A Bridge Too Far

Thank you to all our readers who have bought one or both of our books, “Sailing By on Sal Darago” Volume 1 and 2. They continue to be available on Amazon. Please leave a review if you liked the books.

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.

Ready to launch

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, 50^th birthday. Then there was my birthday and granddaughter, Ellie’s, birthday.

Durham Regatta

At last, on 28^th 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.

Andy, Kathy, Moyra, Ben and Jeremy in Durham

It was looking like we would make it to Ramsgate by 14^th 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.

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 13^th 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.

Kathy in the Ramsgate Tunnels

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.

Westerly owners at Pin Mill

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.

Sunset over the Orwell Bridge

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!

The Thames barge, Victor, at Ipswich

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.

Sunset over the moorings at Queenborough

The next day required an early start. We left Ipswich with fellow Westerly yacht, Oratava, soon after 6.00am and reached Brightlingsea in Essex at midday. We remembered our previous visit 50 years ago in our small power boat and how excited we’d felt to be going “out to sea” for the first time. Soon lots of Westerly boats were rafted up on both sides of a floating pontoon. The water taxi to the shore cost £1.50 per person per trip or you could take your own dinghy.

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.

Hilary, Bill, Bren, Steve and Jeremy at Colne YC

We had another early start on Monday 24^th 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.

Chatham Historical Boatyard

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.

Thames Barrier

On Thursday, 23^rd 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.

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

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.

Tower Bridge, London

Consequently, just after breakfast on Saturday 29^th 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.

Sal Darago in St Katharine's Dock, 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.

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.