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After hasty preparation, the sea trip from Wells-nest-the-Sea to Great Yarmouth which started well following the Ma Freen out of the harbour but worsened as we rounded the Norfolk coast and ran into strengthening southerly winds and a fast-running tide off of the Cockle Shoal.
We then negotiated recent buoyage changes before putting into Great Yarmouth rather than Lowestoft and mooring alongside another vessel at the Town Hall Quay. Tea for the girls at McDonalds and rides at Joyland.
We were awake in the night with Debbie being ill; complaining of thirstiness yet difficulty in drinking. She was snuffling badly as well and I worked out that the culprit was a new orange lion cuddly that Della had won in an arcade "grab" game. After all this disturbance, I was awake early listening out for the weather forecast and, on the basis of a south-westerly 3-4 anticipated, I decided that today was to be the day that we would leave Wells for Yarmouth. When Daniel had left for his holiday, we had intended that he re-join us for the trip round but there was no time for this as today was the only good spell before Monday when Debbie was due back for her riding event. I sat and planned the trip on my passage computer and printed the results out before Diana had woken late after a long lay in.
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Another day in Wells-next-the-Sea taking the dinghy to the beach as before and then moving The Paxton Princess to a drying sand bank mooring to take a look at the stern gear at low tide.
I collected the family from the beach, and after removing some debris from the port screw, I found the ‘spurs’ rope cutters damaged and did my best to repair them before the tide returned and we returned to moor at the harbour quay overnight
I was up quite early this morning, intending to survey the sand banks but was distracted first by the plight of the Dutch yacht moored astern of us that had grounded during the night at low tide and was pitching right forward as its keel is fitted well aft. I went over to ask if there was anything that I could do and was told that the situation had been much worse earlier! We got rid of the girls into Playland (a quay-side indoor play place) this morning for a couple of hours which let Diana and I get on with some chores on the boat. Diana cleared up whilst I cleaned the outside and did some minor repairs.
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A day in Wells-next-the-Sea moored along the quay as not coasters were due to arrive, a new VHF hand-held radio from the chandlery after which I supervised the girls riding out from the local stables.
Up to the harbour mouth and to the beach there in our dinghy and there to survey the channel buoys and entrance route as the holidaymakers fished for crabs and the fishing boats their whelks as well.
There were no coasters coming into Wells for a couple of days and so there was no problem staying at the quay. This was despite it being the peak of the spring tides. In fact, it transpired that the recession has put paid to the trade in animal feed through the port and another influence has been the end of the Dock Labour Scheme for other ports. Now that the employers at Hull and Immingham, for example, can do what they want with the workers, the former flexibility of Wells as a non-scheme port is of no account. We dropped back to the Ni-Tricia pilot-boat mooring for some water nearby and would have had fuel but Nigel was at sea trying out some new gear. I also went into the Wells Chandlers and bought one of their marine VHF radio sets that they had on special offer as I had been meaning to get a hand-held unit for some time.
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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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