Deben sails almost always seem to start on an empty river which has seen little disturbance all week so that the natural wildlife has re-established itself and is tolerant of the lone dinghy quietly passing. Cormorants are busy fishing, cuckoos call from the wooded banks and the occasional tern will remain preening itself on a mooring buoy as you pass within a metre, appreciating the rare chance to come so close. Felixstowe Ferry has become the favoured launching site for visiting boats, for despite notices about paying fees at the café, they seem to have little interest unless you are launching a powerboat. All the Felixstowe club boats launch there and one more sailing boat appears not to count in the flurry of activity.

John Ayde launched his Drascombe Lugger on Friday evening and picked up a mooring as indicated by a local boatman. It turned out that it put him aground at an angle towards low water so it wasn’t the most comfortable night. Dave Jennings launched his Highlander on Saturday morning and Paul Constantine brought his Torch down from Woodbridge, a sail which started by drifting in circles but finished with a very stiff beat in rising wind at Felixstowe.

Paul Robinson and Duncan Wilson attempted to sail up from the Walton Backwaters in their Cornish Coble but by late morning it was getting very rough at sea and they wisely decided to return from just off Harwich, having given themselves sufficient exercise.

Dave Jennings reaches that critical moment between being on a boat and being in a habitable tent when we all pray it won’t rain

By early afternoon the river was packed with racing fleets busily attended by safety boats as we sailed through them towards Woodbridge. Running up the river was a pure delight as we skimmed along at high velocity under reduced rigs with the tide under us. We might have done the distance in less than an hour as it was only about six miles, so breaks and detours were employed. The sun disappeared to be replaced by cold rain flurries from a darkening sky which influenced the discussion about where to overnight. John was ready for some level comfort so the attractions of the Tidemill Marina prevailed in the debate. It was the best decision for the weather remained pretty poor for the rest of the time.

We had a cosy pub meal followed by a sheltered night. It was a challenging sail back down to Felixstowe on the Sunday for John and Dave but it was accomplished without undue excitement. It was a weekend to appreciate blowing away the cobwebs, before returning the river once again to its wildlife.