The Orwell is a nice enough place to keep a boat: not that far from home, easily accessible and a berth is still (only just) affordable... But, big but, I'm increasingly feeling claustrophobic and getting frustrated with the restrictions the East Coast imposes upon us and our sailing.

Guapa's got a deep-fin keel. Drawing 2.1m in an area best described as some shallow puddles surrounded by mud is not exactly ideal.
We're extremely restricted in where we go. We could get to more places than we've been to if we had the luxury of time. As it is, we simply can't afford to hang around for a couple of hours waiting for the tide to come in.
So, whilst we routinely cover over 35NM just daysailing, we never seem to 'go anywhere' as most of the time we end up where we started. A trip round Sealand is about as exotic as it gets most of the time. Going anywhere usually means either a Channel crossing or Ramsgate. Fine for a while, but that story's getting old.

I knew this when we brought the boat there, and the East Coast made sense as long as we were refitting; but as the refit nears completion I feel an ever stronger urge to 'move on'.

So, if all goes according to plan, this will most likely be our final year cruising the East Coast/North Sea/Channel area. Time to move on: west & south.

To quote Captain Jack Sparrow: 'Bring me the horizon'.