The Ladies Race...

We woke to bright sunshine and light winds, such a contrast to yesterday! After a relaxed morning we tied Worm to the buoy, took Janner’s dingy off them and tied it on too, then headed down to Levington to start the Ladies/Young helm race. A third class quickly formed from boats that had no ladies or young people on board, and that was run as the Pennyhole Bay race which should have happened on Tuesday.

We got a bad start as we did not reach the line in time (12:30) and beating out of the Orwell was a disheartening experience as all the other boats disappeared into the harbour. The staysail kept sagging, as though the halyard was slipping, and the third time it happened, by the Dovercourt Breakwater, Julian went forward to see why.

The staysail downhaul ties off on a metal hoop that also holds the furling line blocks. The hoop forms the head of a spike which should screw down into the stem post, only it was waving loose. We immediately got the staysail in and decided to retire. The sun was long gone, and the idea of trying to beat out into Pennyhole Bay without the staysail made no sense; turning onto a run back up the Orwell was a huge relief.

Julian called up Suffolk Yacht Harbour as we went past and booked a berth, then we headed back to Pin Mill to collect Worm. The wind was very light by now, and we were making less than a knot sailing against the tide. Julian put the engine on as it began to drizzle and I got my oilskin trousers and sea boots on as well as my jacket before taking down the sails.

It began to rain in earnest as we picked up Worm, not so easy with two dinghies on the buoy, then we headed back to Levington, very glad we had reserved a berth! Unfortunately it did not really help, as the berth holder came back before we got into it, and we ended up rafted against Quintet.

We had thought of eating out at the pub a mile down the road, but by the time we had the covers on and had a cup of tea the thought of leaving Robinetta to go out into the down pour did not appeal and we ate on board.