Wednesday 1 June 2016

Storm in Shotley

The Glorious First of June refers to a long forgotten naval battle and not today's weather.  It was almost as stormy today as on the last couple of days but we decided it was time to be on the move. 
We left Brightlingsea at 7am with a strong northerly wind and occasional rain squalls.  We kept as close to the Essex shore as we could, for as long as we could, to get some shelter, as shown by Bonita's AIS track so far. 
Even so we had quite a lot of rough water before reaching Harwich harbour...

There were very few yachts out. In Harwich we locked into the safety of Shotley Marina.  Bonita once again drew attention to herself by her inability to manoeuvre under power in a strong crosswind; but eventually, with the help of Geoff's crew, we were securely tied up.

The picture below shows a 60 foot long RAF rescue launch that has been lifted ashore at Shotley.  She was built in 1956, the same year as Geoff's Calismarde and was at one time stationed with the British forces in Aden. More details here.  
1380 was obviously built to the highest standard, and is constructed of double diagonal mahogany planking.  Sadly she does not seem to have had the same care and attention as Calismarde over the years and restoration now will be a major challenge.

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