A Simple Plan
A Delivery Passage from Amsterdam to The Walton Backwaters (Only names have been changed to protect the innocent - and guilty)
The plan was simple enough! Take the HSS ferry from Harwich on Saturday morning, take possession of Pete, Tom and Andy's new boat from the then owner Roger in the late afternoon. A short shakedown cruise in the early evening and a few hours looking around Amsterdam's famous "Red Light District", just a few minutes walk from the boat mooring, in the late evening.
Provided the late evening wander did not go on too long and the beer did not flow too strongly the second part of the simple plan was to leave Amsterdam early (around 6.00am). A little under three hours would take us to Ijmuiden - a quick refuel/restock - and away over the North Sea on the 126 plus mile passage to the Walton Backwaters and a new home for Protection of Innocence.
Until arrival in Amsterdam "The Simple Plan" was the reality - a wonderful crossing, with an excellent meal and a couple of good beers. A pleasant train journey which arrived spot on time, the boat just a few yards across the river from Amsterdam Central Station.
It was soon after arrival that the simple plan began to slip. The boat had developed a small engin problem but - no matter - Roger had arranged for a repair, although, it could not be done until about 9.30pm so no shakedown cruise, still never mind there was no wind! The autopilot could not be persuaded to auto so a price reduction was negotiated.
The wander around the Red Light District was a great success. The area was packed with tourists as well, or perhaps instead of punters, the atmosphere was electric without any hint of malice, a very strange, but interesting place for a wander.
Having not left the RLD until about 3.30am, when it seemed to be starting to liven up, we were late up the following morning and did not arrive in Ijmuiden until noon. Still we had magical sail down the Noordzee Kanaal, a little concerned at the shape of the sails and the repairs in them, but they had been listed as in good condition in the survey so no need to worry.
Refueled and restocked we left Ijmuiden with a forecast of SW4 - 5 perhaps occasionally 6 or 7 on Monday. We could have done without the SW , anything from south to west would have been better, still, we wanted to be back Monday night/Tuesday morning and SW is the prevailing direction for this time of year so, we went.
For the first few hours the wind was light and more from the S than SW so we motor sailed with the Genoa. As evening fell the wind filled in further and with both sails up we enjoyed a superb sail in the clear sharp evening. As the shadows lengthened clouds started to gather and it was decided to a few more rolls in the Genoa and a second reef in the main. As this task was being carried out a squall rushed upon us and as the leech of the main started to flog a split appeared from just below the third reef to the top of the first reef. As we pulled in the third reef the sail started to fall apart - the stitching was rotted and the sail disintegrated.
We had another simple plan! We would hang fire for an hour to see how the weather settled through the squall and at the end of the hour we would reassess the situation.
The hour passed and at its end the wind was still up and the seas had quickly built to 3-4 metres but the boat was handling the situation well, helming was relatively easy and a good speed over the ground was being achieved. Given the quantity of fuel on board it was decided to carry on. The night passed uneventfully, the seas continued at 3-4 metres , the wind continued to blow force 5 to 6.
Shortly after mid-day Monday during a particularly unpleasant shower a pigeon "crash landed" on the starboard side deck where it struggled for balance on the rolling deck. Tom (now also known as the PSP - Patron Saint of Pigeons) gently lifted the bird to the cockpit sole where it sat huddled in great misery throughout the rest of the day.
Towards the middle of the afternoon the wind started to rise and the seas whilst not getting any bigger got more difficult to negotiate without slamming which stopped the boat dead in her tracks. The boat speed over the ground dropped alarmingly. It was decided to crack off north a little to give the helmsman an easier task and we were immediately back up to our previous over the ground speed of 4 - 5 knots, just a few degrees giving a much easier passage over the waves.
As we closed the coast we easily recognized Sizewell Power Station, the wind moderated and the sun shone as the sky cleared to a beautiful evening. Peter Pigeon seemed to be loosing the will to live, he had lost interest in his surroundings and appeared on the point of death. PSP Tom wrapped him in a warm cloth and put him in the empty heads basin in the hope of reviving him. We soon forgot about Peter, as the weather was not finished with us yet.
We had hardly finished calculating the amount of fuel left and our ETA (we should have remembered that sailing boats have destinations not ETA's when with great speed the sky clouded over and the wind rose to 34+ knots. Our speed over the ground dropped to less than 2 knots, a pain but not a problem if that speed did not put our destination outside our fuel range. Consumption we had been told was just 1 litre per hour this being the case we had at most 15 hours of fuel left and at the speed we were traveling significantly more than 15 hours to go.
It was time for a less simple plan! Downwind we could run north for Lowestoft or Yarmouth, unfortunately we did not have charts for the area above Southwold and with no knowledge of the sandbanks and other hazards this was felt to be unwise. Entry to Southwold was perhaps possible but we felt would be a difficult and dangerous entry in the prevailing conditions. The Alde and The Deben rivers were also considered too dangerous to attempt entry . What was left? We contacted Thames Coastguard on VHF radio and explained the situation
Thames Coastguard "Stand-bye sir"
Protection of Innocence " Standing bye on channel 67"
We waited a short while
Thames Coastguard "..Harwich Lifeboat has been sent to tow you into Harwich Harbour , they will arrive in approximately one hour. Please stand by for further instructions on this channel.
We continued to motor south towards Harwich. In due time the lifeboat hove into sight and with great professionalism a line was quickly put aboard and we were proceeding towards Harwich at a speed of 4 knots. We heard on the VHF the lifeboat crew reporting to Thames Coastguard that we were on tow and ETA in the harbour was 11.00 p.m. As the lifeboat crew got to know their burden they gradually increased speed and a little before 11.00 p.m. dropped tow inside the harbour just off Shotley Marina.
Whilst mooring-up in the marina we noticed the time was 3 minutes to eleven, just time to get a beer in The Shipwreck Bar before closing time at eleven and contemplate our passage which began 38 hours earlier in Amsterdam.
After a nights sleep Protection of Innocence was refueled. Peter Pigeon, who had survived the night in the basin, was released onto the pontoon. He strolled up and down for a moment or two to stretch his legs and took off to continue his journey by air. We motored Protection of Innocence out of Harwich Harbour to wards her new home in Tichmarsh Marina.