Phew - made it to Lowestoft sans bow thruster! In reality the thruster is only required when arriving or leaving a berth, when there is a restriction in the ability to manoeuvre; the design of this boat with its twin rudders removes the capability of the helmsman to 'kick' the stern round using the prop wash, making it much more difficult to control the movement of an 11 ton floating object. That is why the designer thoughtfully included the bow thruster so that accidental collisions with immoveable objects could be (mostly) avoided. So once we had floated off the sand and emerged from the narrow entrance into Wells Harbour, it was just a matter of sailing down the coast in the normal way until we reached Lowestoft. As usual the wind was somewhat uncooperative, being very light and necessitating use of the motor to assist the sails almost all the way. No matter, we arrived at the entrance to Lowestoft Hamilton Marina just after 8.30 p.m. without incident. 'Parking' Follyfin was another matter though, requiring the Skipper to summon up all his helmsman's skills. And of course, the First Mate was an integral part of the successful berthing that evening, managing to leap onto the pontoon without falling in. The offending object causing all the anxiety is shown below.
The replacement part was waiting for us on Wednesday morning - fortunately the manufacturers had been efficient and sent it promptly, so the Engineer went to work on the repair immediately.
Lowestoft is not the most beautiful of places for a stop over. However it is the most easterly point on the British mainland (technically the most easterly point is Lowestoft Ness - a promontory just north of Lowestoft Harbour), so we have now 'bagged' all four extremities on this voyage. Most satisfying! Another of Lowestoft's claims to fame is Gulliver. Standing just north of the harbour entrance, it is the tallest and most easterly wind generator on the English mainland. It's an excellent landmark as such.
Yesterday, Thursday, we left Lowestoft at 6 a.m. and headed south again towards the River Deben in Suffolk. The early start was important as the timing of entry into some east coast rivers is critical in order to avoid running aground on the continuously shifting sandbanks and/or the mudflats that emerge under the river banks at about half-tide not long after the coast is left behind. Suffice to say we managed our first entry to the Deben without incident, picking up a buoy for the night about 2 miles up river, near Ramsholt - a very pretty spot.
Today, Friday, we needed an even earlier start - 05:15 - in order to make it right up the river to Woodbridge before the depth in the channel, and the depth over the sill into the Tide Mill Yacht Harbour became too shallow for us. Just as well we did arrive in time, as the sill actually dries completely just 3 hours after high tide.
Breakfast once safely berthed inside, using the newly repaired bow thruster of course, was most welcome! Sutton Hoo is just across the river from us here. Tried walking there this afternoon but we got halfway and gave up ... I admit it, just too tired. So that pleasure will be saved for another visit. This evening our new crew, Laurel and Will, are arriving from London for the bank holiday weekend. We will be exploring rivers Orwell, Colne and Crouch with them - more early starts and mudflats to contend with and a little bit of open sea. It's the traffic around Harwich that is slightly concerning - a sharp lookout will be required from all 4 pairs of eyes!
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