Lowestoft to West Mersea – 74 miles in 13 hours
Almost back – we left Lowestoft at 4am this morning and decided to head straight down the coast to Mersea. Plans changed several times during the course of the day. On motoring out of Lowestoft, the engine alarm decided to go off – what great timing. My mechanical knowledge extends as as far as the key and ignition switch, so I focused on sailing us down the coast while Richard stuck his head in the engine compartment. He quickly worked out that a plastic T-joint in the cooling system had split and managed to bodge a repair with some epoxy and gaffer tape. The breeze was light, so we thought about heading into the Orwell. However, phone calls to Volspec and French Marine revealed a dearth of marine engineers in Suffolk, so we carried on and arrived in Mersea at 5pm.
On the way down the coast, I got a missed call from Derek who was out in Merganser sailing round the wind farm. He joined us for supper on the buoy in Mersea Quarters on his way back to his own buoy in the leavings.