S.O.I.A. Anglia Group newsletter - September 2005

Wotcha,

Well, lots of water has gone under the hull since I last wrote, so no shortage of adventures to recount. The most recent was the Silhouette cruise on the Broads, still fresh in the memory. Boats were already beginning to leave home when, the weekend before, Brian and I screeched round slipways, pubs and loos looking for a new venue to launch, preferably on the RiverYare between Norwich and Yarmouth. We settled on Reedham Ferry, which had all the pre-requisites including economy, plus Chinese geese and a rip-roaring tidal flow for extras! (Silhouetters like a challenge.) Another extra which we hadn’t anticipated was that at spring tides the water would come right up over the staging, carpark and slipway. (They do like a challenge, they really do.)

During launching, several things got wet that didn’t really ought to, as well as the car-park etc. One thing was Dave Milner’s outboard, which went for an unscheduled swim. Dave also went for an unscheduled swim, in his usual heroic manner. Persistence paid; the motor was running again by dusk. Another drowning was our mobile phone, which was attached to Brian’s belt to alert him of the birth of his imminent first grandchild. Unfortunately the dunking came before the news.

Eleven Silhouettes arrived at Reedham, although only ten got launched, due to one finding the lousy weather on Thursday night just too much. I was crafty, arriving on Friday with the better, albeit very breezy, weather. Those on the water went for a well-reefed shakedown in the afternoon, an hour or two upwind and uptide, getting very familiar with certain patches of bank, and about ten minutes back. The Reedham Ferry Inn provided some heartening food on Friday evening, and Saturday provided sunshine. The north-westerly that came with it wasn’t quite what we wanted, as we were heading north-west, but thanks to the twisting river and the tide we progressed well, having our best sailing of the weekend, and reached our attractive lunchtime destination of Rockland Broad. Beer consumed there seemed to dampen the wind, so we motored on to our night’s mooring at Bramerton, just a couple of miles short of Norwich but feeling like deep country. Again it was peaceful and pretty, the Woods End pub was hospitable, and the food good.

The next morning, people left depending on the urgency of getting home. Deric and Billy in Emma Two left at some unmentionable hour to catch the ebb and be home in time for a hot date. They were low on fuel but bought some en route from a fisherman! Graham and Tanya in Olivia G were also quick off the mark, with a long journey home to Lancashire. It was a quiet, fine morning, and most motored home. Brian and I sailed when we could, and had a fine display from a kingfisher, including hovering and diving for a fish. Needless to say we were last back, apart from Polly, who diverted to Loddon.

The usual efficient retrieval took place, and one by one, Silhouettes rolled away up the lane, or in one or two cases across the chain ferry, leaving the empty, muddy car-park to the Chinese geese.

Boats present: SII Polly, SII Sea Urchin, SII Joanna, SII Sula, SIII Blessim, SIII Omebac, SIII Golden Moon, SIII Emma Too, SIII Olivia G, SIII Jemima, SIV Xanthe, SV Allegro, SIII Black Orchid (briefly)

NEW FACES…  It was good to meet some new Silhouette owners who sought us out at Reedham. One of them, Ian Anderson from Cromer, had a gusty spin with Bob Legg in Omebac – baptism by fire! He is a member of the Sheringham Shantymen, so maybe our rallies could be musically enlivened in future!

Avocet’s Scottish Cruise  didn’t go according to plan, but sailing plans are made to be changed so we weren’t surprised! Once again we had continuous north-westerleys, and quite strong at that. After a wobbly start, we had a pleasant time along the Dumphries and Galloway coast, but once round the ‘corner’ of the Mull of Galloway we were exposed to the NWs again, so bounced across the Irish Sea to Bangor, Northern Ireland. Again on a sheltered coast we headed north up the beautiful Antrim coast, spending a couple of wet, windy, but interesting days on Rathlin Island.

From there we went north to Port Ellen, Islay, our first calm, blue, clothes-drying, shorts-wearing day. We saw dolphins, and a large black floppy fin, probably a killer whale. We got our bikes out on Islay and visited the Ardbeg distillery, a warming experience!

By now a very deep Atlantic depression was heading our way, so instead of heading back to the Mull of Kintyre (it was time to head for home) we carried on north in lovely weather, visited our friends on Luing, then dived into the Crinan canal to shelter from the approaching storm, along with lots of other sailors.  We had a jolly time in there, socializing with other crews, while hearing about mountainous seas and force elevens in exposed waters.

With more depressions following hard on the heels of the first, we sailed down the Clyde estuary, calling at Tarbert Loch Fyne before leaving sheltered waters. We blew into Troon, still in company with others trying to head south; the forecast continued gloomy and I was out of time. I trained it home, reluctantly leaving Brian to bring Avocet back to Lancashire alone. A couple of days later the weather relented, and although his first couple of days were still ‘lively’, he had an excellent sail down to the Isle of Man, getting a quick taste of the Classic TT rally, before getting a fair wind for home. Needless to say he enjoyed himself, while I ground my teeth at home – or should I say at work. As for the Outer Hebrides – maybe next year….

Ps. In a corner of the boatyard alongside Troon marina we found a lonely and unloved fin-keeled  Silhouette SIII, named Peridot.

Brian’s Bit…  A kind crew made Elizabeth a coffee in the Crinan Canal in the rain. (She was working the locks.) I handed the cup back across the gap between the boats on the end of the boathook. “Aha”, said the crew, “We’ve got one of those. I always wondered what it was for.”

IMPORTANT DATES…..

Impromptu cruise – we may try and fit one in if we get a good weekend this month.

Christmas meal – how about 14^th January?

Essex Boat Jumble – Sunday 20 February, North Weald Airfield.

Spring cruise – We will plan this around May Day bank holiday, roughly 28 April – 1 May.

THE NEXT MEETING will be 8^th October at the Orwell Yacht Club, Wherstead Road, Ipswich.

Last Gasp

It was a grand-daughter, Katie!

Best Wishes

Elizabeth Letzer, Sept/Oct 05