An 11 ft. dinghy, even one with the capacity of a Gull, has severe limitations on what it can carry, but on this occasion it had the advantage of enabling us to make a quick departure. We, my wife Rosemary and I, were already an hour after high tide due to getting lost ashore in West Mersea in the early hours of the morning. Spare clothes, sleeping bags, foam sleeping mattresses (such luxury), food and cooking gear were squeezed into the buoyancy compartments and sealed. Other gear, like tent and one-and-a-half gallons of water, were secured; compass, chart (Esso), food and hot drinks, were stowed conveniently around the foot of the mast.

At 5.50 a.m. we cast off, and after clearing the creek and entering the Blackwater proper, we pointed due east. The wind was north, about force 2-3, so the water was very calm in the lee of the shore. As dawn broke, there was a slight haze which promised a continuation of the fine weather. A line of withies and the wake of a fishing boat that left at the same time marked our course. Despite the light wind, the tide enabled us to make good time, and by 8.15 we had covered about 10 miles and could see Clacton Pier. About this stage the coast turns almost due N.E., and with a freshening wind we continued to make good speed.

This is an ideal stretch of water for dinghy cruising; only the piers at Clacton and Walton necessitate leaving the shore, and then only about 600 yards. It is possible to beach anywhere. There is plenty of room to manoeuvre — the nearest land to the east is 100 miles away.

By 10.00 a.m. we were nearly at Walton Pier; the tide turned and the wind had now increased to a good force 4. Until now, the sailing had been quite uneventful and most enjoyable. The next section around the Naze required much more exertion. A nasty little chop developed off Walton Pier, and we were glad to nip inshore as soon as we cleared it to regain the shelter of the land. For the next two miles, we were continually dodging fishing nets. Just off the Naze we became fully exposed to the wind, and had to start tacking. At one of the turns, a piece of expanded polystyrene used as a seat pad (!) went overboard, but the conditions were a bit too tricky to do an immediate jibe, so we made a long broad reach out to sea before returning to pick up the precious object.

The last stretch was a beat along the shore in a choppy sea, but we were in time to pass through the drying channel close to Stone Point and round into Walton Channel. At 11.40 we beached on Stone Marsh Island, nearly 6 hours and 24 miles from base.

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their maximum advantage, so after setting up camp and lunch we were off again, this time to explore Arthur Ransome’s “Secret Water”. A glorious day, pleasant breeze and this fascinating archipelago provided a wonderfully relaxing afternoon sail. After a visit to Walton to add to our provisions, we returned to camp for a swim before dinner, followed by a walk round the island.

An early night — despite the revelries of some other visitors — allowed us to make a reasonably early start on Sunday. By 8.25 we were sailing, again in light airs, at first heading west to follow the marked channel, and then slightly east of north to make for Harwich entrance. The early morning mist forced us to sail by compass, but an hour and a quarter later as we entered Harwich Harbour the sun had restored visibility and we were able to thoroughly enjoy our first visit to the Orwell.

Until now, we had had the sea almost to ourselves: only in the Walton Channel were there many boats, and they were mostly moored. Now, there was much more activity, particularly close to Pin Mill, which we reached in time for an excellent lunch at the inn. Several barges were tied to the jetty, and generally it is hard to imagine a more interesting place for the amateur sailor.

Still taking advantage of the flood, we continued up river to the outskirts of Ipswich, where we finally ran out of wind, so we turned round and drifted slowly back until the tide turned and took us into more open waters, where the wind came to help us on our way. About 5 p.m. we were back in Harwich Harbour, where we found a marked change in conditions, as a fresh N.E. wind had developed. The sail across the exposed stretch down to Stone Marsh Island was quite hairy, calling for a heavy hand on the tiller — a most exciting finish to the day, which had added about 27 miles to our log, but had been spread over a period of nearly 10 hours.

Only one or two visitors were left on the island, so it was much more to our liking, and we were able to get another early night, which allowed us to breakfast and set sail — this time fully loaded again — by 7.55 the following morning. The tide was too low to allow us to return through the channel off Stone Point, so we had to sail half a mile further north to clear the shoal sticking out into Pennyhole Bay. Using a tent pole as a depth gauge, we cut round the shoal as soon as we dared on the falling tide — not that there is any real problem with a small dinghy in calm conditions. This time the wind was from the west and light, but the day was soon warm and bright. Although the wind did strengthen a little, we stood well offshore to minimise any sheltering effect from the shore, and soon the tide turned in our favour.

Colne Point was rounded at 1.00 p.m.; again, we had been greatly helped by the tide. Now we made the only error of the trip, deciding — as we did not need to get back so early — to explore Brightlingsea Creek. This was very interesting, but took longer than we anticipated, and by the time we were ready to return to West Mersea, the tide was turning and the wind had almost died.

It was a slow struggle along the south coast of Mersea Island, and along this stretch we saw more jellyfish than I can previously recall: there were always five or six alongside for mile after mile. For the last half hour there was a steady drizzle, and we rowed the last mile up the creek. But this could not mar a most enjoyable weekend, during which we sailed nearly 100 miles.

P.S. Walton Backwaters would make an interesting centre for a rally.