Sailing in the Stour and Orwell

With the way Robinetta had leaked on starboard tack on the way into Harwich harbour taking her cross channel to Holland as we had planned was not going to happen. We knew the planks in the bow were taking up, but the leaks there were too slow to cause the excessive pumping, so once we were moored up in Shotley I took up the floor in the cockpit. Water seemed to be seeping in along the rudder post, but not fast enough to be where the water was coming in so quickly when under way. We decided that next day we would to go for a sail up the Stour, driving Robinetta as hard as we could, and see what happened.

We came out of Shotley lock on free flow and I got the bowsprit out and the no1 jib rigged, then came back to the cockpit to raise the main. We were being carried gently up the Stour by the current and the staysail with the engine in idle, and Julian decided it would be interesting to get the main up without using the engine. Keeping Robinetta head to wind was not easy for him, and he had to put the tension on the gaff throat halyard for me as well but we managed as a joint effort.
Although the day was overcast we had perfect sailing conditions

I was coiling the ropes when Julian decided to get the jib flying, and (training fade) he did not remember to keep tension on the Whickham-Martin line. A loop promptly dropped off the spool and got caught underneath with the jib half out. The only answer was to drop the jib, haul the jib traveller back, unhook the line…. We got the whole lot sorted out under sail and finally got going properly at 11:15.

There was a small gaffer ahead, sailing along quietly on main and jib, and we slowly began to overhaul her. She turned out to be My Quest with Barry sailing her single handed.

Barry on My Quest

 Robinetta was going beautifully on starboard tack, but she began to pump fifteen minutes after we got her going, and then, regular as clockwork, every fifteen minutes the pump started again. I had a look in the bow, but there was nothing there to suggest that much water was coming in, so I got the cockpit floor up, and saw the water streaming in on the port side, mostly at the stern but also in a lessor way along a metre long plank edge. I had found our leak.

We continued sailing up the Stour on starboard tack until we neared the Holbrook cardinals, then tacked round to head back down river on the port tack. Checking the cockpit showed that the leaking plank had stopped letting in water, and there was nothing significant coming in through the starboard planks in the cockpit.

We encountered Charm on the way down river, out for a sail and intending to rendezvous with My Quest at Wrabness for a drink. We did not join them, as we wanted to get to Suffolk Yacht Harbour, with its classic marine and general chandlers, in time to go shopping.

As we passed the Felixstow Docks, keeping well over to the Shotley side we spotted Shoal Waters, a  cruising gaffer much smaller than Robinetta, much closer to the container ships that we like to be!

Shoal Waters with a small part of a container ship

We sailed as far up the Orwell as the Pepys buoy, but with wind and tide both against us put the engine on and got the sails down. We pumped only once when we were on port tack or under engine, so the only bad leak is the one at the stern on the port side.

We were moored up on a pontoon at 14:45, and once Robinetta had her sail covers on we went to the chandlers. Tomorrow will be a maintenance day.