Speedwell of Rhu Ship's Log

7 th to 8 th of July 2015 - Wallasey Island

7 ^th to 8 ^th July

We waited until low water and then started to sail up river toward Fambridge. The wind was gusty and mainly on our nose, so we motored up river.

It remained very windy at Fambridge and we weren't sure whether the pontoon had enough depth so, instead of spending the night there, we decided to go back down river to Essex Marina where we could also visit the bird reserve on Wallasey Island. We had a lovely sail under genoa with Andy at the helm. We worked out the best berth, given the NW Force 7 forecast. We had some help berthing as the wind was blowing us off quite strongly. Some kind folk took our lines and quickly made them secure so that we could gradually sweat our lines to bring the boat to the pontoon. We were tied up by 14.30 and were both very tired. It is quite surprising how tiring sailing and wind can be for the first few days on the boat, until you get used to it. We tested the beer in the yacht club, paid a visit to the chandlery and then relaxed before dinner.

The following day we spent the time on the bikes, cycling to the nearest village for some milk and then, after lunch to the nature reserve on Wallasey Island which is still in the process of being developed by the RSPB. The main things to see were a lovely set of diggers and trucks delivering the soil. They are using the spoil from the Cross Link tunnel which gets delivered by boat to a landing pontoon just East of and opposite Burnham.

We watched a black cloud coming slowly toward us as we sat on the bench eating our lunch. We thought we could out cycle it and get back to the boat before the rain started. Unfortunately we mistimed and both got drenched to the skin. We sat on the boat for the rest of the afternoon listening to the wind and rain as the front passed over head. By the evening the boats were out racing and the weather was forecast to improve the following day.

Previous : Index : Next