This past weekend we finally got the boat out onto the ocean for the first time since Alex brought her over in July. It was a short trip to Ipswich and back with my Sister and Brother in Law and my two nieces and we had a great time. The girls had a real adventurous spirit and were not afraid at all of the moderate waves, river currents or large container ships that we passed by. I needed some liquid relaxation (aka a beer or 2 to calm my nerves) but they were just fine.
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| the crew |
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| Matilda |
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| Milena |
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| Eric |
It’s about a 9 mile drive from Woodbridge to Ipswich, but by sea it takes it bit longer! The first day out we spent a couple of hours sailing up and down the river and then headed back up to Ramsholt to pick up a mooring for the night. We had a nice walk in the afternoon and a few pints at the pub. It is so great to be able to walk to a pub for a drink and when the walk is in the countryside, that is even better!
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| beautiful church at the top of the hill |
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| Wellies are a must |
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| hiding |
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| Captain and crew |
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| Eric overlooking the river |
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| Alex and Eva |
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| beautiful sunset on the river |
The next day we sailed down the Deben and out of the river at Felixstowe Ferry, across the sea to Felixstowe Harbor (which we have been told is the busiest harbor in the UK, I believe it!) and up the Orwell river to Ipswich Haven Marina.
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| we saw lots of these on the horizon |
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| the freezing North Sea! |
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| we counted 3000 containers onboard |
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| this thing is huge! |
Since we didn’t arrive at high tide we experienced our very first “lock in” to the marina.
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| enter at the green light! |
We had a curry for dinner from a fine Indian take away establishment and the next day did the same process in reverse. This time we picked up a mooring ball at Waldringfield and spent the night so we could enter the Tidemill the next day on the high tide.
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| there is lots to see! |
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| the girls wondered if it would fit under the bridge |
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| beautiful Suffolk countryside |
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| keep number four to starboard! |
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| almost home |
The weather was good for the most part but a tad chilly and not quite sunny enough. Oh yeah, we live in England now........
It was a nice trip. Even I didn’t get seasick, and that seems like progress!
It's a real pleasure for us to see your family enjoying the sailing there. C&J
ReplyDeletethanks for following the blog! I cannot even tell you how much Alex (and me too) love and cherish Bright Star (Nani)!
DeleteThanks for posting. I sure enjoyed the pictures! Water isn't exactly pretty -- but the countryside is fantastic. I bet Alex is just loving having his sister and family nearby. We miss you guys terribly but hope to see you sometime in our future travels. Lisa and Thomas, s/v Bond's Voyage.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear from you Lisa! We'd love to have you guys come and visit.....that is if we can tear you away from all the cute grandkids!
DeleteWhat an incredible experience documented to encourage others to pull away from the dock. I would also like to hear about Alex's sail from Flowery Branch.
ReplyDeleteEvelyn, you are so sweet! If you have a minute and you want to read a bit about the crossing from the US to the UK you can check out the blog archives from July 2013 when they were sailing across.
DeleteWonderful! I was thinking about you a few days, how I had not seen any blog updates in a bit, and maybe I was sensing a new post was in the works!
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. I wondered what George & Susan were up to as they are now on P dock.
I'm looking forward to Sally and my visit to the UK in September for 3 weeks.
You mention that you live in Bury. Isn't that up north of Manchester? I thought you were on the east coast near Woodbridge. Or, is that just the boat?
I've been reading up on live aboard narrow boats on the vast network of canals over there. Looks like a very relaxed lifestyle.
Nick Stone