Southwold 2005

Wix and Wrabness Yacht Club

Dove Cottage Oakley Road Wix Nr. Manningtree Essex. CO11 2SE

Tel 01255 870777

Made it!

Finally, we managed to get up early enough to make the tide and they had room for us!

Five boats, Best Intentions, Levanter, Full Circle, Freydis II and Mrs C set off, (Best Intentions and Mrs C set off late, pleading lack of water, but we suspect lazy skippers!).

After a pleasant sail (or in some cases motor) in force 2-3's (albeit butting the tide) to Southwold we arrived in early afternoon and rafted five out.

What started as a naming party for Mrs C, (champagne generously supplied by Adrian and Deborah), became an impromptu party on the aft deck of Best Intentions where additional four wheeled members of the yacht club and the "train gang" arrived to join the throng. Hospitality thoroughly abused by drinking, singing, careless preparation and consumption of chocolate brownies, not to mention hob-nailed boots, we then repaired to the Harbour Inn for dinner.

A bank holiday weekend allowed a completely free day in Southwold and more of the same followed the next day with gratuitous singing of "the sun has got his hat on" to the perfectly correct indignation of the more moral members of the group. We then sampled the delights of Walberswick and the Red Lion, which we could not allow to escape scot free.

Monday brought the rain which dampened the spirits on top of the hangovers with a more subdued departure taking place in the early afternoon.

Mrs C promptly set off for Holland, but still nearly made it back before the rest of us, despite a more boisterous force 4 on the way back, that piped up as we rounded Orfordness.

70 miles, some under sail, five boats, and around 30 people, (including the land posse) a great time had by most, if not all.

Useful Links: Royal Yachting Association. The Met Office. Weather Online. UK Hydrographic Office Easy tide.

Deben Entrance. Orford Entrance. www.marinas.com Stour Sailing Club. Windfinder.com