Ipswich

With the NW wind threatening to blow strongly straight down the river on Tuesday, causing unpleasant choppy conditions, we decide to have a look at Ipswich Marina. Truth be told the mate decided to look at Ipswich, I really didn’t fancy it for reasons that are hard to pin down. Ipswich is accessed via a lock which until our recent trips to Holland would have worried us but now this presents no impediment to our trip. Above the Orwell Bridge the river is very industrial with little coasters loading and unloading at a variety of mechanised wharves. In the past these commercial vessels manoeuvring in a confined space would have caused us concern but with our growing confidence and a determination to explore we press on.

Ipswich turns out to be a bit of a revelation, everything that Colchester wasn’t. There are some interesting independent shops and lots of bars and restaurants that look to be worth a visit. The marina is lovely with sufficient character to make it interesting, it also has a number of marine industries including Spirit Yachts whose products are worth a look (albeit not in our price bracket just yet). Christchurch park, just to the North of the town centre is also well worth a visit having the feel of an old country house grounds.

While in the marina office we are confronted by one of sailing’s little conundrums. Due to their shape boats are very difficult to measure with any degree of accuracy, and there are also several measures that can be used including: length over all (LoA); waterline length (WLL) or length on deck (LoD). Manufacturers endeavouring to sell boats tend towards emphasising just how much boat the customer is getting for their money; clubhouse braggarts tend towards the same exaggeration. Storage, lift-outs and docking are paid for by the metre so owners tend towards understatement. Flamingo, is a Parker 275 which evolved from the Super Seal 26, via the Parker 27 into the 275 and eventually the (dimensionally identical) Parker 285. It is possible to find several versions of the boats actual length so over the winter we took time to actually measure the hull which comes in at 8.09 metres, mathematicians worldwide will tell you this rounds down to 8.0m (plus transom hung rudder and pulpit). Based on this information we book into marinas quite correctly giving our length as 8 metres.

So as we stood in the first floor marina office waiting to pay for our berth we and the harbour staff can all see Flamingo protruding somewhat from her allocated 8m berth. Nobody is brave enough to mention it!

To be fair to marinas many of them will take it upon themselves to charge you for the shorter length anyway. Whatever you do though you must never understate your beam, it’s rather harder fitting a boat into a berth that is too narrow.

At this stage we need to start making some decisions about how and when we will sail Flamingo back to Brancaster. We have learned over the years that having analysed the weather forecasts to the best of our ability it is important to make and stand by the decision to go, or stay. On a longer passage, with fewer or no alternative ports of refuge an element of conservatism is essential, however the perfect forecast will never occur so this needs to be tempered with an element of realism.

We left Holland early based on our assessment of the weather, and with hindsight we got that decision completely correct, had we not crossed when we did we would still be there now in early October, although we were challenged by the conditions on that crossing.

On Thursday in Ipswich we identify a chance to sail to Lowestoft on Saturday, this is the shorter section of the passage at 35NM. We would then just have the long, 65NM passage back to Brancaster to do, ideally by the following Sunday in time for the laying up lunch at the Sailing Club. The only problem with this plan is that it is difficult to see a day in the following week that is suitable for the trip to Brancaster, this would leave us paying for the marina for an extended period and also stuck in Lowestoft for a wet and windy week. Not an attractive option.

On Thursday night we move the boat back to Pin Mill so that we have access to the sea at all states of the tide, ready to pick up any opportunity to sail North. By Friday we confirm that Saturday is the time to go to Lowestoft so we head ashore for our last afternoon and evening at Pin Mill. After another walk in the splendid woods on the cliff top we retire to the Butt & Oyster for our final visit. Earlier in the summer we have sat outside in glorious sunshine, today we luxuriate inside delighted that they have the fire lit. The season really is coming to a close.

As the tide recedes down the hard we are once again able to get to our Avon tender which now sports it’s Yamaha outboard motor; for most of the summer we have rowed the tender but now the water is rougher, the temperature is colder and the imperative is to get there as quickly as possible.

As we prepare the dinghy to motor past Cambria and away to Flamingo I am overcome with deep feelings of sadness, this really feels like the end, or at least the beginning of the end of our trip. We have had an incredible trip and visited some amazing places, Pin Mill however has become our adopted home, its reputation as the east coast’s most beautiful stops is well deserved. It will be hard to leave tomorrow, especially given that we need to start at 0400 hrs.