Our holiday actually started on Friday, but having not been on board for a couple of months due to an endless stream of family birthdays, we managed to fill a day and a half bombing around shopping for provisions, spares, doing odd maintenance jobs and collecting our Area 15 clothing!
So it was a great relief to finally slip lines and head out into the lunchtime sunshine to get away from it all. The weather was perfect, except for the distinct lack of wind, so we unfurled the iron sail and with the help of a fair tide made great time to Newtown River.
On arrival, we were extremely lucky to get a buoy – there was only one left towards the end of the reach and as we were following another yacht in, we weren’t holding out hope of finding another… but then the leading yacht decided not to go for it, turned around and left (probably worried about his draft, we guessed), and so we claimed it.
First order of the day was to pump up the tender and get the boys onto the beach to let off some steam. The outboard engine cut out halfway there and refused to start again (an airlock we assume, as the fuel pump had just been serviced), so while daddy puffed away with the oars, the boys thought this was a great adventure.
Thankfully, the engine started working again when it was time to come back, especially as the Ebb was running hard against us, otherwise it would have been a long wait on the beach.
Cost: £17 for buoy
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