Wednesday 3 August
Skipper justified his insistence with the boatyard about the need for a bigger anchor today, as my 30kg Spade held me securely in the river in near gale force winds and waves a metre high and only a metre apart, due to the shallowness of the water. The Mate was busy baking during the morning, which is just as well as, once the tide turned, she found it difficult to do any more than lie below porthole level where my tossing and slewing around was less evident. I am a big boat and I have high windage, so I tend to lie across the wind when a tide is running, and this can make my poor crew feel quite uncomfortable. There’s also a lot of noise when it’s windy and waves slap constantly at my hull. At times like this I know my crew are glad that tides change direction around every six hours, although the wind tends to do its own thing.
Once conditions had calmed down a washing up marathon was completed and smoked haddock enjoyed for supper. My water tanks are feeling a little dry, so I hope they can top me up soon – I can carry 550 litres, but they still seem to go through it quickly.