Saturday, 20 July 2013

Stour and Orwell

We arrived in Harwich Haven on Wednesday evening and parked remarkably successfully in a very tight spot on Ha'penny Pier. We relocated to a more generous berth in the morning.
We had a look around Old Harwich in the morning, which surprised and impressed the crew with its history and charm. Then we set off up river, in a fairly stiff breeze to practise tacking and gybing. When we had got good at that we went further and anchored at Wrabness for afternoon tea.
We went to Shotley Marina in the evening, had salmon for dinner and visited "The Shipwreck".
On Friday we had a leisurely start before locking out and sailing out of Harwich Haven into the open sea. We had intended to do some man overboard drills, but had second thoughts when a fog bank appeared, obscuring anything beyond Dovercourt. We then had third thoughts when it disappeared. The crew very successfully retrieved the traditional casualty (a fender tied to a coil of rope) on the first pass each time. We then had a lost dinghy situation: Caley Toucan of Inverness was rescued just as efficiently. We did some heaving to, before having a beautiful sail back into the Haven and up the Orwell to Woolverstone.
We enjoyed a meal out on the terrace at Buttermans before walking to the Butt and Oyster. This met with the crew's approval. We then returned in the dark along the riverside path to Woolverstone.


Toucando on Ha'penny Pier at Harwich


Street scene in Harwich


Approaching Wrabness (picture courtesy of SY Bonify


At Shotley with Harwich in the distance


Lovely sailing on the Orwell


The crew enjoying a pre-dinner drink


Approaching the Butt and Oyster


Dusk at the Butt and Oyster

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Location:United Kingdom

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