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 …
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Back to Suffolk
We are receiving increasing numbers of communications from concerned friends and relatives regarding the continuing windy weather. For us one of the joys of sailing this area of the East coast is that we know it well and are able to select from any number of snug anchorages and harbours where we can be safe …
River Blackwater
The weather as we approach the end of September has settled into a pattern of rain, or strong winds, or both; with plenty of sunny intervals if you look hard enough for them. Although the Blackwater offers sheltered sailing we still need to pick our time to sail very carefully, most days have F6 and …
Orwell to Blackwater
After dropping our mooring at Pin Mill and heading down river we were determined that the forecast would not stop us heading out towards the River Blackwater, but also clear that the conditions once through Felixstowe harbour might change our minds. Our resolution however melted away and at the crossroads (the crossroads where you head …
Aeolus to Pin Mill
“He is as brave as a lion and as quick as a cat. I think he cannot drown; but still it was an ugly place and ugly-” Erskine Childers As we filled the water tanks and made final preparations to leave Amsterdam I found this autumn leaf on deck, a sure sign that we are …
Passage Planning
Any sailors reading might want to miss out this lesson on how to suck eggs. A passage plan is a legal requirement for any vessel making any sea passage, although the scale and nature of the plan is, at present up to the skipper. There are many parts to a passage plan such as provisioning, …
Marken and the Markermeer
As we booked into Aeolus in Amsterdam the harbour master raised his eyebrows over our announced intention to sail from there on Friday 13th. There is a maritime tradition that a voyage does not begin on a Friday because it brings bad luck, without adding the complication of it being the 13th! We overruled these …
Up to Amsterdam
The next morning on the Braassemermeer dawned bright with a nice F3 SW wind which gave us a chance to have a chilled sail with no destination, no barges or canals or locks. But first we had urgent business to attend to; bunkering. A quick visit to the bunkering barge resulted in us leaving with …
Inland Navigation
British maritime tradition has it that a passage plan is made from a vessel’s current location towards its planned destination; to plan a passage to a destination would demonstrate a lack of understanding of the many factors that may prevent you achieving your now stated goal. On the Dutch inland waterways this method has much …
Dordrecht
Ok so, before reading post this you should probably make sure the kids (if any) are in bed; that the cat is out and that you are using your old computer/tablet/phone. I really wouldn’t like anybody to swear at the kids, kick the cat or damage valuable IT hardware as I explain how difficult it …
Parker 275 Flamingo's Adventures 