May. 3, 2007 - plans

Down to the boat early Saturday this weekend... we're heading for the Deben to meet with a few friends for a BBQ, but tides require a late morning/early afternoon entry over the bar, so no rush...

Besides, as its a bank holiday weekend, we'll take the day Saturday to get a few jobs done on the boat, and then head for the Deben on Sunday...

Currently, I need to do:

Fit liferaft - lastest plan is to go for the pushpit rail again - which will mean moving the outboard bracket a little

Fit the four fire extinguishers

Fit the fire safety blanket

Check what sort of fuel filter we have (I know I should have done this weeks ago - sorry!), and get a spare

Fit lock to outboard and liferaft

Service the galley sea water pump

Fit a spacer block to the jammer for the kicker (it currently lifts out of the jammer when the tail is put onto a winch)

Tighten screws on hinge on one aft cabin cupboard

Remove loop from the pipe between the fridge drain and seacock

Replace mainsheet block

I'm sure i'll find more when I get on board!

Sunday we'll cast off around 11h30.... very civilised.... we have two boats following us into the Deben, Satrgazer and Emjaytoo, both Deben newbies, so looking for a bit of assistance for their first crossing of the bar.... the Deben has generated a little bit of a fearsome reputation, which probably isn't neccessary... at near HW, there is usually more than 3m of water through the channel, and its quite well marked.... I guess the one thing that makes people nervous is the rate of the ebb/flood, which can be in excess of 5 or 6 kts.... it boils and bubbles a little as the water coming out of the river mixes with the cross tide, but actually, its nothing to be overly concerned about...

Weather is looking promising... its teh only thing that will stop the Deben trip... anything more than F4ish and the swells break on the bar, and it gets very dangerous indeed!