Strong wind videos

 Attached are a couple of videos Tim took on the downwind run from Inverness to Rattray Head. I wasnt able to attach them to the blog while on the cruise due to either problems with the mobile phone, or poor internet access.

Trying to take videos in heavy weather can be difficult due to the risk of getting the phone wet. In the first video, taken astern, we are running with mainsail furled under just mizzen and headsails.

In the second video, taken looking ahead, we have a much reefed mainsail. Wind strength about F7.

Back on the Swale

We had a marvellous time at the OGA60 Jubilee party, and the East Coast summer cruise is continuing down to Chatham over the next few days. Its clear the OGA is in robust good health on the East Coast. However after more than 3 months away D and I thought it time to go home to catch up with the real world. So we left Levington at around 6.30am.

We had a westerly wind about force 4. In the Wallet, off Clacton we passed Geoff and Jane in Calismarde. They are having a few days holiday in the Essex and Suffolk rivers.

This is Geoffs picture of Bonita homeward bound.

And this is Calismarde heading out on holiday.

We made good progress and arrived at our mooring on the Swale at about 4.20, high water. Our mooring buoy was covered with weed after being unused in the water for so long.

And so ends Bonitas second circumnavigation of the UK. We have had our share of difficult weather, but we very much enjoyed going round with the Old Gaffers, got to know some very remarkable sailors and visited many places we might otherwise never have seen.

The boat has stood up to the wear and tear fairly well. There are a couple of new(ish) deck leaks revealed by the torrential rain, and a full list of jobs to be done in the winter. It's easy to feel a bit of a sense of anticlimax finishing a cruise such as this, and often one of the better days of a sailing holiday is the day you go back home to a bath and a warm dry bed. However we have plenty to do both ashore and afloat, and next year to plan for.

OGA 60 Jubilee

Today was race day: the day of the annual East Coast race which forms part of this year's OGA 60 Jubilee. We woke to strong winds- gusting up to 40 knots. The race Committee decided on a race in sheltered waters, in the rivers Orwell and Stour. I thought it best not to take Bonita out, but instead crewed on Susan J with Dave, Julie and Sarah.

Everyone had lots of reefs in and all the boats were very lively. Some withdrew at an early stage. I was steering the boat. We had difficulty furling the jib which took a while to sort out and did not make a good start- we were 20 minutes late over the start line. Once we got going  though we had a good sail and passed several boats.

It was a handicap race so the outcome was hard to predict. However at the prize-giving that evening we found that we had come around 15th out of 20 who finished the race. 

The picture shows Susan J under reduced canvas. Dave got a shiny trophy to put on display, polish regularly and return next year.

After the prize-giving there was a hog roast,  music and dancing and general festivity.

Levington

We left Ipswich at about midday for a Parade of Sail down the river Orwell. D and I had Des from the NE OGA helping out. We left the wet dock at high tide when there was a steady stream of boats through the open lock gates on 'free flow'.

The sight of dozens of gaff rigged boats spread right across the river and progressing at a stately pace made a fine sight, though perhaps not fully appreciated by the skipper of the cargo ship coming up towards Ipswich and repeatedly sounding his horn.

However this peaceful scene was soon disrupted by a torrential rain storm. At times the rain was so heavy it reduced visibility at times to a few yards so we could see hardly any of the other boats or anything else on the river. The Parade of Sail became rather less orderly as a result.

 Eventually the rain became intermittent rather than continuous and we entered Levington marina where the Gaffers are based for the next couple of days to celebrate to OGA Diamond Jubilee. We have been joined for this by Tim and Elaine, Sian and Ant. There was evening entertainment until late at night. On Saturday there was again strong wind and a great deal of rain. None of the cruising boats felt the need to go out for a sail. Instead we drove to Sutton Hoo to see the site of the seventh century ship excavation where the Anglo-Saxon treasure hoard was discovered in 1938. Like so many others, we found the contrast between the peaceful rural landscape today, and the rich and colorful history of this spot very striking. The wooden structure of the ship rotted away long ago. The key point in her discovery was when the first investigator, Basil Brown recognised a rusty iron rivet for what it was and its significance.

 We then went to Woodbridge where a replica of the Sutton Hoo ship is being built. The build is informed by a great deal of historical research, and she is being built of the same materials and with the same sort of tools as the original.

It will take another 2 years or so to finish and is about half built.The black frames are temporary supports: the hull is being built of oak fastened like the original with wrought iron rivets. It will be fascinating to see her afloat when she is finished: 88 ft long, weighing around 6 tons and propelled by 40 oarsmen. Seeing the scale of the work, and some of the ironwork and jewellery on display at Sutton Hoo gives an impression of the sophistication, wealth and stability of Anglo-Saxon society at that time.

Ipswich

We woke the next morning to strong wind, rain and mist with poor visibility. We were glad to be on a mooring in a sheltered river rather than out in the open. We motored the few miles up the Orwell to Ipswich, and locked into the Ipswich Wet Dock, which was once one of the largest docks in the country, but is now given over almost entirely to yachts. We are here for the OGA Dimond Jubilee celebrations held over the next few days.

A large area of the marina has been cleared so the Gaffers are together as far as possible, and boats have been arriving all day with late arrivals being squeezed in.

River Orwell

D and I have been waiting for several days for weather suitable to our trip down to the Orwell, and today it looked as good as it was likely to get for a while. Tomorrow is forecast to be worse. So we left Lowestoft in company with Lahloo, Susan J, Moon River and Indian Runner at about 5.45am. We had a wind a bit south of west mostly around force 6. We had hoped for a slightly better wind but we were close hauled all day. The wind came with a very lumpy sea that washed the decks thoroughly and did its best to slow the boat down. The tide took us down nearly as far as Harwich, and a bit of tedious motorsailing into the wind got us into the river. We eventually picked up a mooring near Pin Mill.

As always the Orwell is a lovely river, peaceful with wooded banks once you are past the hustle and bustle of the container port at Felixstowe. We saw several gaffers and other classic boats.

The picture shows the Swedish built motor yacht Lilian, seen heading up towards Ipswich today after being at the Swale race last weekend. She was built of steel in 1916, is in marvellous condition  and usually kept on the Thames at Richmond.