Want a trip that gives you satisfaction, a spot of adventure, a good sail, a mini dinghy cruise, bird watching, fishing, etc? Tell you what, come aboard with Renee and myself on Gannet for a sea trip of about 12 nautical miles, there and back. We have had to get up at 5.30 am the trip from home to Southend foreshore has taken about an hour. The food, water, sleeping bags and all the whatnots for a night away are loaded on the dink; the tide is already away. As we row the hundred yards or so to the boat, the early mist is going as the sun rises; the signs are it is going to be a good day. The dink is secured to the mooring (secured is the word) it’s gone adrift before now!! Enough — the cover taken off, folded and put under the rear deck… I fuel and run the outboard — the crew pumps out — the rudder and tiller fitted. The gear stowed, a bit of a ritual this. Time for coffee from the flask — that’s better. Let’s cast off. I will give the motor a run to get clear of the mooring. Take the tiller, I will get the mizzen and the main up — keep her into the wind while I swig up the main and put on the kicker. The wind is coming from the west, about force 3; good, it means a reach out to the remains of part of the wartime ‘Mulberry Harbour’, keeping outside the shipping lane, we turn east into the sun and on a run. Sunglasses out it takes the glare out of things. With the tide under us and the wind aft, the water is chuckling past the simulated clinker hull — a lovely sound — if you look behind you in the distance is the end of Southend Pier. This makes us about 1¼ miles offshore, we have company now, Yotties heading downriver and some big commercial stuff in the main channel. I am following the line of buoys down. So it will be West Shoebury, Mid Shoebury, then South Shoebury (colour green), have a look at the chart. Makes it more interesting. Shortly to port you will see what I call ‘The Lantern’ marking the end of Shoebury Boom, keep seaward of this as when the tide is out, these are shallows. We proceed, if you look forward now almost on the horizon what looks like an elongated sandy hump. Not too clear because the sun is behind it — our destination — I dig into the locker for a mackerel spinner — tied to a stern cleat it may produce fish for the pan. The island we are heading for is known locally as ‘the Bun’, don’t know why, maybe sometime it resembled one. Now due to erosion and time it’s kidney-shaped. Man-made, it was created on the Maplin sands at the time an airport was on the cards for the area. Happily no — made of sand, oyster and cockle shells it was created to see how well it would cope with the weather, wind and waves in the estuary — it hasn’t done half bad either!! Several 100 yards long and 150 yards wide, a very high tide would top it if the weather was rough. The Ministry of Defence has or had a notice on the island ‘keep off’, because this comes within their firing range area (during the weekdays) not to worry, with the tide away we will be able to walk right round it and have a good look from the seaward side. Incidentally, there is a much better reason for not hiking willy nilly over the island. Here the terns and black head gulls nest and breed in season. The mottled young run all over the place, the nests and eggs are among the high tideline debris and stones. The terns if you go too close will dive bomb and screech at you — great stuff — as we approach the crew makes ready by furling the genny, readying the anchor. I favour the back or landward side, so head in past the western end — good holding here, sand and sandy mud. The tide is still well up, as we had a fast passage. I will head into the bay, having downed sails and got ‘stinky’ going. We’ll middle the bay and over with the hook. Allow enough scope for us to swing free without grounding on the slope of the island.

On with brew and food, always better out here… when the tide has gone we have protection of sorts on three sides. The terns are making a din, they will settle down soon — now the tide’s away, time to get the string bag out and go cockling on the sand near the water’s edge. Once collected, hang the bag on the boat in the shade — what about a swim in the lagoon at the other end of the island — up to 6’ in the middle, good eh? Have a run on clean sand to dry off then have a look downriver. See that large tower-like structure that’s known as the survey platform (marked on the chart) — keep an eye on the tide, it will start coming back soon. I’ll put a driftwood stake at the tide-line sand, a visual indicator to get back to the boat. The sun is going down in the west, time to get the boat tent up as the damp comes down. We brew up then crash down to sleep at dark, when the birds also settle for the night, don’t worry, they will wake you at first light!! I promise. Had a good night? Fresh air that’s what it is. Looks as if we are lucky — another nice day.

After breakfast and stowing gear away we move out of the bay and down to the sands below, too good to leave, this, let the tide away again so we can enjoy this peaceful place. Take the binoculars, have a stroll. I shall careen the hull of barnacles, anti-foul is not all that good.

Watch that channel over there a family of seals sometimes visit and play, watch the terns hunt — they dive at great speed hit the water and emerge with small fry in their beaks. The black cormorants and oyster catchers are feeding too, great flocks of them. The time has galloped by as always, time to go, everything shipshape? Up sails and anchor and leave the way we came. No short cuts across the sands we would grind to a stop. How about that, the spinner has worked — two mackerel in the bucket. It’s sails tight in, until beyond ‘The Lantern’ and the boom then as the coast curves round we free off a bit. If you look back the sandy island stands out in the low sun. We have enough water under us now to head in towards Thorpe Bay so we’ll cut across the sands, passing the coastguard station. I always give them a wave (they watch out for us) and then back to the mooring. Lets pick‑up under sail shall we, we are on. Pack up and row ashore back to ‘civilisation’ as the sun sets.

Did you enjoy it — good — have a go next time yourself.