It will not go down in the AOA Annals for its mileage or good weather but we all had a great time. We explored the Stour, Deben and Walton Backwaters before Storm Ellen confined the boats to barracks in Woolverstone for the end of the week. This didn’t stop our intrepid crews walking back to Shotley – via the Butt and Oyster at Pin Mill.
More details in the Annual Bulletin, but a photographic tour below. Click on any photo to initiate a slideshow of photos in that section.
Rendezvous in preparation
Mike and Sarah in A1 and Nick and Caroline in A124 set off from Orwell Yacht Club on the Saturday. Destination Suffolk Yacht Harbour for the night.
A slow sail initially, beating against the tide, became a great finish with a soldier’s wind.
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AOA_Events A seal sees us off under the Orwell Bridge.
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A1, A124 Breakfast on Sunday Morning
Drugs and Locks
On the Sunday we had arranged a drug shipment* to Shotley Marina to keep us going through the week. Whilst A1 went in to the Marina to 'do the deal' A89 and A124 ran very very slowly over the tide up the Stour. After lunch A124 locked into the marina and A89 went back to Suffolk Yacht Harbour for a crew change.
*prescription drugs, of course
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A124 Passing the containership berths
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A89 Passing the containership berths
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A89 Richard, Hannah and Hamish blowing slowly up the Stour over the tide.
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A1 It rained! For hours. Thank heavens for A1’s cockpit tent
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Spectators
Through the fog to The Deben: Ramsholt, The Rocks, Waldringfield and Woodbridge
We all met up again by the Shotley Spit Buoy at 7am, in quite thick mist.
Shock horror, A124 Helene was seen to be letting the side down horribly, with fenders down both sides for some time after leaving the marina. Pay and holiday duly docked.
A1 led the way South, just outside of the ship channel off Harwich when suddenly a fog horn boomed out of the mist, and a shadow appeared in the sky above us. The Maersk container ship provided entertainment for some time before the mist cleared and we had a great sail into The Deben and up to Ramsholt where we stopped for lunch.
After lunch the three boats took slightly different routes to Waldringfield for the evening. A124 stopped at The Rocks for some chilling, walking and swimming.
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Visibility was very poor for a short period
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A1 Visibility was very poor for a short period
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Visibility was very poor for a short period
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A124 Letting the side down – forgotten fenders – BOTH SIDES!
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Visibility was very poor for a short period
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And then this loomed out of the mist preceded by a VERY loud foghorn.
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And then it cleared up
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A89 There wasn’t much wind and we punched out over the tide.
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A1 There wasn’t much wind and we punched out over the tide.
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A124 There wasn’t much wind and we punched out over the tide.
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A124 And then the wind came in and the sun shone. A89 and A124 from A1
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A124 At least the fenders are in!
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A89 A89 with Richard and Simon enjoying the sail
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A1 A1 looking great the in the morning sunshine
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A Happy Skipper
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A1 Skipper and crew
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A89 A89 showing her full spread of canvas
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Broad reaching up the Deben to Ramsholt
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A124 On the Deben, Felixstowe Ferry in the background.
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Towards Ramsholt
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A1 Towards Ramsholt
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A1 Towards Ramsholt
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A1, A124, A89 A selection of mast heights and details. Freeboards also seem to very widely!
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A1, A124, A89 Three of a kind
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A1, A124, A89 Three of a kind – and a Pub!
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A124 stopped off at The Rocks for a walk and swim. Waldringfield from the woods, The Rocks
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Sculpture found on footpath near The Rocks
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Sculpture found on footpath near The Rocks
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Waldringfield from the saltings near The Rocks
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The Rocks anchorage from the Saltings
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A124 The Rocks anchorage delightfully protected in southerly winds
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The beach and moorings at Waldringfield
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A124 last in to Waldringfield
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Sunset across the Deben from A1
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A1 A1 arrives at Woodbridge for supplies.
Felixstowe Ferry - ready for a quick getaway
The next day Richard left The Deben early to return crew to Levington. A1 and A124 sailed up to Woodbridge and then motored / motor-sailed down to Felixstowe Ferry for the evening to enable an easy get-away the next morning.
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Looking at Bawdsey Manor from the entrance
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River Deben entrance panorama
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River Deben Entrance buoys – that cliff-lump was very close to the channel
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Treated to a golden sunset
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The visitors moorings really were very well placed for a quick getaway the next morning.
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Sunset on the Deben
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Sunset on the Deben
Walton Backwaters and the Rain, then over 'The Red Sea' chasing John, Sue, Titty and Roger
A1 and A124 left the Deben and had a great single-tack sail into the Walton Backwaters and Kirby Creek. Sadly the rain started as we were getting the sails down and we all hid in out respective boats hiding from the damp.
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Sunrise over ‘Touchstone’ (Mike Peyton fame) at Felixstowe Ferry. In fact it was a leisurely exit just before 10
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A1, A124 After a tack out to sea it was all the way into Kirby Creek in a single close reach.
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Motors on in Hamford water to enter Kirby Creek. The rain set the tone for a damp afternoon at anchor.
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A1 Passing the time counting clouds
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A1 Looking past A124 up Kirby Creek towards next day’s adventure – crossing the ‘Red Sea’
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The natives’ boat is deserted.
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A1 You can almost see the excitement on A1 as we prepare top cross ‘The Red Sea’ ……
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A124 …. and on A124 too!
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A1 Clearing the decks
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A124 An off we go.
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Half tide, so as to see as much of the mud banks as possible whilst still floating.
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A124 The channels were well defined at half tide and there was a surprising amount of water until we neared The Wade ….
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Nick was ‘seen off’ by this pack of seals in the dinghy the day before, but they seemed lesss bothered today.
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One or two seals did leave the bank and swam around us making sure we didn’t stop!
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Amazing red colour
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2020 08 20 Across the Red Sea 13
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Half tide, so as to see as much of the mud banks as possible whilst still floating.
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There was a lot of mud before the low lying Horsey Island
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That;s the stern of A1 on the left and the bow on the right!
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A124 Waiting for the tide.
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A124 2020 Waiting for the tide in the Walton Backwaters
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A1 The Commodore surveys the scene
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A1 We had come up the channel on the extreme right and were heading to the left.
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A1, A124 It was a beautiful day and The Red Sea was living up to expectations
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2020 08 20 Across the Red Sea 34
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A1 has crossed The Wade and is now entering The Twizzle and deeper water
A124, unable to play the Deck Swingball they had bought, were forced to design and build 'Etta-Ball' - indoor swing ball for Atalantas with deck support posts. We are working on a design for people who still have strong decks.
Back to Woolverstone to sit out Storm Ellen
The forecast for the back end of the week was a trifle breezy so the decision was taken to return to the Orwell. Too early to go home though so we went to Woolverstone.
It was a great sail from Walton Channel. We were glad of the strong wind to push us over the tide.
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A124 We ran out of the Backwaters and into The Orwell as the wind strengthened.
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A1 Everything drawing
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A1, A124 We were running against the full ebb tide. Over 5 knots by GPS over the ground.
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Sunset in Woolverstone. Its lucky photos don’t include the smell! A very strong sewage smell for a while.
Woolverstone to Shotley by Foot
On the Friday we all walked back down the river to Shotley. It is a lovely walk, sometimes open, sometimes in trees and just below Pin Mill from the top of 'cliffs'.
After re-fueling with tea and cake we returned home.
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Pin Mill from the footpath to Woolverstone.
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Oyser Catchers sheltering from the wind.
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Suffolk Yacht Harbour from across the river.
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The walk down the Orwell is sometimes in woodland, sometimes open marshland. Highly recommended.
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Harwich Harbour – deserted!
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Sheltering from the wind above Shotley
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Blowing up against the tide with a tiny headsail.
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The Maid of Orwell was still operating. Not sure I would have fancied a cream tea aboard that afternoon.