Last of the Summer Whine

Made the phone call last week to get ER lifted out the water for the second week in October. So that's it, summer's over.

Not the best of summers, weather wise, but it was a good one for sailing. Our two week exploring the Deben and Orwell was really good. It was a first time for us to sail into Woodbridge, a great town, lots of foody places and pubs. The Tidemill Yacht Harbour marina was a disappointment though. Their website beefs it up by stating that it's 'The finest yacht harbour on the River Deben' well I can't argue with that, because it's the only harbour on the Deben! I understand the high cost of an overnight stay, as the marina is in the middle of the town, but the showers are closed at 21.00hrs (other marinas are open 24hrs), which for the sailor who often needs flexible hours, seems strange to me. That said Woodbridge made up for the short-coming.

Now trying to cram in as much sailing as possible into the remaining weekends.Went out with a couple of old salty dogs  this weekend. A good sail to Burnham-on-Crouch but the return trip resulted in us hitting the putty trying to beat the spring ebb to get back to our mooring. We were lucky enough to be pulled off the putty by the skipper and his partner from the yacht Alderney in their dinghy, who informed us that quit a few boats of late had done the same, in that particular spot, A force 7 blew through that night. A bottle of wine should find it's way to their cockpit.