At sea on The Paxton Princess
At sea on The Paxton Princess

After a successfully safe night moored to one of the GOBA mooring buoys, we set off in good visibility, light and variable winds and with the sun breaking through to cruise around The Wash in bright and warm weather until the tides were right to round the North Norfolk coast and arrive at Wells at high water. As we turned past the Wells Fairway buoy, the noise and vibration became bad that I put the starboard engine in neutral and so came in using only the Port engine and then we dried out on the sand later to diagnose the issue.

The news today is of rising concern at the food and hygiene risks from the so-called mad cow disease. The USA dropped a proposal to base new air-launched nuclear missiles in Germany and other Allied countries, jobs are to be lost by the closure of the Winfrith prototype nuclear and a 145mph cyclone tore through Southern India, killing 50 people and making a million homeless

We rode well on our mooring buoy and were still secure in the morning. Tom had wrapped the mooring rope twice around the buoy eye to guard against chaffing and had also secured another rope for safety. He advises a wired eye spliced onto a large bridle if we are to be regular users of mooring buoys in fast tidal streams. After breakfast and other preparations, we used Channel 14 for Lynn Dock clearance and then slipped our mooring buoy and set off in good visibility, light and variable winds and with the sun breaking through. We were proceeding with Tom as the helmsman and me the skipper and navigator and, as we were always going to be early in arriving at Wells tonight, I plotted a course to cruise around The Wash. Working back from our planned arrival time at Wells, where we wanted to be at high water, I calculated that we had a few hours and so took us north west to the Freeman Channel which gives access at all states of the tide to the Boston Deeps, a sheltered deep channel along the northern Wash.

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We cruised along in bright and warm weather with a slight mist to where the channel would exist at high water to Boston and then cruised north and out of The Parlour Channel that is buoyed but shoals to only two metres at low water. This was a bit exciting as the depth was marginal, but the weather was calm and we had the tide coming in to provide more depth later in case of difficulty. Once back into The Wash, we turned north and turned back once we were off Skegness. It was then that were troubled with vibration from the port shaft which became worse with the course change. We wondered whether we had picked up a mooring rope or something but headed back across The Wash and round the coast to Wells. As we turned past the Wells Fairway buoy, the noise and vibration became bad that I put the starboard engine in neutral and so came in using only the Port engine. The Wells approach channel is a bit tortuous but well-marked, and we were able to come in to the Quay after radioing ahead to the harbour-master. Once there, we chatted to him and to two fishermen (identical twins) who guided us as to where to sit so that we could look at the propeller as The Paxton Princess dried out on the sand.

We had plenty of time and so we came ashore for just about the only time on the trip and had Plaice and chips at a fish shop overlooking the harbour and then a pint in the local pub which was small, but crowded with fishing types. We both telephoned home from here, as the cellular telephone signal strength was very poor in Wells. Daniel is still in the doghouse but seems to have taken the point of our concern and is working to make up for it. The weather had become a little chillier and there was a shower at this point, but we had been lucky really. We moved off to the orange buoy and then waited for the tide to go down and it ebbed quite quickly. The boat was left in a good and safe position but it was nearly midnight before I could go down the bathing platform ladder in my waders and after then before Tom could join me in his boots and we could see the shafts and propellers. There had been a shower or two, but the weather had dried up by then. Although I removed the remains of some wire and fishing line, there was no serious fouling and, by a process of elimination and turning the shaft manually, Tom reckoned that it was the coupling between the gearbox and shaft that had gone. The rubber covering had split, venting the grease and then the mechanics had dried out and failed, emitting cranking noises when being rotated. At least while I could see the hull, I could also check the starboard log impeller, which was OK, and so it must be the Port one that is fouled and not working. There was nothing more that we could do by 2.00am and so we went to bed.

The news today is of rising concern at the food and hygiene risks from Spongiform Encephalopathy, the so-called mad cow disease. A pet Siamese cat in Bristol has been diagnosed as suffering from this and British Beef is being boycotted by more and more countries. Nato countries have avoided a clash by the USA dropping a proposal to base new air-launched nuclear missiles in Germany and other Allied countries. Latest Rottweiler incident was the conviction of an owner and the destruction of her dogs after they attacked children in a school playground. Latest climatic oddity is the 145mph cyclone that tore through Southern India, killing 50 people and making a million homeless. Michael Hazeltine's recent call for Poll Tax reforms (which he is repeatedly denying as a bid from the party Leadership) has been welcomed by Thatcher when under pressure during House of Commons questions by the opposition, but she has ruled out fundamental change and suggested only "modifications and adjustments". Jobs are to be lost by the closure of the Winfrith prototype nuclear reactor and by the 10% cut by British Telecom in its managerial jobs.