It is our intention to be insured while we are travelling around the world. However, nearly all insurers require that the rig is replaced every ten years and the rig on Mariadz was last done in 2010. So we have agreed to get the rig refreshed as one of the last tasks we do prior to leaving.
At the Southampton boat show back in 2015, I had spoken to a rigging company about doing this work. They claimed to have re-rigged a Moody 54 previously and were able to give me a quote….and it was eye-wateringly expensive. It made me realise that 10% or 20% off an already inflated price was no bargain! I was also not convinced that I wanted to go to the South Coast to get it done anyway and this helped with the decision.
On the East coast of the UK, there was a rigging company with a good reputation called Rig Magic but they apparently stopped trading late in 2016 and so we needed another alternative. I spoke to a number of people in the marina at Ipswich Haven and also spoke to the team at Spirit Yachts. They introduced me to Richard at Evolution Rigging who at the time had rigged several quality yachts in Ipswich and also rigged Spirit Yachts and Oysters! Maria has always had a view that if something is good enough for Spirit and Oyster then it would be good enough for us! I was always a bit fearful of the costs of this approach but it has worked out well for us in the past.
I spoke to Richard about our rig and he explained some of the things we would need to consider, ably demonstrating his helpfulness and knowledge. He also came back with a quote which was much more reasonable than the over-inflated boat show price from one of his competitors. As part of his offer, he mentioned that there was also an upgrade available that would be 30% stronger than the standard rig for the same weight and size of wire. This would cost an extra 20% on the quote but would give us more piece of mind. Can you imagine not going for this option and then losing the rig at some stage! It was a no-brainer for us.
As a first step he suggested for some of his team to perform a complete rig 
check, even though we know we will be replacing it in the next year or so. This would make sure we were safe in the interim. At the back end of August, this was performed and as expected a few things came up which need rectification but nothing that was a safety issue (so lots of amber and no reds). The check was very thorough and the written report backed up that we were safe enough for the moment and also identified some of the changes that they would recommend when we go for the full refit.
The other benefit we had here was watching the guys go up the mast. You can learn a lot from someone who goes up the mast as their day job. We noticed that the team didn’t lock off the line in the self-tailer but used the electric winch to help with the pull while pulling the line by hand. This made the process less jerky and uncomfortable for the person in the chair. A top tip for us, probably adding more comfort for me!
The deck organisers that help run the lines back to the cockpit were an issue. These had all jammed which caused friction in the use of these lines. We had noticed that the weren’t running as easy as usual but hadn’t linked this to the deck organisers. Using Corrosion-X 
although I did also need to take the headlining down in the saloon to access the bolts under the organiser, some of which were on a bit tight. Having freed these, it did make me think that we have more work to do with the rig and we will discuss replacing the clutches and organisers as part of the rig refresh over the next few years. There were also a number of other easy fixes i could do myself such as tightening up the lines across the gates. That was also being redone as we extended our pushpit.
We had also noticed that the block for the staysail outhaul was UV damaged and the plastic cover was shattering although the weight bearing metal elements of the block were still ok. We decided to replace the obsolete Lewmar 72mm ocean block with an upgraded block from the current range and after speaking to Lewmar this was the HLX block. These are stronger than the old ocean range and I was told to go down a size but, of course, this didn’t work for me because the attachment to the traveller track was 10mm rather than 8mm so I have gone back to the 72mm block which increases the safety margin even more. At the end of the day, I took the decision to change this and if, after consultation with the rig team, it was decided to upgrade this even further then we have a spare block available.
I have now gone throughout the entire rig, checking all blocks and using corrosion-X to free up any stiffness in the block. It was surprising how many were seized but also how easy they are to free. This work included the stanchion blocks that run the headsail and staysail furler lines. Interestingly, this seemed to have an immediate effect, in conjunction with lubricating the furler itself, and I have found these sails a lot easier to furl since doing this work.
So we now have confidence in our rig and a high level plan for its replacement which we need to finalise with Richard. I believe as part of this we will replace all of the blocks that we have in the rig. We also addressed a few things that will help to make it better in the short term and the thorough rig check was not expensive.
Maria gently pulled Mariadz out of her berth to head towards the lock and Mark from Motion took a pic for us. Shortly after the picture was taken we noticed that the satellite dish was still up, just ahead of the mast! Better get that in before we go too far down the river!
Progress is slow and there are very few other boats out. We are 
against tide and wind and we travel down the wallet quite slowly (for us). I’m not too worried since we will arrive at the Spitway at the bottom of Gunfleet sands after low tide as expected and it does give us a chance to get some good shots of boats coming the other way with the wind and tide.
the opportunity to see seals bathing on the mud. Today there are relatively few, we have seen nearly a hundred before but there was a nice group gathered for a coffee morning and chat. Soon after this we see an ocean rowing boat. We later discover that this is team Kung Fu Cha Cha who are intending to be the only Chinese team in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic 
Challenge this year. They seemed to be doing pretty well on their warm up run up the crouch and the AIS track showed good speed :). We will definitely be following this team in the upcoming race.
and we will need to be careful, no cutting the corners today! Maria realises that she will have to come in and as she passes between the entrance poles, she will have to turn hard to starboard and then let the wind push Mariadz onto the pontoon controlling her with the bow thruster and using the engine to line her up with the hammerhead. Maria is a little apprehensive in the twenty knot wind but she handles the boat well and I am confident that we will do fine if we communicate well. On the final approach into the marina, the water is shallow and the alarm goes off. For one second we are thinking we may run into the mud at the entrance and be stuck for some time waiting to be floated off by the tide – you know every man and his dog would have chosen that time to come into the marina – and you don’t want to be the gnome greeting everyone at the entrance! There are no such concerns as Maria negotiates the last of the approach and puts the wheel hard to starboard before starting to take the speed off the boat. A bit of straightening up with the bow thruster and minor adjustment to line up with the hammerhead and we drift gently into position. I step off and we are tied quite quickly. A little after lunchtime but Maria gets her afternoon moored or tied up….lucky girl.
The E/F pontoon hammerhead is our usual and favoured berth at Burnham but the pontoon feels shorter than we remember, we are therefore overhanging on both sides so we will need to think carefully about how we tie up. I catch up with Bruce who explains that another similar sized boat will come in the next day and could we make this easier by moving forward when they come in before returning to our normal position afterwards. We absolutely understand the issues with manoeuvring in the tight spaces and we offer to give them a hand when they arrive. Our friend Lisa has also come to stay for the weekend so the cats will get spoilt too.
This takes several hours but by the end of it Mariadz is looking beautiful for all of ten minutes! This is an issue at Burnham. The marina is very nice, we have met some great people there and the carnival weekend is always excellent but there is an issue with birds – not Essex girls but Hitchcock level birds. They look lovely as they fly around and at one stage we saw thirty starlings on the spreaders and standing rigging of one boat which made it look like a Christmas tree. 
However, these birds seem to eat a lot of red and black berries…..so shortly after I have finished the deck, it looks like Prince’s mythical Purple Rain has happened. I have cleaned the windows and I am not doing that again, so we will put up with it until the end of the weekend when I clean Mariadz down after our journey.
I am there to take lines if needed but she comes to lie so gently against the pontoon that we have all day to get her tied off. Maria can then start the engine of Mariadz and we can put her back to her old position with stern coming out as far as the boats on the long pontoon and the bow slightly overhanging the next entrance. We have a nice chat and later a few drinks with the crew of Sweet Surrender before coming back to Mariadz for a gorgeous home made fish pie, prepared by Maria but with top quality ingredients sourced (or sauced) by Adam. It’s going to be a long weekend so an early night is called for but not before Maria asks whether I can get the satellite dish setup so she can record some programmes over the weekend. Now in a domestic setup, a clever engineer, works out where to point the dish when the system is setup and you never need to think about it. On a boat or motorhome, every time you move you need to reposition the dish, and in a boat you need to make sure you are tied well or the dish will move and lose the signal. On one of our trips to a motorhome show, Maria had decided to get rid of the old standard dish and replaced it with a 
which doesn’t have an arm that can be broken. It also comes with everything you need to align the satellite…well, a mat, a rudimentary compass and a clever device to get the angle right – who needs a spirit level when you have that! At our home base in Ipswich, I know pretty much where to point the dish and generally get it set up well but I have not had such luck on our travels. Burnham is quite easy to work out as the river goes east-west and we are on the north bank, so I put down the mat and roughly align the dish while I go to get the compass etc. Before I get back I have a signal on the sky box! Excellent, now Maria can record X-factor…. 😉
Just before we go there is a little excitement as one of the ocean rowing teams, not our Chinese friends, is brought in by the RNLI. There is a little concern at how bad it is out there but Mariadz can take it so hopefully we wont be needing the RNLI services later.
concerned that this may push us onto the bowsprit of Sweet Surrender but we have agreed to spring off from the bow which take us away at 30 degrees from the pontoon. All the fenders are in place and we have a little help from our new friends. This was a little fortunate as I hadn’t moved the bow spring far enough back onto the pontoon but we were able to pause the manoeuvre, move the line and start again. We come off fine so although not exactly text book, everything is good. Maria then takes Mariadz astern and with a hard starboard turn we are through the exit and into the river. This gives me the opportunity to stow the fenders on the mast pulpits (granny bars) again. Unfortunately our departure coincides with a yacht race down the Crouch so Maria slows down and we follow the race down river. There is some minor concern as the racers approach their turn and we momentarily think that the course may return directly back down the river and straight at us but they pass on our port side presenting some good photo opportunities.
As we came out of the Crouch we saw the only other sailing boat that we would see all day coming back in under ominous black clouds. At this stage, even with much reduced sail, we are flying along at 8.5knots with the wind on the beam. Soon we will be turning towards the Wallet and over the Spitway, which this time has lots of water over it. As we turn, I take advantage of the change in the wind angle to take in the headsail, the other two are easy to get in if we need to and those clouds could be accompanied by even more wind. To be fair the reduced sail didn’t harm our speed much and we still bumbled along at a good seven knots for the whole journey but it gave us piece of mind. First though the Wallet, which is affectionately called “vomit alley” was incredibly rolly, with waves going across our beam but at least the tide and wind were in the same direction.
completely empty, there must have been real concerns over the weather because normally the river is busy at this time. We head up but lose a bit of time because of the variability of the wind, we are not too bothered and by this time Maria has put the roast dinner in the oven so it will be ready when we arrive in Ipswich.
However, the standard Moody 54 doesn’t have much pushpit space with two liferings, a danbuoy and, for us, a life raft already on there. With the davits also restricting options and two two aft seats taking up more room, it is a little tight to say the least.
which gives us more room and a safer aft area. This would also provide more rigidity to the pushpit when combined with the reinforcement we put in the stern section previously when we added braces from the davits to the pushpit. The final item we needed to think about was the repositioning of the ensign required by the new solar panels. This was also intended to be rail mounted although I was keen to go back to a wooden pole rather than the stainless one we had previously.
The finished job looks like it has always been there, just waiting for safety lines to be adjusted so that we can finish this part of the job. The best part is you cant see the join between the new and old elements of the pushpit, very happy with the workmanship again!
original hydraulic rams, Bennetts in America. After sending various pictures and measurements, they were able to find the rams I needed (HL12CDA). I then had to wait for the next available transport to the UK, unless of course I wanted it delivered airmail which would be double the cost the of the rams themselves! I waited. The rams arrived and were ready for fitting and then I discussed with Lindsay when we could go about fitting them and getting the system working again. In the interim, Matt, a marine engineer and very good friend of ours, was visiting and I picked his brain. He persuaded me to do the ram swap myself and actually this transpired to be a lot easier than I imagined. I then needed to add hydraulic fluid (automatic transmission fluid) into the reservoir and bleed the system by using it and adjusting the flow to eliminate any air left in the system.
Most of the pipes are metal sheaved flexible pipes but there is one copper pipe and unfortunately the (olive) joint was faulty and hydraulic fluid was squirting out of it and making pretty patterns in my lazerette. I took a look at this with Lindsay at Seapower and we discussed how to resolve the problem. The sensible decision was to replace the copper pipe with a new stainless steel flexible pipe. I went to the local specialists, Pirtek. After one false start, when i pressurised the system and the new joint failed spraying hydraulic fluids everywhere, we were able to pressure test the remade pipe and get the hydraulics sorted. I was back to being able to lift the platform but not drop it. Most importantly, after nipping up a couple of joints, we don’t leak even a drop of hydraulic fluid.
We wanted to have something that you could brace yourself against, for when you are working at the mast. Although with in-mast furling, you do spend less time at the mast than you would with the lazy jack system we had previously. An added advantage would be that this could also be somewhere that we could store our fenders, rather than on the pushpit or along the decks. We looked at a few designs and were keen to have something that we could hold ourselves against while still being able to reach the mast and also use the winch on the mast if necessary. It would also provide a useful hand hold when walking along the deck. I noticed this when I was walking back when they were placed there for show and naturally grabbed it for support. 🙂
solid base for the solar and also allows us to have three large but lightweight (240W) panels which were 
. We think this is a sensible amount of solar for a large, power-hungry boat although we will be also be looking at further ways to reduce our consumption. An alternative would have been to have a small wind turbine fitted to the boat. You will see this on a number of cruising boats but to get a good charge you need some wind, normally in excess of 20knots for any meaningful contribution. Maria and I discussed this and decided that we would generally prefer to be in an area sheltered from wind if possible. The other disadvantage of wind turbines is that they are quite noisy and are also likely to cast a shadow over solar panels that would impact the solar performance so a mixed solution may also not be great. So it was agreed we would go with a solar array matched in Watts to the amp hours of our batteries (720W and 880Ah of battery power). Reason number five and the best reason! although I quite like the helipad idea……
This would mean that we would need to have a certain amount of headroom and the frame couldn’t be mounted directly on top of the davits even if we had wanted that. Another reason it needed to be raised would have been the console on the rib which sits proud above the level of the davits. These reasons, and aesthetics meant we wanted to have something that felt balanced with the boat. We worked with East Coast Stainless on the design and came up with a design that we think works. One of the design questions was about being able to tilt the mechanism, which is more efficient for solar (and creates more downforce, returning to a previous train of thought 😉 ). However, we had concerns that this would be cumbersome, heavier and fail over time as the combination of salt water and stainless welded the tubing to itself. We had exactly this experience with a telescopic boat hook that wouldn’t budge after it 
had been immersed in the sea and left for a few months. As part of this work we lost the Neptune’s fork that used to be mounted here but we had already moved or replaced most of the aerials that were on this and we didn’t want this to still be in place and potentially shade the panels. Some of the aerials were better mounted on the mast anyway. A few were left over which are mounted on plates to the side of the panels, providing a little shading but hopefully not impacting our solar output too much. When the fork was removed the davits suddenly looked naked until the frame went on, it was strange.
had looked at how the power went into the batteries and had agreed with Olly on an MPPT controller which maximises the power going into the batteries by being very clever (please tell me if I am being too technical!). It takes a high voltage as an input and then converts this to the lower voltage required by the batteries. We went with the blue solar set up which is supplied by Victron since we had other Victron equipment and this gets great reviews. It also comes with a Bluetooth communications module which will allow us to monitor the solar array in its own right. All of our on board monitoring would give us a nett effect after any load had been subtracted, unless of course we switch off everything on the boat….so the ability to check the solar in isolation is useful. But it is also useful to know whether your batteries are being charged after considering the current load as a baseline.
ith just one panel connected up and with rain water on the panel, which impacts efficiency, we were getting 4A going into the batteries which is all electricity we don’t have to buy off the marina or fuel for the generator. Now you even get money-saving tips from Mariadz 🙂
We pass the two large containers unloading on the newest docks at Felixstowe, each over 1,000 feet long and we are gently motoring towards the wallet and the gunfleet windfarm. The southerly wind is in our faces but we know the turn to south west into the Wallet will give us the opportunity to get some sail up and motorsail at the very least. So a couple of hours into our journey and we are ready to get some sail up and with little wind, it’s gonna be all the sail -main, yankee and stay sail! Even against the tide we are making reasonable progress down the Wallet, which is incredibly busy giving an opportunity to get the camera out and take action pics of the boats.
awful lot of moored yachts and motorboats at Clacton. From a distance this almost looks like a pop-up Marina but as you get closer you can see there are quite big gaps between the boats. We have friends anchored off and other friends watching from the beach so hopefully they all saw us as well as the planes! 
We are on the look out for other friends amongst the anchored boats but I think they must be a sniper in camouflage since they were able to get a shot of us but I couldn’t see them. I later find that there had been more bikini-clad women waving to me, sorry to at I missed it this time. 🙂 
We keep going at a reasonable pace with the intention of getting to Osea at about 7:30pm, a little late if there is a problem anchoring or the anchorage is full but we have been here a few times and never had a problem before. As you negotiate the gap at Colne bank, you can see the Bradwell Nuclear Power Station in front of you and it is another couple of hours down the blackwater, against the tide, to get to Osea. The river is quite quiet this evening and we make good progress, still motor sailing but with the wind having shifted slightly to South Easterly giving us some assistance from the sails as we progress down the river. We go past Radio Caroline, which I didn’t realise was still broadcasting, 
one time we will have to try and get it on the radio when we go past! We arrive at Osea at the time we expected and start setting the anchor, I have remembered to attach the anchor float so that we know where the anchor is, the snubber is attached and holds the chain below the waterline which helps with keeping the anchor and boat comfortable and protects our top sides from the chain. 
Finally, the anchor ball goes up and the anchor light is on so we are ready to settle down for a quiet evening as Bradwell gentle glows in the distance behind us 😉. Having lived in Tollesbury, on the other side of the river, for six years, I guess I shouldn’t worry too much about the Bradwell glow! We are up on deck quite late enjoying the tranquility so no music for us or Maria belting out tunes! She must be tired. Maria’s actually in bed by ten but that probably isn’t a bad thing and means that she will be rested for the weekend.
The morning is magnificent, sunny and still, at least until the water skiers turn up mid morning! We decide that before everywhere gets too busy we will move to a better spot. The place we chose last night meant at low tide we were within seven metres of one of the buoys, Maria doesn’t like that so we move further down the river where it is a little shallower but with more room. The move is uneventful and we are settled back down with the float out, snubber on and anchor watch application keeping an eye on us.
Before we go we take a few pictures of Mariadz looking regal in the river. And we’re off. It’s actually quite a nice trip on a rising tide although the garmin keeps telling me this would be shallow normally, but with the tide we are fine. However, we are being very careful, as always, and stay to the channel in the centre. This is quite ridiculous as we find when we get to Maldon. Our rib, Connie, probably needs about 30cm of water, compared to the 180cm of Mariadz. 
As we arrive in Maldon, we see a lot of the Thames Barges that we see in the Orwell! Maybe I didn’t need to worry about the depth…. having lived in Tollesbury for so long and spent a couple of years driving through Maldon to get to work – I didn’t know anything about the riverside area at all and it looks really nice. My first experience is to go to the two pubs on the waterfront, having left the rib on the small 
visitors pontoon. This works well as we arrive to an empty pontoon, but soon after the world and his wife have decided to come to Maldon, so I had to keep going back to make sure that little Connie didn’t get crushed by anybody and to move her so that others could squeeze in. We all work together and by moving things around we get everyone into the pontoon. This includes some new friends on a small yacht who made contact with land a couple of metres short of the pontoon! We waited a few minutes for the tide to lift them from the mud and then could bring them into the pontoon rather than being stuck out there 🙂 
later we saw them sailing back up the blackwater “refreshed”.
We’re back in time for sunset, a lovely BBQ and some time with the cats who have missed us. Sunset is amazing with the sky turning a deep red, I promise there is no filter on the photograph. Then as we are finishing dinner, a couple of guys from an adjacent boat are pottering around in their inflatable and come to say hi, I suspect that we will be chatting more tomorrow…. especially as we can hear them laughing and joking on their boat anchored nearby!
Anyway, 30 minutes later and we are all clean and tidy. Now the real work of sunbathing and relaxing can begin. Oh and maybe a cheeky glass of wine. Our new friends in the anchorage pop up river for a sail, there isn’t any wind though 😉, and on their return we invite them onto Mariadz to properly introduce ourselves before hitting the beach later for a barbecue. For one of the crew, it is her first time on water, and she is not comfortable doing the ride to Mariadz in their inflatable. 
I offer to pop over in the rib to collect her and come back nice and slowly so as not to worry her. I throw the line back to Mariadz but the combination of my poor throw and a missed catch means that the rope is in the water. Instinctively, I reverse back so that I can retrieve the line, why did I do that! The line gets nicely wrapped around the prop of the rib and the engine stops. After switching off the ignition, I lift the engine and unwrap the line as we drift slowly down the river. Lowering the engine and restarting works fine and we can try and do a better job of it this time! We get my passenger safely on board and we can add another unique experience to our boating life. To be fair it was quite quick to resolve the issue and if it hadn’t have been, I would have been able to deploy the anchor quite quickly too while I solved it (or ended up rowing back to Mariadz…. with one oar…. against a stong tide). Let’s just be grateful that no damage was done!
The anchorage is now getting busy too but we have been here a night already so hopefully the other boats will anchor in a way that doesn’t cause us any problems. Not that is an issue for us, we like to have access to the decks and so we deploy our fenders which has the added benefit of giving the cats a way to get back on board if they did fall in. It must look strange and unnerving though when you anchor close to a boat that has their fender deployed, not much confidence in anchoring ability being demonstrated there!
We are now on a falling tide with low tide scheduled to be about 11pm but we are not worried about such things…..yet. Maria goes off “hunting for wood” but it must be hiding because she comes back with only a small twigs. It is ok though as we all go off and forage for wood for the fire and soon with some liquid help it is roaring, a little like us! 
Maria’s brought some music and a speaker, although thankfully not the full karaoke setup, so music is playing and it is a lovely evening. We are eating quite late but everyone is having a good time.
although I will admit it isn’t the best picture in the world! Maria became an excited school girl when she saw it! Really sweet as she spontaneously bursts into tears.
The hull polish went very well and is a quick job because the surface is mostly flat. She came up beautifully. The gold vinyl stripe, which we intend to change next year to a painted stripe, is looking fine despite having been in place for over four years. So we can survive another year of that without doing anything major.
we discovered that this needed very fine sanding with 400 and then 1000 wet and dry sand paper…… very gently! The dark crazing was removed and, after polishing, this area looked like new which was refreshing considering this had been a bugbear of ours for a few years.
I have been fortunate to have Pete and Linda as neighbours
for the last two years and one of the things I have noticed as they fit out the beautiful Haven Voyager is that Pete designs a lot in cardboard before making it or buying it. This gave me the inspiration to mock up the steps prior to buying any wood or hinges! I can also thank my son Matthew for drinking the cider that made this all possible.
There are basically three types of joint in the design. The outside of the box 
requires a joint that forms an L so that the top of the box is supported on all sides for stability. This means that the flush hinges need to be brought in by the width of the wood and recessed into the wood to provide a flush finish (I would now recess these differently to the picture with the larger part of the hinge being recessed but I did the first as in the picture and wanted to stay consistent at least on the inside of the box). Two of the concertina sides are joined to each side of the back using this method and the other two are joined to the top step in the same way, I used two hinges for each joint irrespective of size. Having built the U of the back and two sides and the same U shape for the front, we can join these together with the butt hinges. You now have a box with one end which is only half covered and has the front of the top step. We can now fit the top step itself, which is the top of the box, by fitting two flush hinges onto the top edge of the back on the outside and then the smaller top piece can be fixed. The larger top piece is then attached to the smaller with two butt hinges (on the inside). Our top step is taking shape. Now to avoid any unfortunate accidents it is a good idea to attach two bars on the underside of the longer part of the top step. These will stop the concertina collapsing inwards. They should be mounted a wood width from the outside edge and have at least a wood width on the outside edge at the front.
to waterproof and protect the wood, 
to stop any accidents and the boat name in gold, which isn’t too clear with the wood colour unfortunately. The final element is a weathermax bag for it to go in, and I’ll probably throw some silicon sachets in there.
In just over an hour we are tied up to a mooring buoy, the Prosseco has been broken out and the girls are starting to relax. We settle down to watch the sunset over the River Orwell as our pork chops cook in the galley. At the age of 72, Adam’s Dad has discovered Facebook. His regular posts on the recovery of Adam’s Mum from a stroke in March, help us all understand the progress and the difficulty of these long term recoveries. It is clear from his latest update that today has been a hard day and we agree to facetime him to have a face-to-face chat over the internet. Two hours later, dinner has been switched off, alcohol has been consumed and we are all still chatting but Dad is in a better place and his favourite daughter outlaw (in joke I’m afraid) is now past eating. A few more drinks and a bit more chatting and it is time for bed before we head to Osea Island the next day – I never get my own way 🙂
This is the Ross Revenge which is the boat that used to broadcast Radio Caroline in the North Sea during the Eighties. This was after the first Radio Caroline ship, Mi Amigo, had sunk which is remarkably similar to the story for the “The Boat That Rocked”, although apparently this is a coincidence! So a little bit of history to enjoy as you sail past. There are then a large number of moored boats before you get to the anchorage at Osea Island. We arrive shortly before 6pm, right on low water, and with only five other boats spread around the anchorage find a good spot and start to drop anchor. In one respect arriving at low water has the advantage of simplifying the calculations for the anchor chain although it does mean that we did not benefit from the tide at any stage!
although on this occasion I forget to attach the anchor ball to the anchor to help with 
location and retrieval in an emergency. Time to relax again, as the sun goes down and out comes the Prosecco and the raspberry gin – hmmm, theme developing here. Our friends are at Brightlingsea listening to music and send us a video, the singing doesn’t sound the best if we’re honest and doesn’t compare to the band we can hear on Osea Island where there must be a wedding 
or large summer party. It’s a lovely, still, warm evening as we settle down. For the second night, the fishing rods are shut firmly in their carrier and my Dad FaceTimes us and we talk for ages and Bonnie chills on deck.
Maria has taught him to do a high five for treats, he likes to practice this a lot and he has the girls wrapped around his little paw! He gets treats.
Clyde is now being a bit cheeky and trying his “come to bed” eyes on Lisa!
they are falling behind as we start to catch up with a couple of smaller boats ahead of us. We travel up the wallet passing Walton, Frinton and Clacton which all look very different from the sea.
Mariadz 