The intrepid crew, just ten minutes into the voyage, Hoo marina in the background.
Leander safely in her finger berth at Essex Marina. We can see her from our windows.Wednesday, 24 August 2011
The people at Hoo marina were very helpful & sad to see Leander leave; her previous owner was well known & had sadly passed away only a few weeks before. Tim had the task of steering away from the moorings, as he had asked the locals for directions so, no point going over it all again with myself. Once out in the Medway, the girls decided to send pictures of their full English breakfast, just as we tucked into our pork pies!
We had to head against the tide & this would be all the way out to the estuary, passing Kings North Power Station & rounding the meandering bends. Everything was fine, until we ventured out into the Thames estuary, just as the tide was beginning to turn & against the wind. In stead of heading down the estuary, we had to tack our way across, due to meeting white water waves, hitting us broadside on. By the time the waves had calmed, we found ourselves off Southend pier head, rather than the preferred Thorpe Bay. At least by now, the tide would be helping us on our way & we began to make good time. Although we knew in our minds that reaching Haven Gore Bridge in time was a definite no no, it was still disappointing when the realisation set in that we would have to go the long way around & a long way it turned out to be!
When on land & looking out to sea, the low tide marks look a long way off however, when looking from the sea back to land, the distances are immense. We were using three methods of navigation, charts, gps plotter & depth sounder & even then, we encountered problems with the channel marker buoys, Buxey in particular, as this needs to be replaced due to shifting sands, not just by a few yards, we ended up having to do a three mile detour to get around the Maplin Sands, not much fun when the boat was only doing 4mph! By the time we were able to turn towards the mouth of the Crouch, we were not far off the wind farm out from Clacton!
The next three & a half hours would be the longest known & we were just glad that the weather had been really kind to us for the majority of the passage. Heading against the tide, we helped the inboard engine by starting up my ten horse Johnson & even with both engines, we still only able to reach the heady heights of 4mph. Just when the tide began to ease off & I had thought of turning off the Johnson, it gave up, bellowing out an acrid smelling aroma. I'm still hoping it was the spark plugs that gave out, still to be investigated.
We arrived back at Essex Marina at about 8.30pm, ten hours after departing Hoo, tired but, satisfied that we had done something not many people had/would achieve in such a small, aged boat.
We had to head against the tide & this would be all the way out to the estuary, passing Kings North Power Station & rounding the meandering bends. Everything was fine, until we ventured out into the Thames estuary, just as the tide was beginning to turn & against the wind. In stead of heading down the estuary, we had to tack our way across, due to meeting white water waves, hitting us broadside on. By the time the waves had calmed, we found ourselves off Southend pier head, rather than the preferred Thorpe Bay. At least by now, the tide would be helping us on our way & we began to make good time. Although we knew in our minds that reaching Haven Gore Bridge in time was a definite no no, it was still disappointing when the realisation set in that we would have to go the long way around & a long way it turned out to be!
When on land & looking out to sea, the low tide marks look a long way off however, when looking from the sea back to land, the distances are immense. We were using three methods of navigation, charts, gps plotter & depth sounder & even then, we encountered problems with the channel marker buoys, Buxey in particular, as this needs to be replaced due to shifting sands, not just by a few yards, we ended up having to do a three mile detour to get around the Maplin Sands, not much fun when the boat was only doing 4mph! By the time we were able to turn towards the mouth of the Crouch, we were not far off the wind farm out from Clacton!
The next three & a half hours would be the longest known & we were just glad that the weather had been really kind to us for the majority of the passage. Heading against the tide, we helped the inboard engine by starting up my ten horse Johnson & even with both engines, we still only able to reach the heady heights of 4mph. Just when the tide began to ease off & I had thought of turning off the Johnson, it gave up, bellowing out an acrid smelling aroma. I'm still hoping it was the spark plugs that gave out, still to be investigated.
We arrived back at Essex Marina at about 8.30pm, ten hours after departing Hoo, tired but, satisfied that we had done something not many people had/would achieve in such a small, aged boat.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
The voyage.
Once our mate Tim had seen for himself, it was a no brainer that 'Leander' would be up for the journey, he went about working out the best times/tides to do the journey. Clive however, was an easier choice to make as a crew mate, he owns a chart plotter GPS! Although there was no hurry to bring her round, we decided last Saturday that Sunday was as good a time as any, so plans were made.
Tim & Lindsey stayed on their own boat overnight(moored next to Warrior) & we picked up the excited Clive from his house at 9am Sunday morning, making sure he had the GPS! By the time we reached Hoo, Clive's 'Are we nearly there yet?' remarks were wearing a bit thin with Tim! To be continued.
Three men in a boat!
Yes I know it has been done before but, this is my version.
With so much illness in my family & one close friend having a terminal condition, I have had my 'Live for today' ethos strengthened & have decided it is time to buy another boat for pottering around in. Steph & I love spending time on the rivers (Crouch & Roach) in our 14ft dorey however, we are due to get caught out one of these days in bad weather. The search has been on for a few weeks & boy have we seen some rubbish! The heart of a good boat is the engine, anything else can be improved without to much cost but, if the engine fails at sea, iot can be a costly experience, in more ways than one.
We finally came across an advert for my all time favorite Colvic, moored over at Hoo marina, on the Medway, a real trip down memory lane for me there too. Having spent many a weekend in my youth, with Dad, crewing on a Dragon out of Upnor.
'Leander' has been owned by the same gentleman for 20 years, being his pride & joy until he sadly passed away just two months ago. Two years ago, he had a brand new Beta 22 diesel engine fitted, which has still only done 112 hours. As soon as we saw the boat & engine, we knew she was was for us(just as you do when seeing a house etc) the offer was made & duly accepted a few nervous days later; all we had to do was decide how to bring her round from the Medway. With the cost by road mounting up to approx £500, the sea route was looking more inviting.
With so much illness in my family & one close friend having a terminal condition, I have had my 'Live for today' ethos strengthened & have decided it is time to buy another boat for pottering around in. Steph & I love spending time on the rivers (Crouch & Roach) in our 14ft dorey however, we are due to get caught out one of these days in bad weather. The search has been on for a few weeks & boy have we seen some rubbish! The heart of a good boat is the engine, anything else can be improved without to much cost but, if the engine fails at sea, iot can be a costly experience, in more ways than one.
We finally came across an advert for my all time favorite Colvic, moored over at Hoo marina, on the Medway, a real trip down memory lane for me there too. Having spent many a weekend in my youth, with Dad, crewing on a Dragon out of Upnor.
'Leander' has been owned by the same gentleman for 20 years, being his pride & joy until he sadly passed away just two months ago. Two years ago, he had a brand new Beta 22 diesel engine fitted, which has still only done 112 hours. As soon as we saw the boat & engine, we knew she was was for us(just as you do when seeing a house etc) the offer was made & duly accepted a few nervous days later; all we had to do was decide how to bring her round from the Medway. With the cost by road mounting up to approx £500, the sea route was looking more inviting.
Catch up time again.
With a cold NE wind blowing straight up the river Crouch, it reminds me that summer is almost over & the Autumn soon approaches.
It has been a busy few months, a new job & a new boat too! My PAT testing business began to expand, still not brilliant but, getting there slowly. I came across an advert for a 'PAC' tester on the job search website & followed the links to find that some one had (luckily for me) spelt the job title incorrectly & it shoulkd have read 'PAT tester.' Off went my cv & for once, I actually recieved a reply. Cutting the story short, I was offered the job working for Balfour Beatty at a well known local MOD site, for a six month period. 'That will sort us out for the winter months' I thought.
With a feeling of going to school for the first time, my first morning consisted of being driven around the site by the retiring Julian; I did not realise the significance of being shown the rest rooms at the time. By the time we returned to the office for lunch, the six months contract had been reduced to three & by 4.30pm, down to one month!
On my return, after the Bank Holiday weekend, I was told that I would now be kept on until the end of October, when the Balfour contract ends & that is pretty much how things stand today although, it has been muted that I will be offered a more permanent arrangement by the new company, fingers crossed!
My new job coincided with Steph's job comming to an end & along with the football season ending too, it meant that she was out of work for the summer. Thankfully, she began a new job only yesterday for a local lettings agents, just when the new football season begins too so, things are back to normal again for her. Steph is also gearing up for her driving test(not allowed to say when!) having passed her theory test last month.
It has been a busy few months, a new job & a new boat too! My PAT testing business began to expand, still not brilliant but, getting there slowly. I came across an advert for a 'PAC' tester on the job search website & followed the links to find that some one had (luckily for me) spelt the job title incorrectly & it shoulkd have read 'PAT tester.' Off went my cv & for once, I actually recieved a reply. Cutting the story short, I was offered the job working for Balfour Beatty at a well known local MOD site, for a six month period. 'That will sort us out for the winter months' I thought.
With a feeling of going to school for the first time, my first morning consisted of being driven around the site by the retiring Julian; I did not realise the significance of being shown the rest rooms at the time. By the time we returned to the office for lunch, the six months contract had been reduced to three & by 4.30pm, down to one month!
On my return, after the Bank Holiday weekend, I was told that I would now be kept on until the end of October, when the Balfour contract ends & that is pretty much how things stand today although, it has been muted that I will be offered a more permanent arrangement by the new company, fingers crossed!
My new job coincided with Steph's job comming to an end & along with the football season ending too, it meant that she was out of work for the summer. Thankfully, she began a new job only yesterday for a local lettings agents, just when the new football season begins too so, things are back to normal again for her. Steph is also gearing up for her driving test(not allowed to say when!) having passed her theory test last month.
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