop by Fambridge to collect him on the way to Burnham to leave my car there.
As Lynn got forced onto a late Friday shift, I moved this arrangement, and arranged to collect Artemis from his Mansion, after having left work at 2pm on Friday, and scuttled off to the Supermarket for an approximation of breakfast, lunch snacks, and more beer. Quick whiz home, round up a weekend bag, change into sailing rags. That done, and waved Bye bye to Mrs Artemis. She didn't fancy coming to the main Social Evening break planned in West Mersea (more of which later), and so organised her weekend around credit cards and shopping.
I had already also secured the services of D3B, who had the wizard wheeze of bringing his Raider along for the weekend and return to ipswich in it on Sunday morning from West Mersea. So far so good.
We agreed that D3B would turn up at Shotley in the Raider, and pass an affable evening in the Bristol Arms, with a bit of nosebag, and a trough of ale.
The next thread in the web is Wherry, who also volunteered for a bit of larking, and who also keeps is dugout canoe in Ipswich, fair close to Still Dunno. Fortunately, these 2 had met by accident in the Ipswich Haven bar sometime previously, so no one had to wear a pink carnation, or carry a rolled up copy of Sailing Today for recognition. Wheery turned up, and they set off for Shotley. D3B, imagining himself to be aboard the Starshiop Enterprise badly miscalculated the jaunt from Ipswich to Shotley, and allowed about 20 minutes including lock out and lock in.
Artemis Neville and I waited as long as we could aboard Full Circle, and drank sloooowly for as long as wwe could. It reached about 8pm with no D3B, who was having trouble with Mr Sulu and the passage plan. We climbed Shotley control tower and phoned D3B.Nothing, it obviously doesn't work in the time transporter. We did get hold of Wherry, and we saw them idling up past Felixstowe, expected arrival about 15 minutes.
So down to the Shipwreck, and the lovely Restaurant staff. Table for 4? Certainly Sir. Knockout, what time do you stop serving? 2045 Sir.
Ring Ring, Ring Ring. Is that the Starship Enterprise? Get a wiggle on, they are going to stop serving.
D3B increased fuel burn to 4 litres an hour, and came into the Shipwreck panting and puffing just after 9 with Wherry at his side.. Can they still serve us? Yes, oh good.
A good evening passed and I picked up the collective tab, and we retired to Full Circle for a night cap, and practiced Fluid Dynamics, and Balking Tollocks, also considered a subset of Random Pattern Theory.
So, back to another twist of Logistics. SimpleSimon, also a sometime volunteer, had been unable to make it, and so was scrubbed from the Crew list. The considweration then, was that, due to Weather (more Random Pattern Theiory) taking Still Dunno down the Wallet wind over tide would be tricky, and we all wanted to stay on Full Circle fror the trip. So that meant leaving Still Dunno in Shotley until Sunday, whereas the Plan had previously meant taking Wherry and D3B back to Ipswich on Sunday.
So now we have one car in Shotley (mine), 2 cars in Ipswich (Wherry and D3B) and no return to base plan.
I cookd breakfast out by the Naze on Saturday, but, wouldn't you know it , Planck's Constant law of Inappropriate Wind Directions chimed in right on cue in thwe Wallet. We got a bit bashed up going down the Wallet, and were within a mile of Mersea Quarters when Artemis looked wistfully at Bradwell Power Station and went quite emotional about the warming glow of the Green Man foreside, and a step off pontton, rather than the dinghy ride West Mersea promised. A quick round of Scissors Paper Stone, and Bradwell it is.
As we had landed at Bradwell, Mrs Artemis came back into play, as she came for the evening, (and of course stayed the night), so a good meal and more fluid dynamics at the Green Man, and the Saloon Bar of Full Circle.
Random Pattern Theory steps back in to ensure that gallantly, I gave up my forecabin for the Artemii, and so to sleep.
Artemis and Mrs Artemis, to prevent overcrowding in the Matiz later, left Bradwell in her car for home on Sunday morning, also not part of the plan.
So, we puttered round in poor vis and a lovely rising spring to Burnham, and squeezed over Ray Sand a little after 1/2 tide, and got to Burnham. Sadly, they had removed the tails from my mooring, so we made (another) change of plan, and went to Bridgmarsh Island which is my winter berth, I just arrived 2 weeks early.
Mrs Full Circle, having slaved over hot patients all day, arrived to collect us, and we got 4 of us plus kit into the tiny Matiz, and set off for... Ipswich. Wherry, heretofore quiet on the subject, has arranged a quiz night in the Hebrides or somewhere not Ipswich anyway, and so needs dropping off at Ipswich, and not Shotley, where he would have made able crew to Still Dunno to return it from Shotley bacjk to Ipswich. So we dropped off WHerry, and then drove to Shotley, where Mrs FC headed home.
D3b and I got Still Dunno locked out and whizzed back down the river at night, and arrived in Ipswich. We didnt know but we follwed HMS Raider back up river. Both boats were being slightly naughty. Nuff said.
So then D3B drove me from Ipswich back to Shotley again, and I drove home.
Its absolutely dizzying this boating lark.
It would be inapproriate to mention who wanted to take whom home on Friday Night. Eh Doug?
You can book Artemis for laconic comedy functions.
Wherry is all round top bloke.
SimpleSimon and spottydog, you missed a cracking weekend.
Thanks to all, I love this forum.
Astonishingly, this takes a lot of organising, and appears to involve fluid dynamics, coupled with random pattern theory.
So, I put up a post requesting crew. Thats easy. Crikey, I even got moree replioes than I needed, even in (or perhaps because of) November.
1st curved ball was actually a nursing team down in Brentwood who are all sub optimal healthwise. They have a quota of sick to get through, and so assiduaously applied their apparent right to go sick this very weekend. That put SWMBO in the unfortunate position of having to work this weekend, instead of boat recovery. (random pattern upside: More dosh for the Christmas pay packet).
So, a bit of replanning required then, already.
First up on the crew volunteer list is Artemis, who, fortunately, is a Gentleman of Leisure, and able to be flexible in his pursuit thereof. Originally, we had planned for his good lady to drop him off at his boat, so he could monkey about doing boatfixing until I would swoop by Fambridge to collect him on the way to Burnham to leave my car there.
As Lynn got forced onto a late Friday shift, I moved this arrangement, and arranged to collect Artemis from his Mansion, after having left work at 2pm on Friday, and scuttled off to the Supermarket for an approximation of breakfast, lunch snacks, and more beer. Quick whiz home, round up a weekend bag, change into sailing rags. That done, and waved Bye bye to Mrs Artemis. She didn't fancy coming to the main Social Evening break planned in West Mersea (more of which later), and so organised her weekend around credit cards and shopping.
I had already also secured the services of D3B, who had the wizard wheeze of bringing his Raider along for the weekend and return to ipswich in it on Sunday morning from West Mersea. So far so good.
We agreed that D3B would turn up at Shotley in the Raider, and pass an affable evening in the Bristol Arms, with a bit of nosebag, and a trough of ale.
The next thread in the web is Wherry, who also volunteered for a bit of larking, and who also keeps is dugout canoe in Ipswich, fair close to Still Dunno. Fortunately, these 2 had met by accident in the Ipswich Haven bar sometime previously, so no one had to wear a pink carnation, or carry a rolled up copy of Sailing Today for recognition. Wheery turned up, and they set off for Shotley. D3B, imagining himself to be aboard the Starshiop Enterprise badly miscalculated the jaunt from Ipswich to Shotley, and allowed about 20 minutes including lock out and lock in.
Artemis Neville and I waited as long as we could aboard Full Circle, and drank sloooowly for as long as wwe could. It reached about 8pm with no D3B, who was having trouble with Mr Sulu and the passage plan. We climbed Shotley control tower and phoned D3B.Nothing, it obviously doesn't work in the time transporter. We did get hold of Wherry, and we saw them idling up past Felixstowe, expected arrival about 15 minutes.
So down to the Shipwreck, and the lovely Restaurant staff. Table for 4? Certainly Sir. Knockout, what time do you stop serving? 2045 Sir.
Ring Ring, Ring Ring. Is that the Starship Enterprise? Get a wiggle on, they are going to stop serving.
D3B increased fuel burn to 4 litres an hour, and came into the Shipwreck panting and puffing just after 9 with Wherry at his side.. Can they still serve us? Yes, oh good.
A good evening passed and I picked up the collective tab, and we retired to Full Circle for a night cap, and practiced Fluid Dynamics, and Balking Tollocks, also considered a subset of Random Pattern Theory.
So, back to another twist of Logistics. SimpleSimon, also a sometime volunteer, had been unable to make it, and so was scrubbed from the Crew list. The considweration then, was that, due to Weather (more Random Pattern Theiory) taking Still Dunno down the Wallet wind over tide would be tricky, and we all wanted to stay on Full Circle fror the trip. So that meant leaving Still Dunno in Shotley until Sunday, whereas the Plan had previously meant taking Wherry and D3B back to Ipswich on Sunday.
So now we have one car in Shotley (mine), 2 cars in Ipswich (Wherry and D3B) and no return to base plan.
I cookd breakfast out by the Naze on Saturday, but, wouldn't you know it , Planck's Constant law of Inappropriate Wind Directions chimed in right on cue in thwe Wallet. We got a bit bashed up going down the Wallet, and were within a mile of Mersea Quarters when Artemis looked wistfully at Bradwell Power Station and went quite emotional about the warming glow of the Green Man foreside, and a step off pontton, rather than the dinghy ride West Mersea promised. A quick round of Scissors Paper Stone, and Bradwell it is.
As we had landed at Bradwell, Mrs Artemis came back into play, as she came for the evening, (and of course stayed the night), so a good meal and more fluid dynamics at the Green Man, and the Saloon Bar of Full Circle.
Random Pattern Theory steps back in to ensure that gallantly, I gave up my forecabin for the Artemii, and so to sleep.
Artemis and Mrs Artemis, to prevent overcrowding in the Matiz later, left Bradwell in her car for home on Sunday morning, also not part of the plan.
So, we puttered round in poor vis and a lovely rising spring to Burnham, and squeezed over Ray Sand a little after 1/2 tide, and got to Burnham. Sadly, they had removed the tails from my mooring, so we made (another) change of plan, and went to Bridgmarsh Island which is my winter berth, I just arrived 2 weeks early.
Mrs Full Circle, having slaved over hot patients all day, arrived to collect us, and we got 4 of us plus kit into the tiny Matiz, and set off for... Ipswich. Wherry, heretofore quiet on the subject, has arranged a quiz night in the Hebrides or somewhere not Ipswich anyway, and so needs dropping off at Ipswich, and not Shotley, where he would have made able crew to Still Dunno to return it from Shotley bacjk to Ipswich. So we dropped off WHerry, and then drove to Shotley, where Mrs FC headed home.
D3b and I got Still Dunno locked out and whizzed back down the river at night, and arrived in Ipswich. We didnt know but we follwed HMS Raider back up river. Both boats were being slightly naughty. Nuff said.
So then D3B drove me from Ipswich back to Shotley again, and I drove home.
Its absolutely dizzying this boating lark.
It would be inapproriate to mention who wanted to take whom home on Friday Night. Eh Doug?
You can book Artemis for laconic comedy functions.
Wherry is all round top bloke.
SimpleSimon and spottydog, you missed a cracking weekend.
Thanks to all, I love this forum.
