20-25 hrs: No pictures because I was too busy to take any.
I went for the first solo sail yesterday - over the tide - in sushine and a decent wind. I had more adventures going downriver for 5 miles than I got on day trips in the north East - I think because it is just harder to sail in a river. On the sea - you point the boat and go in straight lines - but the channel twists and turns so there is not just one point of sailing - and the wind quite shifty. Only felt the mud bottom (not aground exactly) three times!
The tides are stronger than I expected - but I was sailing with the tide and made impressive progress. Until - - a rope round propeller getting off a mooring - so I had to do a lot of manoevering under sail - even anchoring and resetting the anchor. (I got the rope off OK).
When I got towards Woodbridge - I foolishly decided to contine up river under sail, rather than moor and take the sails down. It was too shallow - so the keel caught in the mud - the boat swung round and I very slowly drifted on the tide onto a moored boat (having avoided about three others!). I picked up its mooring and pretended that I was intending to do this - so it may not have provided spectator entertainment.
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