You could tell by the way she sat on her trailer that Sandpiper was disappointed. Sandpiper, our Wayfarer had been promised a trip with the DCA to Walton, but due to poor domestic management this had not happened.

However, although Cinderella had not gone to the ball, two weeks later, Sandpiper, M and I arrived in Walton for our own small disco.

We shopped for the last of our supplies, then launched at the YC, and with a good breeze, mainly from the east we headed down Foundry Reach.

The backwaters were new to me having only been visited in print prior to this trip, so as the tide was high we bore away down Twizzle Creek sailing uncomfortably by the lee until past the marina. We passed through Kirby Creek and by a number of moored craft and into the landward end of Hamford Water.

We started to explore Landermere but now the tide was falling fast and after one brief experience of the mud out of the channel it was decided that exploration is preferable on the flood so we beat out past Stone Point and set course for Pye End buoy. The afternoon was clear and bright with a good breeze and once past Pye End with our eyes on Landguard the spray was soon flying as we were under genoa and full main. At Landguard buoy the water was so discoloured by the ebb from Harwich that we double checked the chart for depth of water. At Landguard the waves though not very high, (about 4-5 ft trough to crest) but they were rather steep and the breeze strengthening so a reef in the main was appropriate.

Sandpiper has slab reefing, so after furling the genoa, the halliard was eased to engage the first reef hook on the boom, the leach line hauled tight and we were off again, tying the reef points as we went.

Time to return to Walton to find a mooring for the night. We tacked and lazily started against the ebb under reefed main alone, however to make sure we had ample distance from one of the Harwich ferries we unfurled the genoa and surged back towards Pye End. Sandpiper sailed with a strange motion across the line of waves, and one, slapping under the after deck where I sat, reminded me that I was hogging the helm and I offered it to M who eagerly took over. Two minutes later a squeak from M showed that another wave had struck and she too now had a wet ‘stern’.

Once behind the still submerged Pye Sands the waves shrunk, and we found we had made good time, so M furled the genoa and we idled our way over the last half a mile to Stone Point with M lazing on the foredeck. We lay to our anchor for a while in the last of the afternoon sun watching the turbulence of Pye Sands as they rose through the waves. The evening was simply beautiful, the wind dropped to a gentle breeze and the sun was wrapped in a soft haze. Curlews flew overhead and called from the marshes. With her sails now again unfurled Sandpiper gently checkled her way round the creeks seeking a place for the night.

Sandpiper finally spent the night behind Stone Point with one or two yachts, a spot too near the channel used by all the other craft to-ing and fro-ing in the night for complete peace, but convenient enough with the spare anchor run ashore and the main anchor in deep water. Once night fell the water about Sandpiper was lit by the phosphorescence where the water had been disturbed, and I was intrigued to see that the inside of the centreboard box glowed in the same way.

On the Sunday morning we had a half day before slipping out again, so with the flood we ran up Hamford Water under reefed main in a good spanking breeze. We hugged the northern banks until we reached Landermere Creek down which we ventured. The creek slowly narrowed and wound to and fro through acres of mud until with a sudden twist it stopped altogether. We had been running, so down came the sail whilst we reviewed the situation. Obviously eventually the tide would lift us over the mud to the deep water visible near Landermere Quay but we had to be back at the YC at high water so something had to be done. We poled, pulled, paddled and generally manhandled Sandpiper back up the channel for 50 yards to the junction of another creek carrying more water than ours. This creek almost met the main channel so we unfurled the genoa to ease us over the mud as the tide rose, while we washed the mud from Sandpiper and us. Suddenly like a cork from a bottle Sandpiper shot over the shallows towards the channel and M who had stepped onto the saltings to recover the sponge, made a frantic and undignified dive for the stern as we shot away. Total confusion reigned for a few moments as with little board or rudder and M sprawled over the tiller we tried to avoid the remaining shallows between us and deep water. Once in deep water sanity returned and we turned by the quay, furling the genoa and setting the reefed main which was now more than enough to drive us back upwind into Hamford Water.

The beat up Hamford was stimulating. We both slipped into waterproofs as the short steep chop drove showers of spray over us. The sun sparkled in the spray as it thumped off the bow flying, high over the boat. Once in Walton Channel the waves shrank and the beat turned in to a reach, we then made good time to the YC, time indeed for a quick sandwich before we slipped Sandpiper back on her trailer.

Well we had missed the DCA ball but it had been a very pleasant little dance on our own.