River Crouch 20th August

A day cruise in company from Hullbridge. Six boats and eight members met for this rally. Launching and car parking facilities were provided by the Up River Yacht Club.

Those attending were:

Peter Bick with Bicky Finn Little My

Dave Smith and Mike Edwards with Skipper 17 Mischief

George Saffrey with Leader Blue Bonnet

John Buckley with Kestrel Spindrift

John Hodges and Ken Mitchell with Miracle J.N.K.

Gerry Noble with Privateer Tad

High water was 0825 and we were away by 0930 and on reflection, it would have been better to have left at the top of the tide. You never stop learning! Dave and Mike had launched on Saturday and had spent the night at Battlebridge. Jim Bailey, who was unable to join the cruise, was at the slip to see us off and lend a hand with the launchings.

Winds were generally NE about force 2 or 3 at the top of the river and this strengthened the nearer we got to the mouth. The main problem on the trip down was that the wind shifts were quite large, approaching 15 to 20 degrees.

In the varied fleet the Privateer was by far the slowest in beating downriver and consequently we were only able to reach a spot just up from Baltic Wharf, anchoring for a latish lunch on the north side of the river. Beyond this point there is not much shelter with the wind as it was. The Kestrel pushed on down to Burnham and rejoined the fleet for the trip home. After swimming and socialising we set sail at 1530, about an hour after the tide had turned in our favour. The sail back to Hullbridge was brisk with the tide and wind now giving us a lift and it was a run practically the whole way. The fleet were all home by 1730 and were met by a number of Up River members curious no know what we were up to.

Recovery of boats went smoothly and Dave Smith and Mike Edwards were the last to leave the club for their journey back to Leicester, driving off at about 1900.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable day; so much so that a request has been made to Up River Club to make this an annual event. Dave and Mike were so taken by the Crouch that they have made enquiries about an ‘Out of Port’ membership at Up River in order to sail and explore the area.