A Change of Plan
Trip Start
May 06, 2008
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121
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Trip End
Sep 30, 2008
Maldon,
United Kingdom
Thursday, September 4, 2008
http://www.waterways.org.uk/EssexWaterwaysLtd/VisitorInformation/HeybridgeBasin
The lock opens once a day and the opening time for us was 15:00. That meant leaving Bradwell marina at around 12:00 to give us time to get up to the lock and if we arrived early, we could anchor outside and wait
Heybridge Basin
. Getting out of the marina was exciting, there was little room to turn and the minute that Julie had cast off the last retaining bow warp, we shot off backwards in the high wind - hitting 2.5 knots by the time the boat was clear of the pontoon! With the wheel hard over and the engine revving hard in forward, we avoided collision at the stern and were soon leaving the marina. Once out in the Blackwater proper, we had sharp 5' waves hitting us hard and with enough force to come over the bows and over the top of the sprayhood and onto us in the cockpit. The wind was blowing strongly, consistently at 35 knots but with the stay'sl out, we made good speed over the ground and in time, further up the river, the waves got smaller and the trip more comfortable.We arrived adjacent to the dock by about 14:00 and dropped anchor in the 3m of water and waited. The wind was really howling, it was quite fierce. As we were waiting, a lovely Thames barge came past and maneuvered itself against the quay wall, with minimum fuss, it was an impressive piece of boat handling. At 15:00 sharp, the lock gates opened and we were helped with our warps to secure the boat as the waters of the river equalized the levels in the lock and within 10 minutes, we were secured and safe in fresh water, immediately inside the lock gates.
All that was left for us to do now was to pack for the weekend (in our case) and pack all Elaine's belongings and wait for Rosemary. We had a pleasant walk a way down the canal in the warm sun ( the wind had abated somewhat by this time) and then we kept all our fingers crossed as the huge, black clouds gathered, threatening to start what had been promised - a deluge. Fortunately, we were able to get all our belongings into the car before we had any rain and indeed, it was never that torrential, unlike the western part of the UK. Then it was back to Rosemary's via Morrisons where we bought ready cooked curries (very good too) and settled in for the weekend.
