A few days of unsuitable boating weather gave us a chance to catch up on a few boating chores, as well as spend some time with the CA Essex crew. A highlight was a trip up the Crouch to Lady Martina's old home of West Wick, where we found the pontoons uprooted for dredging work, as well as former owner Tom Maudesley working on his boat. We had time for a lunch stop at the Ferry Boat Inn before we had to vacate the dredger's berth which we had temporarily occupied!

Thursday was another of our "weren't we lucky with the weather" days, when we chose flat calm conditions for the final leg of our trip back to Yarmouth. In fact we made such good progress that we had to slow down in order to arrive on time for our 2pm bridge lift at Haven Bridge. Not being used to such luxuries, we had forgotten we would also need the Breydon Bridge if, as planned, we were continuing up the Yare to Brundall, but the ever accommodating harbour staff anticipated our needs and obligingly held up the traffic for us.

With yet more work to be finished off on the boat before the conclusion of the winter refit we had opted to return to Brundall, and were delighted to rendezvous with Virginia Lady who were conducting an inspection of their new paddle steps. Not only could we spend an enjoyable evening together, but they also gave us a lift home to Horning, solving a complex logistical problem.

Cruising Statistics

Distance: 80 nm

Total to date: 179 nm

Avg Speed: 11.9 knots

Duration: 6:45 hours

Diesel: 312 litres

Wind: NW 3

Electricity: Included

Bridges

Haven (lift)

Breydon (lift)

Charts

SC5606

SC5607