S.O.I.A. Anglia Group newsletter – June 2006

Greetings from North Norfolk. What a long time since I last wrote. No excuses but lots of reasons! Some of you will still be wondering about our spring meeting, and now there is Rutland Water to tell you about, as well as Silhouettes abroad in Holland.

Way back on the spring bank holiday we launched our boats, six in all, at Levington, and it was very cold – hard to believe just now! I went to great lengths to prepare myself a hot-water bottle (involved finding the cooker, water, kettle and matches, as well as the hot-water bottle) only to have it spring a leak in my sleeping bag. After a bit of useless fretting I put my pillow over the damp patch and went to sleep with all available clothes and coats on top. I was not a little envious of the beautiful little charcoal stove on Polly, designed and built by Dave Milner as his winter project!

The next day, tides (HW at lunchtime) and wind direction (north-westerly) suggested a trip up to Manningtree, and we had a fine sail, getting nearly all the way up the Stour on one board. The Stour Sailing Club was very hospitable, supplying us with beer and lending us their galley, where we could eat our chips and brew up. The local ironmonger was able to produce a replacement hot water bottle, so I was happy!

As the tide retreated we left with it, and had another good sail back to Halfpenny Quay. This was meant to be a temporary stop while waiting for the tide round to the Walton Backwaters, but once alongside folk were too weary to move on (and Dave’s stove was lit), so we stayed the night!

The next morning, after much frying bacon smells and suchlike, we set off for Walton, beating out of Harwich on the start of the flood, then carrying it down to the Backwaters. Conditions were sunny, but with a chilly north-easterly. Once there, we picked up moorings in Kirby Creek to await enough water to get us up to the Walton and Frinton Yacht Club for lunch. When there was (sort of) sufficient water we crossed the Wade, touching here and there. SIIs were OK, but a couple of SIIIs opted for the deep-water route via Hamford Water. We all ended up in the right place, where we received another good welcome.

We left with the tide, and amazingly the wind, that had migrated round to the south-east. How often does that happen?? We sailed back to Harwich, then punched the tide up to Pin Mill for the night, as strong south-westerleys and rain were forecast. There were plenty of moorings free at that time of year so we formed a cluster close to the concrete slip. Unfortunately the spring low meant a good stretch of soft mud below the slip, making shore-going a bit too much effort for us after a long day’s sailing. With no conferring, the fleet fed itself and turned in early!

In the night it blew and rained. We were well sheltered from the wind, but obviously not the rain! Consequently the early night was followed by a lie-in, until the rain stopped mid-morning, and heads started to appear. The rest of the fleet headed back to Levington to haul out, while Brian and I had a last sail up to Ipswich and back. The sun was back, there was plenty of wind, and it was a lot warmer! All in all the weather provide excellent sailing and engines were hardly used, even if hot-water-bottles were.

Brian and I were sailing in Isis, the fibreglass SII we recently purchased from the Orroms, as a boat we can leave on our North Norfolk mooring if we wish. We were very pleased with the nifty way she went. Also present were the Orroms in Xanthe, Dave Milner in cosy Polly, Tony Eden in Blessim, Colin Campbell in Sea Urchin, and Bob and Marion Legg on Omebac. Missed were Golden Moon and Mike Atkins as he was recovering from his brush with the NHS. Glad to say he was able to join us in the Levington Lightship on Friday evening.

International Paints Trophy Meeting, Rutland Water, June 9-11.

The weather was the star of the weekend, as the sun shone hotly and the wind blew hard for the racing, and soft for the picnic.The turn-out was good – ten boats got all the way there and one got half the way there before its trailer decided to shed a wheel. Sadly that was the Orroms, and we missed them.

On Friday the barbecue was held on the grass near the west pontoons, with lots of delicious food courtesy of Mary Noble (Rhubarb crumble to die for.)

On Saturday Charlie Bissaker set three interesting courses, two shorter ones in the morning, and a longer, 7.5 mile course in the afternoon. The wind got up during the first, and up and up and up during the next two. We were hanging on for dear life in winds which one would normally reef for, and most boats shipped water over the cockpit coamings during the gusts. It remained warm and sunny throughout and was excellent fun, and I’m pleased to report that the Anglia Group recaptured the trophy. Brian and I did find we were pretty stiff and bruised when we tried to get out of our bunks the next morning, but no complaints!

On Sunday only half the fleet made it to Barnsdale Creek, but it was a gentle, relaxing and enjoyable affair, with great company.

A couple of days later, several of the boats were catching the ferry for Holland, so hopefully that will make for some interesting reading when someone writes it up…

And what next? Why, it’s the BRIGHTLINGSEA RALLY! July 14 –16.

We are thinking of not necessarily going to Brightlingsea this year; we can then keep our options open and be creative!

High Water Harwich on Friday is 1500 BST, about half an hour later at Tollesbury. That might not suit the workers of the world (me…) so later launching could be done at Brightlingsea. What we really need to know is when people are likely to arrive, then we can plan and coordinate. Last year we were mostly on the water on Thursday, and had a brilliant time, including in our itinerary Pyefleet, Maldon, Osea Island (on foot), Wivenhoe Regatta, Rowhedge and finally Brightlingsea.

MEDWAY MEET.

Folks are thinking of sailing on the Medway in August, now the Plymouth Rally has moved to July. Brian and I will be on the High Sea, so contact Howard Orrom for more information. Here is the result of his research so far:

We’ve been offered the use of a slip at Hoo Ness Yacht Club for a weekend sail. Plenty of room for cars and trailers in a locked foreshore area and they’ll give me a key Friday lunchtime to be returned by 5pm Sunday. 

The slip, which has a good length of staging for tying up, gives access to the Hoo Marina entrance – there’s a sill crossable a couple of hours either side of high water.

We could go round the Swale to Harty Ferry or Faversham/Oare Creek (both need dinghys to get ashore) or overnight in Stangate Creek (after pub meal at Queenborough – there’s a charge for mooring there) or go up-river at least as far as Rochester Bridge – plenty of possibilities. 

Cost for Hoo Ness – a donation to the RNLI.

I’ll need to confirm date and approx. numbers. (I’ve said half a dozen likely). Looking at the tides in August, Sunday 13^th and Sunday 27^th both have early afternoon HWs for retrieval.

More information about the Medway area comes from vintage member Bob Dyer:

This is to let you know that I have forsaken East Anglia and taken up with the Solent people. At 73, I guess I don't have too many years left sailing, certainly not sailing solo, as I generally do, so I thought I should like to see something of the south coast, and make my journey to the coast from near Oxford, rather easier.

Thanks to the dear old Silhouette Association I have been introduced to Locks Sailing club which looks out over the south west corner of Langston Harbour. Both Bev Summers and Clive Cummings belong and keep their boats at Locks. The rather odd name derives from the remains nearby of locks built in the early 19th century as part of a would-be canal route from Portsmoth Harbour to London. Aliand is now afloat or at this moment sitting on the mud a mere hour and a half away, instead of the two to three hour experience the M25 used to offer.

So in the short term at least my parting greetings to the Anglia Group. I enjoyed what limited scope I had to join in its activities and regularly savoured the literary output of its excellent Secretary.

May I offer a suggestion based on my own experience last summer? That is to seriously consider making the trip to the Chatham Historical Dockyard. From my perspective a very interesting place, with several preserved warships from a Victorian gun boat to a modern sub and a wartime destroyer -all of which you can go aboard. Their building of wooden warships is well portrayed through a series of linked exhibits based on the actual diary of an apprentice to the dockyard who started there in 1759. There is also a very good and well presented RNLI exhibition, with space for a large number of craft from the early 19th century onwards.

I put up at the Gillingham Marina, which was very satisfactory and not dear, but is best part of two miles across the root of a substantial bend of the Medway. Once there, I found there are visitor moorings on a pontoon, adjacent to the Dockyard, though with what facilities I didn't enquire. Immediately down stream from it is the Chatham Maritime Marina which I didn't explore at all. It suited me to be further down-stream however because, to make the return passage to Bradwell, I needed to leave Gillingham with two hours of the incoming flood tide to push through.

The run from the Blackwater to the Medway is better done direct. On the way south I used the Rays'n Channel and anchored just into the Roach. But then you have quite ten miles to do NE before you get round the Whittaker and can turn south.

I found a very adequate location for an overnight stop not far into the Medway in Sharfleet Creek a branch off Stansgate Creek, just above Queenborough.

Features of the trip including seeing the notorious Richard Montgomery wreck, with part of the superstructure still above water level near high tide, the interest of crossing some quite busy commercial routes in the Thames estuary, at last seeing the Isle of Grain power station whose chimney is visible certainly from the Blackwater -and then I think two more coal-fired power stations up the Medway, with substantial vessels delivering coal.

Regards to all.

The Broads Meeting, 22 – 24 September. No venue decided as yet.

As for our adventures on Avocet, Brian has been in Lancashire redecking the old girl, and putting in a new mast support. He reckons another week’s visit should see the job done – he plans to sheathe the deck this time.

I will include a first installment of last year’s log with this letter.

That’s it folks. Happy sailing!

Elizabeth Letzer, June 06.