What Sun day

Last evening over thirty Old Gaffers got together at the Fambridge Marina Bistro, a short walk from the Yacht Club, and had a good dinner and chat. The rain was still just drizzle, and walking back in the dark not too difficult. Even on an overcast night in the middle of the country the lights of Southend lit up the sky enough to see by.

Just after we got to bed it started pouring down, and hardly stopped all night. I already knew that Robinetta’s cabin roof is not water tight, but by ten the next morning a lot of new drips were making themselves known. It was also bitterly cold, with a northerly wind blowing 10-26 knots. Just like the forecast. The main event for the day was supposed to be a sail up to Battlesbridge; it was too shallow for Robinetta, but Deirdre draws a foot less and had offered to take us. In the end only one boat, Mike McCarthy's Emma Hamilton, a shallow draft motor boat, actually headed up river, and the rest of us travelled by car. The barbeque turned into an inside event at Toad Hall, lasagne or shepherd’s pie in front of a roaring log fire, with music from the gaffers band.... Not a bad way to spend a freezing afternoon!

After we got back to Fambridge most of us followed the plan and dropped down river to Burnham to moor for the night, with drinks and food at the Royal Burnham Yacht Club. It was an hour of very cold motoring to get there, but shortening the next day’s journey seemed like a good idea. The forecast was bad, northerly 5-7, occasionally 8 in south, with rain, and neither Julian nor I were sure that taking Robinetta out in that was a good idea. We decided to leave the decision until hearing the 07:10 forecast in the morning, and going straight away if it had eased at all.