Nancy Blackett on the Orwell

John Smith had made the suggestion that I take out a couple of Mates in Nancy Blackett and that we call it a refresher day.   I wasn’t sure what to make of this,  or how I should prepare for the day.

The volunteers on Wednesday included John Holmes,  Mark Taylor,  Adrian Pyke and Judy Pyke.   Brave souls.

We spent the first few hours of the day exploring the boat in detail.   We each laid hands on warps,  springs,  ha’lyards,  topping lift,  sheets,  backstays and furling lines.   We now know exactly where every line runs and what it does.

We explored below,  and we each filled,  lit and extinguished the alcohol stove;  we even made coffee!

We removed the companionway steps,  lifted the cockpit sole and explored the engine.   We now know that removing the weed filter top before closing the engine seacock will flood the boat.   We know that the engine oil level is very high,  and we know how to look at the gearbox oil level.

The one thing we didn’t do was to strip down and reassemble the heads;   I reserved that delight for myself two days later!

Still on the mooring,  we reefed the mainsail,  and shook the reefs out;  several times.

Then,  finally,  we moved out into the estuary.

Again we reefed and shook out.   We put two reefs in and shook them out.   We discovered that dancing on the quarters is OK if the topping lift is set and the mainsheet is tight;  this keeps the boom relatively still.

Then we put the boat on a mooring buoy and debriefed each other over lunch.

After lunch we each brought the boat up to the buoy,  and we each stood on the foredeck and picked up the buoy pennant.   We learned how to communicate between foredeck and helm,  and that it’s best with hand signals not words.

Then,  back at the marina,  we each brought the boat alongside and moored it.

An exhausting day,  but we all learned so much.

For Adrian and Judy this was the last and (they said!) the best day of their short holiday in Suffolk.   They weren’t able to come back on Thursday because they had to pack and travel home.

So John,  Mark and I sailed ‘round to Erwarton Bay and had lunch on the anchor.