Breaking rules

[CliveG]

This afternoon I broke three of my own rules for dealing with the Deben Bar.

1. Avoid the bar on the ebb.
2. Avoid the bar on the ebb in on-shore winds.
4. Avoid the bar with less than 2m rise of tide.

Coming back from the Laying Down Supper to stick with the rules we would not be able to get over the bar until dusk at the best.

We left Brightlingsea at high water and shot up the Wallet at about 7knts ground speed.
As we were getting along well and calculations indicated that there should be enough water over the bar when we could get there we decided to have a look at things from seaward.
About 1.2m above chart datum.
I was reasonably sure that there is a minimum of 0.6m depth at chart datum.

The wind was a lot less that forecast but still 15knts southerly.
It did not look too bad so we lifted the keel and the rudder the leave her with about 600mm draft and went for it.
The waves leading up the bar where a bit bigger than they seemed.
We surfed a bit keeping nearly on the line of the red and green buoys.
It was a bit heart in the mouth for a few minutes.
The bar was further in than I thought it was.
The minimum depth we saw was 1.8m

Although it went well I don't think I will be bending the rules again any time soon!

 

[Santana379]

We left Brightlingsea at high water and shot up the Wallet at about 7knts ground speed.

Clive, you can say that again. We were the boat ahead of you that turned round the Naze towards the Orwell. I was crewing "Windrush", a really nice and well sorted Barbican 30, (the hull A.K.A a Halmatic 30). I couldn't believe the speed you were making as you overhauled us in not that much wind.

Very good to see you and other forum members yesterday evening, though I'm b$gg&%&d if I can fold a piece of A4 paper into a coot! How come Neil can do everything so well?

 

[sailorman]

Clive, you can say that again. We were the boat ahead of you that turned round the Naze towards the Orwell. I was crewing "Windrush", a really nice and well sorted Barbican 30, (the hull A.K.A a Halmatic 30). I couldn't believe the speed you were making as you overhauled us in not that much wind.

Very good to see you and other forum members yesterday evening, though I'm b$gg&%&d if I can fold a piece of A4 paper into a coot! How come Neil can do everything so well?

 

[Santana379]

Thanks - good pic - have sent it to Allan, the owner.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

How come Neil can do everything so well?

if you'd heard my guitar playing at 01h00, you'd review that statement.....

 

[sailorman]

Thanks - good pic - have sent it to Allan, the owner.

http://www.yourboatpix.co.uk/browseText.php

 

[CliveG]

We were the boat ahead of you that turned round the Naze towards the Orwell. I was crewing "Windrush", a really nice and well sorted Barbican 30, (the hull A.K.A a Halmatic 30). I couldn't believe the speed you were making as you overhauled us in not that much wind.

By the time we passed you we were motorsailing as we had realised the chance of getting over the bar as my OP.
That was about the best I have seen the Wallet.
We did Clacton pier to Walton Pier 5.9 miles in 52mins.

 

[Santana379]

By the time we passed you we were motorsailing

Phew!!! You didn't mention the iron topsail in your first post!

I really thought we were getting it wrong, because no matter what we did to the sail trim Sirenia kept gaining on us inexorably - rather like the posse in Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. As you were going to draw level I asked to be relieved of the helm so that you wouldn't be able to gloat at roaring past me! We had totally rationalised the speed differential in the sub hull speed wind in terms of weight differential, hull form, wetted area etc. etc.

Now if you'd hoisted a motoring cone in the fore part of Sirenia as well as a genoa, we might not have been so easily fooled and put ourselves through such deep self-chastisement. I knew there had to be a good reason for carrying a cone.

 

[CliveG]

I could say that the cone was hoisted in the fore part of the ship but you could not see it as it was hidden behind the genoa.
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I could say that but it would be not quite true

Sorry to cause you such deep self-chastisement.