It's getting very hard to motivate my women to come sailing in winter. It may be nice, but way too cold. "Put another layer on, dear".

Forecast said: wind, cold, but no rain. What more do you want. A WNW 4/5 - just what the doctor ordered. We set off up the Orwell, tacking most of the way, but what a cracking sail! Even N�1 wife reluctantly admitted that it was kind of fun. We started to heel quite a bit, and Yanni got scared. At Pin Mill we headed down river and down wind. Peace and order were restored. Even the winter sun decided to say hello.

We had done the Orwell, but still had at least another 90 mins of daylight ahead of us. Why not explore the Stour? Wind remained "healthy", at times we clocked over 8.5kts. There's plenty of life left in this old girl. Time to head back came to soon.

It will be some time before we're out sailing again. The marina's lock is due it's annual service. Time to make a list of the odd jobs that need doing.
Very short list: fit new Whale footpump and reading light in the aft cabin.
At least I now have an excuse to come back to the boat soon.