Wayfarer rally to Harwich February 2015

February was a chance to meet up with other uniquely challenged people and go for a sail from Harwich Town Sailing Club. Saturday dawned a clear day with the odd chance of showers blowing a steady force 3 from the west.

The intrepid bunch are left to right back row Andy, Dave, Dave and me then front row Charles, Sheila, Alison, Nick, Bernie, Martin, Julie, Helen, Simon and Rachel.

After sail fizz on the rear deck of our boat Mihangel after the sail.

Dave my sailing partner for the day coming back to Harwich after a long rather wet at times beat up river to the Royal Harwich Yacht Club for lunch.

Sailing back to Harwich Town sailing club.

Getting ready to sail back from the pontoon at the Royal Harwich Yacht Club

Friday 20th February

I have just finished packing the car ready to go down to Harwich for a weekends sailing whilst Viv holds the fort at home, still a bit too cold for her at sea.

Although cold outside and the frost just melting from the grass the birds are singing their heads off.

We have had a Song Thrush in the garden most days and it sits in the either the plum or holly trees and sings every day and is hopefully establishing a territory to breed in. The Chaffinches have started singing as well and we have woken up to their song for the last week in the garden.

This morning a pair of Tree Sparrows visited the feeders again and as I was checking the pond for any signs of life I could see two Skylarks singing and displaying to each other in the field opposite.

The Starlings are scuffling about in the nest box next to the bathroom, Stuart Starling has taken over the nest site at the end of the garage and a Blue Tit seems to be very interested in the box on the Keswick Apple tree so all go in the garden.

I did see a couple of goldfish drifting around the pond but it won't be long now until the frogs and toads return with luck. I wonder if they will return to the raised bed pond this year?

More photos of the boat

Ours is the one in the fore ground not the multi-coloured job behind she looks gorgeous.

She is a tiller steer and comes with reefing main, rolling genoa and a spinnaker and looks like she will go once fully powered up, I can't wait to get her out!

Our camper van is an Eldis Sunseeker and the name of the boat is Sundance, co-incidence or what, looks like it was meant to be?

This is Simon the chap we bought her from looking down into the main cabin.



This is a view of the main cabin with the seats and cushions still on board before Alec and I started to strip her out so we could clean and start renovating and lavishing tender love and care on her and I expect a bit of dosh!

Wednesday 11th February - Big Day

Big day today as we have bought a yacht!

I've been hanging my nose over a bigger boat ever since sailing with the offshore team and competing down at Cowes week, last year sailing in Greece with Sunsail and then my friend Sam in his Westerly Tiger just pushed me to look for one and this what we have decided on.

This is her on the hard standing at Maryport in Cumbria.

She is a Parker Javelin, 30 foot long with a fin keel, 5 foot draft and 15 horse power Yanmar diesel engine giving a cruising speed of 5 knots and maximum speed of 7 knots.

She has lovely lines and was designed as a racing cruising boat being quite beamy (9 foot).

Inside she is quite roomy for an old boat built in 1973 with a sea toilet in the fore-peak and plenty of storage then the main cabin that has two berths one either side of the mast and two further quarter berths either side in the rear.

lec and I spent the afternoon after agreeing the purchase stripping the interior out, by the time I'd put all the sails, ropes and seating in the van there was just about enough room left for me to drive it away.

This is Alec my co-partner in crime and future sailing partner in the main cabin after we had cleaned it out.

Tuesday 10th February

Photos are a bit out of sync as this was actually the view from the door of the camper van where I camped overnight on the edge of the marshes near Silloth in Cumbria, if it was clearer you would be able to see the Scottish coast in the distance.

I had gone up there to try and combine a bit of bird watching with viewing a boat that was for sale. I was up at 7:00 am to here the sound of geese flying in from the sea where they had been roosting overnight to graze on the marshes, unfortunately they were a bit too far off to get a good view but were beautiful to watch the skeins snaking across the sky as the sun tried to break through the mist.

Viv taking a moment at Netherfield Local Nature Reserve a small local area on the banks of the Trent, Radcliffe on Trent in the background.

A walk around the village

The pond over the back was one of the few not covered by ice today and as a result there were 135 Mallard, 2 Tufted Duck and 1 Moorhen enjoying the open water as I walked past.

I was out looking for Siskins and Redpoll but unfortunately didn't see any but did see a pair of Tree Creepers, a couple of Jays, Goldcrests along with Bullfinches, Linnets and almost every present calling Common Buzzards overhead. I had a walk around the carp ponds now very overgrown.

When the kids were little there was a grass edge mown to bowling green perfection around this hollow. It used to be full of water and had a huge shoal of big carp in it as well, now there are just trees and a muddy hollow.

Paradise Hill is always a good spot for Buzzard watching as soar on the thermals, there is actually a Jay just right of centre of the picture and a pair of frisky grey squirrels off to the left. The tree tops were full of Jackdaws the odd Great Spotted Woodpecker and Chaffinches.

This Oak always looks impressive even in the depths of winter with no foliage, I thought I might try and capture it changing through the seasons if the memory doesn't go.

The woods are full of snowdrops at the moment just like a white carpet the main reason for taking the camera.

In the garden Monday 2nd February

Started work on a job I've not been looking forward to and that was digging out the old compost, turning over the newer stuff and rebuilding the compost walls, a right good mucky job. However, as soon as I started I was joined by a couple of friends looking for a free feast.

The first one arrived pretty much as soon as started digging and very quickly got used to me and started to dart in and around my feet picking up grubs and worms. A bit later it was joined by a second who was little more shy at first but as I carried on digging both of them started to sit right next to me. Then just as I was finishing a third one came over but had to keep a bit of a distance as the first two would chase it off if it came to close to me.

This little feller was a Short-tailed Field Vole that had been nesting in the bottom of the compost heap, a bit dopey probably because of the cold and the fact I had disturbed it, I let it go in the branches around the little pond.

Before I came in the girls were calling as they could hear me walking about the garden so I picked their favourite for them a bunch of grass.

They seem to be coping with living out all year, I moved the box out of the wind the other day.

Left to right Sophie (@ Hairy McCleary), Sonia and Susan with a mouth full of grass.