The second part of the Summer Cruise involved a couple of days exploring Walton-on-the Naze followed by a night at Stone Point, the Pennyhole Bay Race and a couple of days in the River Orwell. Find out what we did in the first part of the week here.

The weather on Thursday 29 August was perfect for a sail so Steve and Simon left Titchmarsh to head out into Pennyhole Bay while Bev joined the OGA group visiting the Naze Tower for the second part of the Summer Cruise. 20 or so Gaffers were ferried by car from Titchmarsh to Walton for a tour of the 86’ high Naze Tower, a Grade 2* listed building constructed in 1720 by Trinity |House as a navigation mark. Since then it has had many varied uses before being listed on the ‘Heritage at Risk’ register in 1996. Following extensive restoration it is now an excellent place to visit for the spectacular views, cafe, museum and art galleries. Most of us had only ever seen the Tower from the sea and at 1200 Bev received a message from Steve to look out for ‘Cachalot’ when she reached the top after climbing the 111 steps. By all accounts and the photos, Steve and Simon had enjoyed a great sail, returning to anchor at Stone Point. Bev returned to Titchmarsh and had a lift down to meet the fleet at Stone Point on ‘Rely’. Part of the week’s activities was to transform two ‘mystery tins’ into a plate of delicious, well-presented food for the Great Gaffers Bake-off to be judged on the beach at Stone Point. Steve and Simon opened the tins to find chicken soup (which was discarded immediately) and chick peas. They prepared not only a wonderful dish for the judges but a meal for all three of us ferried to the beach in our big casserole pot.

Friday was quite a bit more breezy making the Pennyhole Bay Race an exciting beat out from Walton no. 2 to Pye End Buoy followed by a long reach offshore to Cork Ledge. Late across the start line we began to catch up with the fleet following the smacks flying their topsails. Further out the sea it was quite lumpy and with stronger winds a reef may have been a good idea! Missing the tack and having to gybe to round the buoy we lost some time but enjoyed the long run back into Harwich Harbour. We were in close company with ‘Catsnip’, resulting in some excellent photo opportunities for both boats. The finish line was at Beacon Hill and we sailed on up the River Orwell to take a berth at Woolverstone Marina, which is very expensive! We walked down the lovely riverside path with John and Jodie to Pin Mill for supper and an excellent evening at the Sailing Club.

The forecast storms arrived with a vengeance on Saturday and only ‘Transcur’ ventured downriver for the Gafferteering competition. As Steve tried to bring ‘Cachalot’ round to the Royal Harwich YC from Woolverstone she was caught by the wind and tide. After help from George and Martin to warp her round and out of the Marina he made the approach to the Royal Harwich hammerhead. This also ended badly as the wind and tide swept ‘Cachalot’ onto the pontoon, scraping a long section of the hull, rubbing strake and shroud plate. Inspecting the damage, it’s all cosmetic and will be easy to repair once back in Woodbridge. Everyone spent the day relaxing in the clubhouse, sheltering from the wild storms before enjoying an excellent evening meal followed by the Summer Cruise prizegiving. We crossed the line before ‘Reverie’ and ‘Catsnip’ in the Pennyhole Bay Race but came last on corrected time and of the nine boats racing, we came ninth overall. No trophies but we were pleased with the way ‘Cachalot’ is sailing now as an active member of the Gaffer fleet.

Fortunately the wind had died down on Sunday as we planned our passage back to the Tidemill, intending to drive to Scotland. After another early start at 0700, aiming to reach Woodbridge Haven by 1030 in a fairly strong easterly, we had to wait for a container ship and ferry before crossing the shipping lane. Motor-sailing meant we made the Woodbridge Haven Buoy in good time before cutting the engine and sailing into the Deben an hour before high water, 1045. An hour later, Steve put the engine on to drop the sails and nothing happened. With the anchor hastily dropped just outside the channel near the Rocks, Steve lifted the sole boards to find the prop shaft had become disconnected from the gearbox with four missing bolts in the bilge. He and Simon managed to find and replace the bolts for a temporary repair but too late to get into the Tidemill. After motoring to Waldringfield and picking up a buoy for the night, we chatted with James who had arrived back in ‘Kestrel’. We set off again on Monday morning, sneaking over the Tidemill sill at 1045. After lunch at the Station Café Simon returned to Dundee on the train and we drove back to Derbyshire, postponing our own trip to Scotland.