Pin Mill to Wrabness

Well this was my first mini adventure on Roach. At last the title of this blog has started to make sense I thought. But the first day with my crew was spend victualing the yacht, and making a run to Classic Marine and Foxes to get the reefing lines sorted. The original wooden cleats were quite unsatisfactory, and some new larger ones from Classic Marine solved the problem.

So as crew read the tabloids on the foredeck, I drilled and screwed and tried to get Roach’s reefing gear sorted.

On the way back from Foxes, we dinghied back via Brhyer, a lovely 30’s cutter to invite the owner and partner for drinks on Roach later on. At I really owed them a drink as they were then ones that recommended Pin Mill with such aplomb. They duly popped round and we went to work exhausting Roach’s cellar – one of the few bits of cabinetry actually finished on the interior.

The next morning after a lazy start, we hoisted the main and set sail for Secret Water. I was worried about towing the dinghy, but as I ordered one with a keel it towed much better than I had expected. It is an Excel 230 – made in Korea. I am very pleased with apart from the valves that tend to leak.

Roach, being fractionally rigged , is not a great at running. The jib gets blanketed and then collapses. Goose-winging up the Orwell, my homemade boat hook worked a treat. Without the pole the sail would have collapsed. As crew was down below with Mal de Mer (well I reckon it is called a hangover) I single-handed until we were out past Languard, where I needed help. The wind had veered and now it was no the nose to Pye End. Roach was on a beat up, handling well when the topping lift parted at the entrance to the Walton Channel. Crew did a miraculous job of retrieving it in very lumpy conditions as we were now quite shallow.

The idea was to find a quite anchorage, but there was too much traffic for our liking, so we decided to head back on a glorious run and anchor under the cliffs at Wrabness. This was much more like it as we were the only yacht on the Stour, and by sunset we were on the beach, cooking a BBQ, Roach swinging on the only mooring left. The

An early start the next morning left us enough time at the Butt and Oyster for a good lunch and a pint. All in all, a great weekend’s sailing!