Midsummer bliss

It felt really good to get away, and we had favourable tides the whole way. Since it was neeps, and we were only two hours after high water when we got to the Colne Bar we did not bother honouring the buoy, and cut across the bar, doing 6.24 knots over the ground under sail alone. The wind would have been directly behind us if we took a most direct course up the coast, so we headed towards the Gunfleet wind farm on a broad reach, then gybed in sight of Gunfleet no.4 buoy and headed towards Walton on the Naze at 6.5 knots. With the tide pushing us up the Wallet we did not need to gybe again, and cleared the Naze easily. 

The wind was getting up, and we dropped the staysail and put a roll and a half of reef in the main near Landguard. That was the only slightly uncomfortable part of the whole trip as the tide against us and the wind with us made for a slightly increased seas, but by the time we reached Harwich Shelf the tide was slack, and we entered the Stour under sail without any problems. The beat up to Wrabness was fun rather than frustrating, and we picked up a buoy feeling really happy with our day's sail.