It was a great pleasure to return to this favourite corner of the Norfolk Broads and, once again, as a part of a Drascombe Rally. Moreover, it presented a first opportunity to test out my theory that the Deben Lugger would go well on the Broads - and indeed, Daisy IV did…. The copious quantities of weed, by and large, slid under the hull/rudder as expected and the sail shape was sufficient to catch the wind over the reeds when navigating channels.
This video captures a flavour of the spirit of the weekend:
On Saturday, I had company in the form of crew plus Kizzy, the Springer Spaniel. On Sunday I was single handing with a single reefed main in a slightly stiffer breeze.
10.5nm
7.3nm
Finally, a fellow sailor put together this rather enjoyable summary of the weekend…!
This trip was a part of the Drascombe Association Ullswater rally. We took the opportunity to travel up earlier which gave us time for more sailing and more walking.
Conditions were very placid and hot for the first four days. Then, the weather broke on the Sunday and we made a mad dash for the shoreline and that was the sailing done.
Here’s a video blog of the four sailing days…
The most exciting part of the sail was having crew in the form of Mrs M, first mate, and Kizzy, ship's dog!
The wind didn’t really get going throughout, so we were somewhat limited in terms of the sailing we could manage and it was helpful sometimes to have the outboard to power us back to base when required. - although this only happened twice.
One of the key benefits of a Drascombe rally is that people take pictures of boats; pleasingly, a number were taken of Daisy IV.
I've done this trip once before, in Daisy II. This year seemed a good opportunity for a reprise. The video pretty much tells the story of the trip.
Arrival at Lydney on Friday 1st. Overnight in the car. Launched first thing on Saturday morning. Left sails and mast back at base since there's little sailing to be done. Up the tidal River Severn at ridiculous speeds with the spring tide, along with various pieces of flotsam and jetsam. Over the weir at Maisemore, into Gloucester docks. Back down the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal at a more leisurely pace. Supper at Sharpness - where the above photo was taken, looking from the canal back across the Severn to the 'other side'. Then into Sharpness lock, where we were let out into the Severn at HW slack and back across in the dark to Lydney. Boats out, trail back home to arrive at 0400.
All in all, a slightly mad but hugely enjoyable experience…
It afforded an opportunity to try out a prototype boom tent, fashioned from a piece of tarpaulin. It did its job and kept me dry through a fairly extensive thunderstorm…
Eleven Deben Luggers met up for a weekend of sailing fun.
Friday, 6.0nm - up to Woodbridge and back.
Saturday, 12.8nm. - against the tide, downstream to Felixstowe Ferry and then back with the tide to 'The Rocks' for beaching and a late lunch. Then back to base. Winds fresh and challenging. Double reefed.
Sunday, 10.5nm - a tongue in cheek race which most boats didn’t to complete due to wind failure…
Another weekend, another opportunity for lake-based sailing trials with my new charge.
Winds were extremely light, sometimes non-existent. But it was certainly a chance to try out an unreefed main for the first time! I managed to get the lazy-jacks twisted when hoisting the mast and this tangled with the yard when raising the sail - another rigging point to check with greater care next time!
It has been a frustrating half term week. With time set aside for sailing, a high pressure system has parked itself off the northwest of Scotland, fine for anywhere north and west, but sending cold and fairly brisk north easterly winds along the east coast. So, planned cruising hasn’t happened. But today, I finally broke away from home and dragged Daisy IV along to Rutland Water.
Winds were NE, F3-5. Launching at Whitwell, I had immense fun cruising in the northern arm.
Single reefed, sailing up towards the Orwell Bridge
This was a perfect start, sailing with friends from Suffolk Yacht Harbour, up the River Orwell - actually part of a Drascombe Association rally, but just joining for the day.
Winds were NE F4 gusting upwards. Rigging and launching went remarkably smoothly, with help from others, and utilising the launching cable on the steep slipway at SYH.
Ready to launch
Once launched, annoyingly little room for temporary berthing while parking car and trailer.
Double-reefed main - the sail has three reefing points. For a first sail, I wasn’t exactly throwing caution to the wind…
Other participants at close quarters…
Beached for lunch opposite Freston Park
The return trip to SYH was reassuringly fast, and she held up well through the gusts. The boat is stable and glides smoothly through the water.
A reassuring first sail; looking forward to future trips!
This is a blog of sailing activities aboard Daisy IV, a Deben Lugger built in 2012 and purchased in 2023.
Previous boats were Devon Lugger, Daisy (2005-6) and Drascombe Coaster, Daisy II (2006-2019). I also currently own Daisy III, a BayCruiser 20. During the years of boat ownership, I have covered well over 6000nm around the UK, most of which are documented in my various blogs. Sailing grounds are based around the east coast, mainly the Harwich area. Over the years, making use of a versatile roller coaster trailer, I have also covered the east coast from North Kent to Whitby, and various other locations around the south coast, Severn Estuary, Cumbria, inland reservoirs, and the Norfolk Broads.