Finally some halfway decent weather. Finally the whole family had some time off at the same time. Finally nothing to stop us from going sailing. All the makings of the great week-end in the offing.

Winds turned out to be a bit lighter than hoped for and the week-end turned out to be shorter than planned, but all in all it was a success. Learned a lot and had fun. What more could you ask for?

The children, Steps and I made our way up to Ipswich Friday morning. Brigitte was to join us Friday evening after work. Leisurely lunch in the sun and we were off. Locked out, hoisted sails and we were off. Gentle beat downriver.

By the time we got to Shotley the beating to windward had lost it's allure and we headed back upriver. The new cruising chute saw it's first daylight. The quite sheltered river environment was just perfect. The end came much too soon. Still, there was always tomorrow.
Decided to forgo another lock-in and spend the night at Fox's instead. The harbourmaster ad-interim directed us to a vacant berth and that was that.

Quite enjoyable dinner at the club – Vic on good form as usual. Brigitte being delayed/stuck in traffic was the only blot on the landscape. When she finally did turned up she was too stressed out and tired for anything else but an early night. Upon reflection, I could have used an early night too – those 84hr working weeks do take some getting used to. As it was, I spent the evening at the club drinking, talking bollocks and boats. Heaven is a series of small pleasures.

The next day I was up at the crack of dawn (or as good as) and keen to get underway. We hadn't been out much recently so I was eager to take advantage of every hour available.
A near windless Orwell meant the family had breakfast underway in the cockpit. By the time we got to Levington Evita made an appearance. Apparently blissfully unaware that we were underway. And by the time we passed Harwich the wind decided to show up too.

Sails hoisted and unfurled. Finished with engines. What followed were the best couple of hours in a long time. The new sails really look a treat. Very pleased. And the boat seemed to go faster too – but that may just be in my mind. We sailed a bit beyond Cork Sand and then headed back. The winds were all over the place.



Once passed Landguard the cruising chute made another appearance. Though the handling and sail trim did not go as well as the first day. Dead downwind was not the ideal point of sail for a cruising chute. Booming out was an option. But then again, I had sold the spinnaker and bought the chute in order to dispense with the boom. Still a lot to learn there. But that's part of the fun too.

Dark greu clouds looked ominous and the wind all but vanished. Time to head for home. Evita's sore throat had spread through the rest of the crew, so all of us felt in less than shape and the ABBA night at the club had been cancelled. Back to Hemel seemed like a sensible thing to do. There will be (lots more) days like this.
Locked in and tidied up. End of story.

Whilst the family headed of home, I stopped at Fox's to pick the brains of the world's poorest Oyster owner. He's been using a cruising chute shorthanded for years and I'm always open to sensible and practical advice. Listening doesn't cost anything and it's never hurt anyone.
And hour later and somewhat wiser I headed home too. Not a bad way to spend a couple of days at all.

What's next? Diary all filled up till Wednesday – afterwards, who knows? I was hoping to revisit Ostend (it's been too long), but the forecast E or SE rules seems to rule that out. The fashion capital of the world (as Evita refers to Ramsgate) is a possibility too. We'll see...

PS: at long last I've managed to find the time to update our long neglected gallery.