Almost to the day, a year ago, I was sailing aboard ‘Ladybird’,
a Seawych 19’ that I once owned. I sold her to my daughter, who in turn sold
her to the present owner. A year ago I accepted an invitation for a sail on ‘Ladybird’.
(See link below.)
This evening I’m off to Burnham for a re-acquaintance, and
to join ship at the start of a short cruise, perhaps lasting two or three days.
I am to crew and to help with the navigation. The plan is to sail to Bradwell
Marina on Monday, and return on Tuesday. The forecast is for S by W Force 4 to
5. The direction is good for the outward trip, but the strength is more than we
shall want.
Returning via the Swin Spitway on Tuesday, could be problematical,
because the wind will continue at Force 4, but instead of coming from S by W, it
will come from the SW. Inevitably this will mean the wind will be on the nose,
and since the tide will be against the wind after our arrival at the Spitway we
can expect broken water from there into the Crouch. Progress will be slow, and
the sailing challenging – that’s if we go ahead with it.
The forecast for Wednesday is better, because the wind will drop
to Force 3. Unfortunately, it will come from the SW – exactly the opposite of
what we would want. There will be light showers on the afternoons of Monday and
Wednesday. Thankfully, Tuesday appears to be free of precipitation.
Early on Monday morning, after listening to the Shipping
Forecast, we’ll decide whether to go ahead with the planned cruise, or to do
something different.
Links
‘Ladybird’ on the Crouch
No comments:
Post a Comment