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The last land based jobs on Sal Darago were completed in May. Her decks were scraped, sanded and repainted and the topsides were cleaned and polished. New antifoul paint was applied. We collected her sails from Sail Medic in Ipswich along with two new dodgers and a sail cover. The sails had been washed and serviced. Tom warned us that they would need to be replaced soon, but hopefully, they would last for one more season.
As we hauled the mainsail up a few days later it tangled at the cross trees and ripped. Tom had gone on holiday so we patched and stitched it ourselves.
Time was moving on and we were keen to
launch. This we were able to do after spending a weekend in Lancashire to
celebrate our niece, Miki’s, 50th birthday. Then there was my
birthday and granddaughter, Ellie’s, birthday.
Ready to launch
At last, on 28th May Sal
Darago was launched into the River Deben by Simon from Melton Boatyard. We
motored down river to our mooring and tied up at Ramsholt. Earlier in the day
we’d taken the car to Ramsholt with our bikes loaded inside. Then we’d cycled
four miles to Melton arriving in the rain.
Durham Regatta
It was looking like we would make it
to Ramsgate by 14th June for the start of the Westerly Owners
Association Summer Cruise. First, we had a commitment to attend Durham Regatta for
the weekend before. We stayed with our friends Andy, Moyra and Ben. We had a
lovely time catching up with them and with a good number of college and rowing
friends from the 1970’s.
Andy, Kathy, Moyra, Ben and Jeremy in Durham
Back at home, we checked the weather. It was going to turn nasty – definitely S or SW force 6 and maybe 7 or gale force 8 by the weekend. We had one day to defrost the freezer, do our laundry, shop for Sal Darago and close up the house for 3 months! Two trips to the boat the following day saw everything loaded on board and stowed. We drove home and our daughter, Emily, drove us back to Ramsholt in her car. There was no change in the weather forecast, but we might just miss the worst of it by leaving a day early.
At 5.00 am on Thursday 13th June, we motored out of the River Deben and set a course for Ramsgate. The winds were light at first, increasing slowly and blowing hard on the nose for the last 22 miles. We were relieved to tie up in Ramsgate Marina helped by fellow Westerly owners. Swell entered the marina and all the boats were pitching and rolling.
Memorable visits in Ramsgate included
a meal in the largest Wetherspoons in the world; drinks in the Royal Temple
Yacht Club; a guided tour of WW2 tunnels and lunch in the Home Front Tea Rooms.
The weather was cold, wet and windy. The pontoons in the harbour were affected
by the incoming swell.
Kathy in the Ramsgate Tunnels
Fortunately, we had much better
conditions on Monday when the fleet sailed north to the River Orwell. Here we
split into pre-arranged groups with members taking berths at Shotley Marina,
Royal Harwich Yacht Club or Ipswich Beacon Marina. Jeremy and I were berthing
reps for RHYC and Ipswich.
Westerly owners at Pin Mill
Highlights of our five nights on the
River Orwell included a riverside walk to Pin Mill, lunch at the Butt and Oyster
and a 6 hour private hire trip down the river and back on the Thames barge,
Victor. It was good to see Hilary and Steve from Travelling Light again and
former Westerly owners Bill and Bren, whom we’d last seen in Coffs Harbour,
Australia, in 2019!
Sunset over the Orwell Bridge
Jeremy and I invited our daughter and
two grandchildren, Ellie and Sophie, to meet us in Ipswich on our last evening
and we’d all go out for a pizza. This was the evening that I fell down the
stern hatch, bashing my chest hard on the rim and smacking my face on the hatch
lid. Once the shock had worn off and I felt all right we went for our pizza and
had a lovely evening.
The Thames barge, Victor, at Ipswich
 |
| Sunset over the moorings at Queenborough |
The main highlight from our two nights in Brightlingsea was the delicious carvery in Colne Yacht Club. We shared a table with Hilary, Steve, Bill, Bren and Dutch couple, Cor and Lia from Dionysa. Our table won Commodore Brian’s quiz and six of us shared the prize of a bottle of red wine later, on Sal Darago.
We had another early start on Monday
24th June. There was some disagreement about the departure time.
Most of us were away before 6.00am. Our destination was Queenborough on the
Isle of Sheppey. Our first crossing of the River Thames estuary was very
pleasant in calm, sunny weather and we were tied up to the all tide landing by
lunchtime.
Hilary, Bill, Bren, Steve and Jeremy at Colne YC
The next day we departed for Chatham
in Kent after having a tasty English breakfast in a Turkish café. Travelling
Light and Sal Darago were the last to leave and enjoyed a leisurely sail
upriver. We spent two nights in Chatham Marina. There were lots of interesting
places to visit in the area. We chose to spend a day in the Historical
Boatyard. We passed in and out of hatches on the 1962 submarine, Ocelot,
wandered around the 1878 three master, HMS Gannet and spent time exploring the
1944 warship, HMS Cavalier. We finished the day in The Ropery where we saw long
ropes being made using traditional methods and machinery. On the way back to
the marina, I began to have pains in my chest, especially when coughing.
Chatham Historical Boatyard
On Thursday, 23rd June, the
Westerly boats departed at various times for Queenborough. I took ibuprofen and
paracetamol in the morning and felt better. At Queenborough, we rafted up to
Travelling Light on a mooring shared by 6 boats. Jeremy and I went ashore in
the free trot boat and walked to a Tapas restaurant where we shared 5 dishes
and a bottle of rose. On our return the wind was blowing strongly and the tide
was moving quickly. Dionysa, rafted up to the all tide landing was damaged in
the night by a French yacht tying up to them in the difficult conditions. A
stanchion was ripped out. All was well with the yachts on the mooring.
Thames Barrier
The next day I still had chest pains
and knew I’d have to see a doctor soon. I took pain killers throughout the 40
mile motor along the Thames to London. Strong headwinds blew. We arrived with
the first group of yachts. All of them entered the lock into St Katharine’s
Dock, except us. We tied up to a mooring right next to Tower Bridge to wait for
the next locking. We were not called in AGAIN and the lock was filled with
boats that had arrived after us. We had arrived at 1725 and entered the third
locking at 1905! My chest pains were worse.
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Consequently, just after breakfast on
Saturday 29th June, I phoned 111, answered lots of questions, declined
an ambulance, had a shower, hailed a cab and went to A&E at the Royal
Hospital. Jeremy came with me. After an ECG, chest X-ray, blood tests and a CT
scan, I was diagnosed with a fractured sternum late in the evening. I was kept
in overnight; discharged on Sunday afternoon; collected by Emily in the evening
and driven to her house for two nights. Here I joined another granny, Ben’s Mum
Beth, who was recovering from an operation on her foot. Jeremy returned to Sal
Darago alone. We missed the last two days of the Summer Cruise and the motor
under Tower Bridge. Jeremy sailed single handed to the River Deben in one, long
day.
Tower Bridge, London
We were reunited on the Tuesday and
settled into a landlubber’s life again, while Sal Darago waited patiently on
her mooring in the river.
Sal Darago in St Katharine's Dock, London
Sadly, we’ve had to cancel our plans to sail to Denmark to see Robert and Lene. I’ve been told to expect 6 weeks for the fracture to mend and a further 6 weeks for complete recovery. Hopefully, from the middle of August, I can go sailing again in local waters. I think I’ll be “Skipper,” hog the helm and command my “crew” to “hoist the sails” or “weigh the anchor”! It might be fun. Then again, I might have a mutiny on my hands! I’ll let you know.
