In October 2020 the Westerly Owners Association started planning its cruise for summer of 2021. Thanks to the terrific foresight of Bill Miller, sadly not on the cruise because of ill health, it decided to do a cruise based only in England, from Lowestoft to Falmouth in easy stages. The plan was that you could drop in and drop out as required and join any legs that suited you. The timing was great for us, fitting between issues of Cruising magazine.
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| Kittiwakes nesting behind the pilot berth in the Trawl Dock |
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| Lowestoft Haven Marina seen from across Lake Lothing |
So we have joined, and over the Bank Holiday weekend, along with crew of Alex and David, we did the first leg up to Lowestoft. It was memorable for a number of things: pushing tide as we went north in order to get there in time for the 1900 bridge lift, seeing scoters on route (David knows all about birds) and kittiwakes nesting as we went aground in the Trawl Dock while waiting for the bridge, and enjoying a barbecue with two actual other Westerlys, one honorary Westerly which is actually a Hallberg-Rassy, and one East Coast chair who came by road.
On the Sunday morning I ran the Vitality 10k around Lowestoft, and what a delight it was to be running in a place away from home with lots to look at, a stretch along the seafront where I passed (!) other runners on the same event, and cool, pleasant conditions.
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| Camilla pausing in mid-10k |
From Lowestoft we went down to the Deben, picking up the slimiest mooring on the river at Ramsholt, and enjoyed a delightful and peaceful evening, with a small ceremony to scatter the ashes of an aged parent, before an 0410 departure the next morning. I wasn't quite together enough to take photos, but it was almost worth getting up that early to see the moon laying a last track across the water and the solitary sound of a cuckoo, before seeing the sun bouncing up like a big red balloon as we passed Bawdsey.
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