May
2009
Posted in At home Bruce’s 40th on Mersea
Michael and I drove over to Royal Harwich Yacht Club on Friday last week, to meet up with Nick and John on yacht Retriever. We had a nice meal in the club house and a restful night on board before setting off at 5am with the falling tide, for a day sail to West Mersea.
We had a great sail over, with good wind, close hauled most of the way. Nick and John provided breakfast and lunch en-route, and we arrived in West Mersea at about 1, and moored up on the piles that we occupied last time we were there with Graeme and Bruce. Shortly after we were arrived we were joined by Blue Streak, Telemon and Bright Oyster, and we all rafted up for company. Nick, John, Michael and I had a couple of bottles of wine to celebrate our arrival, then a snooze for an hour to sleep the wine and the early start off!
We’d met up for a surprise 40th birthday party for Bruce. Graeme had arranged for us all to appear to have gone sailing for lunch at the excellent Company Shed, but in fact he’d bused in Bruce’s friends and family for a suprise party at the Packing Shed. We were meeting there before 4, when Graeme and Bruce would arrive by tender. The Packing Shed is a lovely, historic shed, on stilts, in the middle of the channel, surrounded by water with tidal access. A bit late from our snooze, we only managed to get there at 4:15, which was still ahead of Bruce, so we were there to see him arrive and the surprise on his face! His parents had come from Scotland.
There were about 60 people in the shed, a good number for a good atmosphere. Some photos below:
It was great night, and a lot of unsteady people tottered into boats about 10:30. Luckily no-one fell in on the transport back to the shore. Bruce had a great surprise. We had a few more drinks on Retriever, which may have been my downfall…
The next morning I was so rough, that I couldn’t face the lovely cooked breakfast offered by John, nor could I face the 7 hour sail back to Harwich. So very wimpily, I got the bus and train back to Cambridge and missed out on the glorious sail back. I don’t think I would have been good company, and the seas were a bit bumpy. which would not have agreed with me at all. Nick and John were wonderful hosts and very relaxed sailors, it was a pleasure sailing with them: I’m a shade embarrassed that it was only one way!
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