Tuesday 2 August
Is it really August? Grey, drizzly and poor visibility with no wind, but we’re off anyway, bound North for the Ore and Alde, which I hear is two rivers in one, no doubt to confuse visitors. The wind didn’t improve much so we motorsailed most of the way, keeping well clear of a 400-metre container ship coming into Felixstowe as we headed out to sea. I was glad to see my friend Terry busy again, helping her in to her dock. The entrance channel to the Ore, which changes to the Alde upstream, takes us inside a sand spit running parallel to the main shore. This creates strong currents and tidal eddies, and cannot always be seen, so once again the crew felt the chart plotter was well worth the investment. We were welcomed by a seal and a marsh harrier, the latter gliding lazily over the wetlands to the West of the river. We wove our way through moorings at Orford and continued past Orford Ness,
the home of transmission for the BBC World Service with a forest of radio aerials and satellite dishes, and found a spot to anchor near Aldeburgh Yacht Club, busy with summer holiday sailing school dinghies and practice for their upcoming annual regatta.