The Seafarers' Rest

No, that's not the name of yet another pub! Skipper and First Mate, the eponymous seafarers, have indeed returned home, arriving yesterday afternoon from Hull. Our final week afloat was a good one, incorporating some excellent sailing, walks on the north Norfolk coast, revisiting the lovely port of Wells-next-the-Sea, berthing in the slightly daunting port of Grimsby and a final sail up the Humber from Grimsby to Hull in the very early and very dark morning.

Before leaving Southwold last Sunday, we walked round to the south side of the river where the village of Walberswick is situated. This provided a good view of FF at her berth beside the Harbour Inn. Another swim in the sea followed by refreshment in the pub and some more fish and chips ensured we were ready for the afternoon exit from the River Blyth.

Returning to the north shore by the rowing ferry was an experience not to be missed.

From Southwold, it was a pleasant sail of about 10 miles up to Lowestoft, the most easterly point on the UK mainland ... so this was the second time we had passed this fourth extremity! A very early start was required on Monday morning in order to make best use of the tidal stream up the east coast and (of course) to catch the tidal gate at our next port of call, Wells-next-the-Sea. Shall we say it was a 'lively' sail? The picture below, taken in the galley on passage demonstrates this fairly well I think. Yes, that is water coming out of the tap!

We arrived a little late but had no choice but to go up the channel since a storm was brewing and there was nowhere else to go. We made it but only just ... touching bottom a few times on the way in, and saved by the lifting keel yet again. Wells was as attractive as we remembered from our earlier visit, whether looking up river,

down river at low tide,

and at high tide.

We decided to spend a couple of days in Wells, walking sections of the north Norfolk coast path and utilising the excellent coast hopper bus service in between. It was also necessary to test Norfolk pubs and beer just to make sure they were as good as we remembered, and indeed it was the case. Last chance to partake of dressed crab and locally sourced fresh fish (since personal success on this front has been woefully lacking in recent weeks) from the well positioned stall on the quayside.

A window in the weather on Thursday allowed us to exit the channel from Wells and carry a fair tide almost all the way up to the Humber and Grimsby. Follyfin berthed in the marina located inside the old Grimsby Fish Dock, which is run by the Humber Cruising Association. Not the most attractive port, and slightly smelly to boot, it nevertheless felt safe and the locals were extremely helpful and friendly. We were advised not to attempt the trip further up the river to Hull in the high winds on Friday, as originally intended, but to wait for calmer weather on Saturday morning. So at 4:30 yesterday morning, in darkness, we set off in convoy with two other yachts also bound for Hull Marina and whose skippers knew the waters well. Just as well because the multitude of lights on both sides of the river and in the middle, not to mention the odd Dutch warship and container ship, would have been just a little daunting without a local guide! After well earned bacon butties for breakfast, it was time to lower the weather-weary courtesy flags,

and to remove the now-dead heather from the pulpit, the traditional trophy to be sported after passing Ardnamurchan Point - the most westerly point on the UK mainland - which we did way back in June. Hey ho, that seems a long time ago!

The sea boots have now been hung up for the winter and Follyfin will shortly be put to bed in Hull until next Spring. In some ways it's sad that our watery adventure is all over, for this year at least. Something about being master of one's destiny, free to go when and where one wants governed only by the wind and the tide. Marvellous! On the other hand it is extremely good to enjoy some home comforts after three and a half months at sea. It only remains for this blogger to collate and analyse all the data. So there will be one final post after this one, providing a few statistics, e.g. distance logged, engine hours, days at sea, nights at anchor, ports visited, men overboard etc. etc. May take a couple (or 12!) weeks but we will get there eventually!

Tracks retraced - with variations

It's almost a week since Follyfin floated gently back down the Thames. How the time has flown ... amazing the effect of some sunshine on the human brain! Follyfin departed Limehouse Basin on a glorious sunny Monday afternoon, with an excellent forecast for the week ahead. And this has indeed come to pass. The ebb tide ensured a leisurely passage down to Gravesend, giving us plenty of time to take a backward glance at the great city.

As we passed the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, we spotted the Cutty Sark which is moored there. As the last surviving tea clipper, and probably the most famous, she holds a particular significance for the First Mate, coming from a tea family but that's another story. We also hoped to catch a glimpse of the Paralympic equestrian events at Greenwich but alas only the blue spectator stand was visible. Of particular significance to us as sailors of course, was the fact that we had passed across the Greenwich or Prime Meridian - the theoretical line that separates east from west - for the second time in 3 days.

Once again we moored up overnight at Gravesend, on the one and only visitor's buoy, kindly provided by the Gravesend Sailing Club. Up before dawn on Tuesday, ready to catch the full ebb tide downstream and out of the Thames and on up the coast. The sunrise was quite magnificent.

We had a wonderful and trouble-free sail out of the Thames Estuary, past the entrance to the river Crouch and on up to the Blackwater river, passing the Gunfleet Wind Farm again.

We sailed about 12 miles up the Blackwater, past Bradwell power station and on up as far as Osea Island where we dropped the anchor. Several other boats joined us at this quiet and popular spot. Fortunately the others were occupied by like-minded people so no loud parties!

Another early start for us on Wednesday, again determined by the tide. Anxious to take in as many of the east coast rivers as possible, we headed north towards Harwich and the river Stour, billed in the pilot book as one of the most attractive waterways on the east coast, with the possible exception of the Deben. The Stour did not disappoint. One has to pay careful attention to buoyage though, as there are extensive sand, mud and gravel banks in the river and these become more frequent the further upstream one travels. We found a most picturesque anchorage just beyond Wrabness and on the north shore under Stutton Ness. The view to the north included a rather palatial residence. A cormorant came to dry its wings atop the nearby beacon.

Here we passed a most pleasant rest day, taking a trip in the dinghy across the river to investigate Wrabness. Another attempt was made at fishing, but without any live bait it proved fruitless. We questioned three men nearby, who were digging in the mud that was exposed at low tide, and found they were collecting huge rag worms for bait. Clearly we will have to take this fishing business more seriously in future.

On Friday we were off at first light again, sailing out of Harwich and past Felixstowe before they were truly awake. Turning left, destination Southwold, we had a good wind to start with but by mid-morning that had died so there was nothing to do except pootle along with the autopilot in control and us lounging in the sun keeping an eye open for occasional ships. A hard life! Lucky the wind came up again later as there is a tidal gate at Southwold. We needed to get into the river Blyth on which Southwold harbour is situated, in the hour or so before high water, the reason being that the entrance is very narrow, the depth reduces rapidly as the tide goes out, and the current on the ebb tide is extremely strong reaching 5 or 6 knots at its maximum, making manoeuvring in the narrow river very tricky! So for all those reasons we were anxious to arrive at the recommended time especially as it was our first visit. Suffice to say we made it, with the adrenalin running high. It's a lovely spot.

We dined at the Harbour Inn, conveniently located just a few paces from our mooring: fresh hake and chips with mushed (not mushy) peas, liberally washed down with Adnams ale, the Skipper's favourite (Black Sheep running a close second). Plenty of fresh fish round here too, and very close to our berth. Skipper also managed to barter a live lobster off the neighbouring fishing boat, and cooked it on board - quite a tight squeeze in the old pressure cooker! With fresh sea bass from Samantha's, we could look forward to another seafood fest for dinner.

Yesterday we explored Southwold, re-provisioning, swimming off the excellent beach to the north of the town, admiring the lighthouse (uniquely situated in the heart of the town) and refurbished pier and brightly coloured beach huts. Pleased to see that Southwold provides a special reading room for seafarers like us ... or perhaps not. I read that the original idea back in 1864 was to keep the fishermen and mariners out of the pubs, and encourage them to read books that were good for the soul, in short to sample drink of the non-intoxicating variety!

Today, Sunday, we depart this lovely seaside spot and head north towards Lowestoft, north Norfolk and the Wash. The itinerary for this last week of our voyage is flexible and will depend, as usual, on wind and tide.

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We've arrived! Follyfin at London 2012

Friday 31 August was D-day. We slipped our mooring at Gravesend just before 9 a.m. on a clear sunny morning. But 10 minutes later a high-speed police launch pulled alongside and a Man in Black climbed over the guard rail ... we had been boarded! They had seen us cutting across to the north shore of the river and were checking we had clearance to proceed. Luckily that had all been sorted out the day before, so we were free to proceed towards the first land mark that we knew so well from ashore: the QEII Bridge at Dartford.

Phew! Just made it under! [editor's note: actually plenty of room - 53 metres clearance and FF only needs 19 - but this blogger likes to include a bit of drama for effect.]

There was surprisingly little traffic on the river, so we were able to enjoy a relaxed sail up river, using only the foresail and the flood tide for most of the way to carry us upstream and round the many twists and turns. Once at the Thames Barrier however, the engine had to be switched on to conform with the Port of London requirements. Canary Wharf could also just be seen in the distance from this point.

After safe transit through the Barrier, the well known land marks came thick and fast: Greenwich, Canary Wharf, the Dome, the Skywalk (spot the tiny black dots in the sky running between the white vertical post on the right and the dome on the left) to name but a few. We were delighted to see the first Reception Committee waving to us from the pier at Canary Wharf as we passed: son Ivor and friend Duncan who are both currently working there. What a thrill that was! A little further on, the second Reception Committee was spotted, waving to us from the terrace just outside Cinnabar Wharf at Wapping: Sylvia and Colin, our crew and guides on the west coast of Scotland. They had travelled down from Whittlesford specially to meet us. Brilliant! Shortly after spotting them, Tower Bridge and the Shard hove into view.

We had made excellent time up the river, even arriving a little too early to get in through the lock to St. Katherine's Haven, which is located about 200 metres east of and downstream from Tower Bridge. So we took the opportunity to fill up with diesel from the barge moored just downstream from the lock. That manoeuvre was all completed by 13:00 but then we had a most frustrating wait just outside the lock whilst 4 boats were scheduled to come out - an operation that normally takes about 15-20 minutes. Just our luck that a technical problem occurred with the lock mechanism at this point, meaning Follyfin was hovering on her engine almost under Tower Bridge for 45 minutes, balanced expertly against the tide by the Skipper,

But Reception Committee 2 came to the rescue! Seeing we were so delayed, they nipped off to a nearby well known supermarket to purchase the wherewithal for a sumptuous celebratory lunch. Obviously a very well trained crew! Towards evening, the workers joined us for more celebrations.

They arrived in dribs and drabs (that's the effect of work of course, retirement being a much preferable status!) but no less welcome for that ... all the people who had actually sailed with us (with only two exceptions, Marina and Kathryn, who unfortunately could not be with us) plus one who hadn't - Lorin, an American recently arrived in London from Moscow via Sweden - joined us for refreshment. Follyfin was in her element, completely undaunted by the record number of people sitting down for dinner.

The next day, Saturday, we locked out of St Katherine's and moved down river about 2 miles to Limehouse Basin, just past that well known pub, the Prospect of Whitby. The locking-in procedure was much smoother than at St. K's with far fewer spectators, and it feels a much more authentic yachtsman's place. Also half the price! It is well served by buses and the DLR.

Sunday afternoon we welcomed some more visitors for tea, all people who have been following our progress on the blog. First to arrive was James, who lives nearby and to whose wedding in the Lake District we had travelled from Plymouth in May, taking a week out of our UK Tour. His wife, Beanie, had been given Paralympics tickets just that day so sensibly chose to forego the tea party! However she missed a wonderful chocolate cake made by Laurel (ably assisted by Will) and delicious scones and choc brownies baked by the Zoo Team, Linda and Clare!

What a pleasure to welcome so many people aboard Follyfin at the official end of her UK Tour! Thanks Guys!

This afternoon we will head back down the Thames to Gravesend on the ebb tide and tomorrow start working our way back up the east coast towards our winter berth at Hull, where we aim to be by mid-September. Weather and tides permitting, we hope to call into some of the more picturesque harbours in Suffolk and Norfolk that we missed on the way down. There will be a few more blog posts as required. So we will not bid our readers farewell just yet.

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D-day minus one

Follyfin managed to negotiate the passage across the Thames Estuary, from Burnham-on-Crouch towards Whitstable on the north Kent coast and thence to The Swale, without becoming stranded on any sand bank or mud flat, and without any close encounters with over-sized commercial vessels or windmills. What is more, most of the passage was made under sail, which was particularly pleasing. In these parts it is common to see sailing barges, the working boats of the past, now largely sailed for pleasure. They are beautiful to look at, and particularly suited to these waters since they have very shallow draft so do not run the risk of running aground. We saw several as we progressed down The Swale (the tidal channel running south of the Isle of Sheppey) to Harty Ferry.

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Above map shows location of our mooring in The Swale. It's a lovely quiet area with much bird life - egrets, curlews, godwits spotted amongst other species enjoying the mud at low tide.

A rendez-vous at Harty Ferry had been arranged with old friends Nessa and Johnny, who arrived on the tender, undaunted by high winds and rain.

Nessa and First Mate Fiona go back a long way ... 50 years no less! And Nessa is the person most responsible for the current adventure taking place, since it was she who invited her teenage school friend to go on holiday with her on the family yacht, the magnificent schooner Catriona. A couple of trips to the Channel Islands and Brittany sowed the seeds of ambition, and the rest is history. So thanks again my old friend! Living so far apart, we do not see each other very often so we all enjoyed a well lubricated if slightly late lunch together. Fresh mulberries from our guests' garden near Canterbury were a real treat. And then all retired for a brief 'power nap', ostensibly for the crew to recover from the 4 a.m. start but also to let the weather calm down before the return dinghy trip to the mainland. Clearly, the siesta did our visitors good ... maybe an after-lunch siesta should become standard practice!

This morning, Thursday, it was another early start. By 6 a.m. Follyfin was sailing back out of The Swale on the last of the ebb tide. As we exited The Swale, we passed Shell Ness, the most easterly settlement on Sheppey, looking attractive in the early morning sunshine.

On we sailed, round past the north coast of Sheppey towards London, via the aptly named Overland Passage where the depths at the lowest astronomical tide are mainly only 2 or 3 metres. No wonder there are numerous wrecks in the area, some more visible than others.

As we passed the entrance to the Medway,

we were then entering the busy Thames Sea Reach, so a sharp lookout for big ships was required. Not long after this we were 'boarded' by an official from HM Border Agency who arrived with 3 colleagues aboard a high speed RIB to check out our credentials. Quite exciting really! Soon it began to feel more like a river than an estuary and it was here that a solitary porpoise was also sighted, unfortunately too brief an appearance for a photo. The extensive gas works near Hole Haven dominated to the north on the coast of Canvey Island.

Today we planned to go as far as Gravesend, on the south bank of the Thames, but not knowing this area at all, from land or sea, the best landmark for our scheduled stop is Tilbury Power Station, which is on the opposite bank in Essex. It cannot be missed!

Proud to report that Follyfin sailed with the tide all the way up to Gravesend barring the final 3 miles or so, and arrived just as the wind strength was increasing to the forecast gale 8. So now we are sitting on a visitor's mooring kindly supplied by the Gravesend Sailing Club, poised for the final 23-mile push up to Tower Bridge with the tide tomorrow morning. The sunset this evening bodes well for the weather tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing friends and relatives tomorrow evening to celebrate with us the official end to our almost complete circumnavigation.

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