Wednesday May 29th

Wells-next-the-Sea to Wisbech
(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)


Seagulls following Audrey

Don't be fooled by the bright blue skies on these photos - the day dawned cool and hazy and we has some SERIOUS squalls while crossing the Wash, but even so, Wednesday was definitely an A-1 day.

We needed to get in a few supplies so after breakfast we set off for a quick shopping trip: Wells-next-the-sea is NOT a major metropolis, so it didn't take us long, and we were soon back on board
We set off from Wells on schedule - tides being crucial to get us over the bar at the river mouth - and had an uneventful trip back down the river into the Wash and out to sea again.

With Maggot at the wheel and Kath and I also on deck, we set off southwards into the Wash. We were having to motor since we were heading straight into the wind, but it wasn't as bumpy as predicted. Visibility was extremely good and we could see for many miles, which meant we could also see the squalls heading for us! When the first squall hit, Maggot didn't even have her jacket fastened, which meant that Kath and I had to wrestle with the wheel from either side whilst she zipped it up; despite straying several degrees from our course, Maggot soon got us back in roughly the right direction.

Concorde and the Red Arrows
put on a display just for us!

If they noticed our slight "wandering" they never commented, and when the sun came out again Graham went below and Paul decided to try to get a bit of shut-eye on deck. A second squall, even more fierce than the first, left Maggot soaked to the skin so Graham took the wheel while she went to get dried off. Just as she was returning to the deck, we heard the unmistakable sound of Concorde and looked up just in time to see the plane flying low and fast directly overhead, accompanied by the equally recognisable Red Arrows in diamond formation.
For the next hour we were treated to the most amazing flying display as Concorde and the Arrows circled us, changing formation : they went round four times together, sometimes with Concorde leading and sometimes with The Red Arrows in front. Then the Red Arrows peeled off and flew away and we thought that was that, but no, Concorde continued to fly round us for another three circuits before she finally flew off. The Queen got one fly-past for her Jubilee - WE got SEVEN!!


Coaster at Anchor in the Wash off Wisbech, waiting for the tide

The next bit of entertainment laid on for us was when we decided to anchor in order to wait for the tide so we could enter the cut to the River Nene and sail up to Wisbech for the night. There were several hulks, in various stages of decay, on the sandbanks, so that gave us a pretty fair indication of what awaited us if we weren't careful.
So, we edged gingerly into shallower and shallower water, out of the main channel, calling out the depth as we went. Suddenly, the depth reduced dramatically - 1.5 metres, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, 1 metre - almost as fast as we could call it out, until we reached 0.3 metres and stopped. TV and film representations of ships running aground are FAR more dramatic, with thuds, jolts, things (and people) falling everywhere. We settled gently on the bottom and those in the cabin below weren't even aware that we'd gone aground! We didn't have to wait long for the rising tide to float us off again, though, so we dropped anchor and waited for enough depth of water for us to enter the cut.
The approach to the entrance of the River Nene is very scenic - although the landscape is absolutely flat, the sky-and-seascape is very attractive and on a pleasant early summer's evening we really enjoyed the trip. On either side of the river mouth stand two lighthouses, obviously once a matching pair although later alterations have given them some individuality and we entertained ourselves speculating as to their present-day use. As we sailed upriver we instructed Maggot as to the difference between sheep and cows (no, the white ones aren't ALL sheep and the brown ones aren't ALL cows... still - she's from the West Riding, so it's only to be expected........)

The entrance to the River Nene, flanked by a pair of lighthouses.
Passing through Sutton Road Swing Bridge gave us an immense sense of power, holding up all that traffic for such a long time; we gave up wondering what "experiments" the huge "experimental station" just south of the bridge was conducting and contented ourselves in looking at the wide variety of boats, large and small, tied up at the many jetties along the River Nene.
Eventually we reached Wisbech Marina, some seven miles inland, and tied up at a floating pontoon for the night. We ate another excellent meal and then, as it was getting late, Paul (who had never been to Wisbech before) said "first pub we come to..." and set off for the town centre. After a slight glitch involving the gate off the pontoon (it was locked, with a combination lock...) we spent an excellent night out before returning to the boat for the night.

Audrey in Wisbech Marina

Sailing boat tied up to one of the many jetties
on the river Nene downstream of Wisbech

View of Wisbech Marina

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