We didn't have to wait long for a window. Theoretically there was a 36hr slot before the next low romped in and battered us. I am not a piece of fish and this year have had my feathers ruffled. To top it all they reckon it was Scotland's worst summer for four decades: just my luck eh. Still, on the last visits the roads were melting.
The alarm was set for 04:30 (oh what joy) and we set about releasing ourselves from the "tractor beam" that is the Humber. Careful timing of the tides meant that we could take the tide all the way to Norfolk's corner and perhaps wait awhile in the roads of Gt Yarmouth, we'll see. Light winds meant the Bukh was called upon to keep up a descent average, or else we would be off the North of Norfolk forever.
The Donna Nook range was not active until sensible hours so we were able to knock the corner off and lay a course for the Inner Dowsing and thence for the North Docking for the Race channel. Eyes were kept on the rear view mirror as ships tend to creep up on you round these parts as we are using their routes.
The main, mizzen, genoa and tide were all adding to a respectable rate if knots, peaking at 7.8 off the East Sheringham Light Buoy. The corner saw us with the tide foul and we were down to 3.7 off the entrance to Gt Yarmouth at 21:00, this far south it was also getting dark!
A shout went out for a disabled motor yacht, the "Blue Waters". It was a coded vessel out of Lowestoft and was out to a tanker offshore. I was too far away for quick assistance but the weather was fine anyway. The Lowestoft lifeboat was tasked to tow the stricken vessel in and I kept an eye on what was going on via the AIS. Looking at our courses and speeds I reckoned that we were going to meet in the Holm Channel. It is not wide and the sands on either side can be a bit of a menace and one can be seduced into taking short cuts but it's not a good idea, even for me.
Anyway to make a short story long, I tried calling the lifeboat on 67 which he was using as a casualty working channel. I tried on 16 but he was not going to answer me and by this time we were head on with him towing on my side of the channel in the dark. We were getting close and I reckon he was going to turn across my bows with the tow towards Lowestoft harbour. I called again on 16 and said "this is the vessel directly in front of you", that got his attention and I offered him "green to green" which he (gratefully) accepted. I do believe he hadn't seen me as he was concentrating on his tow and crew.
I had decided it wasn't worth stopping for the tide and by the time we had reached the Dunwich Band we had the tide with us again and belted past Aldeburgh and the Whiting Bank at 7.5 knots still under full sail and motor. The wind had by now crept round to be on the nose, what else?
The Beach End in Harwich harbour was rounded at 05:00 and by 05:35 we were anchored in one of my favourite places under the old HMS Ganges. Twenty four hours took us 140 of our nautical miles, and average of about 5.8 knots. I wouldn't mind doing that all the time, if only. I had a few hours sleep and took the last of the ebb out of Harwich and headed south for the Naze under main and genoa with the Bukh giving a hand as the wind was light and ahead. Off Jaywick and a nice tide with us we were able to turn off the old knocker and trickle up the Blackwater. We dropped the main and tidied things up at the Nass Beacon and used the genoa to ghost up the creeks and gutways back to our home mud berth. Sixty nine days saw us travel 1527NM, an average of 22 miles a day. Average for us old folk and I am more than happy with that. Yes it would have been nice to get back to Shetland and Cape Wrath and visit my mate's new house on Raasay but, God willing, there's always next year.
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