Master_under_Dog
Well-Known Member
Apologies if this is boring to the old hands but I had a great sail yesterday. Everything new that I do brings its challenges and I have been nervous about sailing through the moorings at Fambridge. But yesterday the wind was perfect for a reach both ways through them, the tide was ideal to carry me up to a full tide at Brandy Hole so I set off in light fluky southerly winds to see how far upstream I could get. Jessie only draws 1.3 metres with her keel down so it wasn't that great an adventure perhaps, but it was certainly an exploration.
Of course there was much more room at Fambridge than appeared to be the case when I have looked at the moorings from downstream on previous forays and I glided through them enjoying looking at all the different craft. Then on up towards Brandy Hole. Talk about relaxing sailing. Spoke to a guy in a canoe who had moored to a platform and was reading his paper in the morning sunshine. We agreed it beat working!
Brandy Hole moorings seemed quite congested but I was more confident in Jessie's ability to weave through them so on we went into the Broads-like confines of the Hullbridge reach. Then, when there seemed more moored boats than water we turned for home. I noted that we had reached the low water, no water, point although at high tide there was still three or four metres below our hull.
I then enjoyed a beat back down the river, fortunately on a close reach through the Fambridge moorings, choosing a lane which was not dominated by a motoring yacht coming the other way and which showed no signs of giving way, and so back to Burnham. Glorious sunshine all the way and perfect winds. Peace, except for the twassocks towards whom I felt no animosity in my Crouch-induced benign mood, lots of birds, some in bikinis, and genial fellow sailors who waved and called "hello".
Just wanted to share this with you. It may perhaps remind some of you why you prefer the east coast rivers.
Of course there was much more room at Fambridge than appeared to be the case when I have looked at the moorings from downstream on previous forays and I glided through them enjoying looking at all the different craft. Then on up towards Brandy Hole. Talk about relaxing sailing. Spoke to a guy in a canoe who had moored to a platform and was reading his paper in the morning sunshine. We agreed it beat working!
Brandy Hole moorings seemed quite congested but I was more confident in Jessie's ability to weave through them so on we went into the Broads-like confines of the Hullbridge reach. Then, when there seemed more moored boats than water we turned for home. I noted that we had reached the low water, no water, point although at high tide there was still three or four metres below our hull.
I then enjoyed a beat back down the river, fortunately on a close reach through the Fambridge moorings, choosing a lane which was not dominated by a motoring yacht coming the other way and which showed no signs of giving way, and so back to Burnham. Glorious sunshine all the way and perfect winds. Peace, except for the twassocks towards whom I felt no animosity in my Crouch-induced benign mood, lots of birds, some in bikinis, and genial fellow sailors who waved and called "hello".
Just wanted to share this with you. It may perhaps remind some of you why you prefer the east coast rivers.
