 | 6 th to 7 th of June 2015 - A Weekend in the River |
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| Crew : | Helen and Andy |
| Destinations : | Levington and Ipswich. |
| Distance : | 15 miles |
6 th June
We really weren't sure whether we would go out today, although we did plan to stay on the boat. We arrived around 11am and started by experimenting with a new awning, bought for 30 quid on amazon for camping. It seemed to be just the right thing to act as a sunshade for the cockpit, we just need to buy a few plastic clips and attach some bungee cord from the corners.
The next new purchase to test was our mast steps. Andy had the first go and managed to get up the main mast and back down within 30 minutes. Much better than the mast climber we bought when we first got Speedwell. I couldn't even get off first base with that.
By the time he had come back down it was time for lunch, so I postponed my journey up the mizzen mast until another day. After lunch the lock was on free flow so we decided we would head down river, past Pin Mill and pick up a mooring opposite Levington for a peaceful night.
We had a good sail, and Andy decided that the wind and tide were were perfect for practicing picking up a mooring under sail. After 3 attempts with me on boat hook duty and Andy at the helm, we failed and we put the engine on. I then took the helm as Andy's arms are longer than mine and the buoy was quite low and the sea choppy. Another 3 attempts and we were finally secure on a buoy for the afternoon.
7 th June
We had a very relaxing morning listening to Radio 6 Music, reading and watching boats racing and passing rather too close to us, until it was time to head back to Ipswich. We sailed off the mooring and tacked up river as far Woolverstone when the wind was not favourable and we were competing for water with dinghies.
We timed it to have the lock on free flow again meaning we had less faffing with fenders and warps. We were quickly tied up and headed back to Cambridge for tea. I should just mention that the aft heads worked perfectly with a new pump and new outlet pipe fitted by Andy the previous weekend. I had a previous engagement at the Botanic Gardens so, regretfully, was unable to help! The next thing will be to replace the forehead pipes. We know the pump is fine as it is brand new. However, the pipes have been quite calcified since we bought Speedwell resulting in some resistance when we pump it. This is a job that we have been avoiding for some time.
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