RainMonday was a day of catching up on things that needed doing such as cutting the lawns and buying provisions for the cruise. The forecast for today, Tuesday, 1st June, looks lousy with buckets of rain. As I am sailing for pleasure, I’ll give it a miss. Maybe Wednesday will be better? There is no hurry. I’m not in a race; I can go at my pace! The tides are not brilliant for timing. High water at Burnham for Wednesday, 2nd June is at 0434 BST and 1646 BST which means low water will be approximately 1040. Therefore after that time the tide will be flooding. Unless there is a reasonably good wind from the west, southwest or northwest, ‘Ladybird’ will find it slow going.
I shall have to act according to circumstances, but that’s the fun of cruising. Situations change; locations differ, and the winds and tides vary. Each situation requires appropriate decisions and actions. I just hope I shall make the right decisions and stay out of trouble. Getting stuck in a swatchway on a falling tide can be an unpleasant business. They are seldom soft and sandy; more often they are composed of small boulders, stones and gravel which are not good for a boat such as ‘Ladybird’ with fibreglass bilge keels. Such keels are OK for taking the mud or sand, but gravel, stones and boulders can leave their mark. Playing it safe and taking care is the nature of the game. Fair winds and fair weather can make all the difference to a cruise being successful. We’ll see.
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