The Beauty of Sailing

The forecast said good to moderate occasionally poor. Knowing that meant visibility we set off in a flat calm sea with the mist gently swirling around the river bank. The Essex marshes appearing and disappearing as the damp air condensed over the cool sea.

We thought of Davis in Riddle of the Sands as he navigated the shallows of the Friesian Islands. We had some advantages, GPS, Depth Sounder, Radar and a chart plotter as well as our trusty compass. How interesting it was that we still became disorientated and struggled to keep our course. Thankfully our skipper kept us concentrating on the job in hand and we safely left the River Crouch and enjoyed a peaceful sail up to the river Orwell. It was as we approached the container port at Felixstowe that the visibility dropped again and we used the echo sounder to stay in the shallow water off Harwich Shelf to avoid the large container ships entering harbour. Then, as we passed the picturesque village of Pinmill, the sun appeared and we took this amazing picture. What a beautiful sky- it made the foggy start at 0600 worth it!

For details of our practical sailing courses click here. You could be out there taking in the wonderful views!

Posted by: firstclass