09/08/21 to 12/08/21 Shotley (again) and Titchmarsh

Monday

As we finally said goodbye to Woodbridge just before high water I was greeted by the sight of lots of dinghies racing in and out of the numerous moored boats. Despite being an Ocean Yachtmaster this is one thing I am less confident at... weaving in and out of small moving boats! Actually it wasn't too bad... perhaps my dinghy sailing has improved my awareness of small tippy over boats! 

As we motored down the Deben (strong winds firmly on the nose almost throughout the day) we saw some interesting shapes displayed on some boats coming towards us. I challenged AJ to find out what they meant and he duly rose to the challenge using the power of the internet, I dug out our "lights and shapes" cards and we spent a short while testing our knowledge.

We enjoyed a lovely trip down river and decided to press on for Shotley rather than pick up a mooring at Ramsholt. The kids have a strange affinity for Shotley, personally I think there isn't a lot to do there for adults or kids, but it's free for us so happy to save a few £££. 

Decision made, the rain gods did their stuff and left Patrick and I scrabbling for waterproofs for the first time this trip.... luckily it didn't last long!

We headed out of the Deben and the wind stayed on the nose so it was a lumpy motor back to Shotley!

Tuesday

Tuesday was a boat jobs kind of day. I decided it was time to take a look at the outboard motor so we lifted it off the boat and took it up top at Patrick's suggestion.... he was concerned that small parts would end up in the water.... lost forever! Some internet research had suggested that the float tank may be "gunged up" so we decided this would be a good place to start. We took it to bits and gave it a clean, as well as making sure the little float switch moved freely. Anything more was going to require significantly more effort and more importantly, more tools than we had to hand so we put it back together and hey presto... it worked again! (Freewheeler Dave very kindly lent us his dinghy to test it on so that we didn't need to pump ours up!)

Next up was some passage planning for the following day. The plan was to go to Chatham and visit the historic dockyards. We have a copy of "Crossing the Thames Estuary" which would have been really useful if it had been on board as it gives ideal start times depending on your route and average boat speed. Sadly we must have taken it off the boat for the big adventure and it hasn't found its way back. Esmé enjoyed looking at the charts and working out distances and we formulated a plan. We then did a sanity check and had a family chat. We realised we didn't actually want to do 3 long days sail just to go to the historic dockyard and that some more time in the Walton Backwaters would be much nicer given the lovely sunny forecast.

Decision made, and feeling rather lazy, I suggested a walk. The kids weren't so keen so Patrick and I headed off along the riverside and then up to the village shop which was exactly where I expected it to be but rather further than Patrick remembered... the one he thought we were going to is long gone!

Sadly it wasn't to be!

In the end we'd walked about 4 miles by the time we got back to the boat (via the Bristol Arms) and it was the most I'd walked all holiday. Time to step up the steps Karen!

Wednesday

We pumped the dinghy up and then set off early enough to get a sail in before lunch at Stone Point. The sail was lovely however the weather at Stone Point was rather more blowy than would have been pleasant on the beach and neither Parents nor kids fancied it. After a short while on a mooring we decided to head into Titchmarsh and see if the next day brought more settled weather. 

Once in Titchmarsh... and feeling concerned about my poor performance on Tuesday's walk, I suggested we walk into Walton to visit the Pier. The kids reluctantly agreed but were pleased they made the effort once donuts and slushies were in hand. 

We then noticed that the small selection of rides were £5 each child for unlimited goes between 6pm and 8pm so the kids enjoyed a fun filled 2 hours alternating between Waltzers and Dodgems for the evening. We then tried to find food but were uninspired so walked to Aldi and tried (unsuccessfully) to get  a taxi back to the boat so eventually got back about 9pm before cooking tea!

Thursday

At breakfast we deliberated on what to do. The kids voted for another walk into Clacton so we negotiated that we'd do some jobs in the morning, and then walk into town and up to the Naze Tower and visitor centre before heading down to the Pier for 6pm and cheap rides again. As a compromise we promised a taxi home and also to try to find a bus back from the Tower to the Pier.

The Naze was actually really lovely. The views from the Tower were awesome and Esmé enjoyed looking at the art and history on each floor as we climbed up. We spent time on the beach hunting for sharks teeth and collecting some litter that had unfortunately been abandoned on the sand. We hung around the Naze for a good while before walking back into town and again buying donuts, slushies and ride tickets... this time branching out to try more than just the dodgems and waltzers!