Another great trip through the Boston Grand Sluice and around the coast to Wells-next-the-Sea very slowly to cross the Wells bar as near to high tide as possible; then watching the Spring High Water and hoping the water would not flood the quay. Skipper Nigel on the Wallbrook dredger helped me in the notable absence of the harbourmaster.
This was the day of anticipation as we re-lived the experience of last year in the sea trip round to Wells-next-the-Sea. Diana sped off to Tesco to get the last-minute victuals and I prepared the boat for the trip. Daniel and I filled up the Paxton Princess with water and then moved it along to the Boston Sluice mooring early at 9.20am. We were the first of three and ahead of another for the opening. The lock-keeper came over and took a look at my P.C Maritime Wayplan navigational planning program and thought that it was very good. When the time was about three hours after high water (it being a spring tide) he first swung back the two inward-facing lock gates and then the larger outward-facing flood gate was opened as the level was made and there was only a short time whilst we could get through.
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I radioed Boston Docks and told them that we were coming down the channel but there were no shipping movements that late on the tide. We then began a slow and sedate cruise across The Wash. The winds were light and variable and the sea state smooth and so we sunned ourselves and relaxed. We could not arrive at Wells until the next tide as we had to get over the bar and so I had plotted a five knot plan and even that was too fast and so we were only cruising at about three knots until we got to the Woolpack Buoy. The Sledway held none of its menace of previous times and we were soon off Wells plotting how to get into the harbour.
It was then that we started to have difficulty as all of the fishing boats had already got in and there was the swell that characterises Wells as high tide approaches. Despite my having telephoned him this morning, the harbourmaster had not turned out to see us in and it was left to Nigel on the Wallbrook to answer us on channel 12 and give us advice. He suggested waiting another hour for maximum water over the bar unless we could find an orange "pellet" buoy that had evidently been put down to guide the fishing boats round the bar for an early entry. We cruised up and down for half an hour and then reckoned, with further advice, that we should have plenty of water over the bar as we only draw one metre.
We came in amidst the swell and waves which was a pity for the trip had gone so well. Tying up at the harbour wall, behind Wallbrook, I chatted to Nigel and the boys and he did his trick of hiring a ladder to me for half a bottle of whisky so that the family could get up to the harbour wall at low water! Di and the girls were keen to get ashore and so we had tea at the burgher bar with me watching that the exceptionally high tide was not going to come over the harbour wall as it had in the morning. We were relieved to get into port safely and it was as if we were starting a new holiday as we planned our time in Wells.