Mooring to Marina

Next day, after a look at the weather, we decided that heading north to explore the Ore and the Alde would once again be left for another time. The weather dictated a shorter foray north, so we decided to head for the Deben. The wind was perfect for such a trip, South Westerly 5-6 but decreasing, so we dropped the mooring at Wrabness without turning on the engine, and sailed on a reefed main and number 2 jib down the Stour. We did not even need the engine to cross the shipping lane in the Stour, or the big ship channel outside Harwich Harbour. We kept sailing into the Deben until we were past Felixstowe Ferry, and even then only put the engine on for a minute to drop the mainsail.

After a while sailing only on headsails we got the main up again once we were clear of the Ramsholt moorings and heading for the Rocks. We did not want to get to the Tidemill early, so worked at keeping the speed down. The strategy worked perfectly, and we entered the Tidemill Marina without needing to wait for water over the cill.

In 6½ hours of sailing the engine was only on for 15 minutes. This combined with a warm dry day made for a perfect sail from a pretty mooring spot to an attractive town.