Back at sea

Very obviously Friday 13th yesterday as the news on our engine was disappointing to say the least. It seems that the leak on the cylinder is rather more serious than originally thought (for the technical, the pre-combustion chamber is damaged and needs replacing) and it will take up to ten days to be fixed and satisfactorily tested.
More news when I have it.

Due to a fault in the engine fuel injection to one of the cylinders resulting a substantial spray of blackened fuel around the engine bay we've had to return to Tollesbury to get it fixed. The option of sailing on to Lowestoft wasn't really on as the winds are generally northerly at the moment and the current against us in the morning.
We did have a pleasant sail back here, however it was in thick fog with the vis down to 30m at one point. The sun came out eventually at around 15:30 and we motored back to our old berth at exactly high water 40 minutes later. We (Malcolm and I) are looking at options for sailing on when the engine is fixed. Hopefully tomorrow give some fair winds.

An early-ish start at Suffolk YH for fuel top-up before leaving for Lowestoft. The gods were against us, however, with strong wind from the ENE and the current flowing Southward making progress difficult to say the least. Adding in some container ships and ferries to Holland made tacking across the main shipping channel exciting. Did I mention the fog? Visibility closed in too with Felixstowe container crane booms floating above a cloud making an interesting view.
The upshot of this was a turnaround to Harwich - this time to Shotley Marina via the lock with the usual challenge but no undue drama.
We'll go tomorrow having outstayed our welcome in the Harwich district and visited most of the bars.

Moved to Suffolk Yacht Harbour (Levington) to get fuel and use their wi-fi.

Glorious weather yesterday for our shakedown leg to Harwich. Wind was on the nose, of course, which meant some motoring at the start and end of the day.
Arriving crew, Malcolm, had an epic journey here from Bridgewater taking 11 hours thanks to Britain's broken railway system. Sally, leaving for a couple of weeks, had a similar experience.
Off to Lowestoft shortly.