Page 15 - Yachter Spring/Summer 2022

rural river, with many interesting craft on moorings, and underway.
Relocating in Woolverstone to a deeper berth, we found ourselves moored near Nancy Blackett,Arthur Ransome’s favourite yacht.A pleasant riverside walk takes you to the famous ‘Butt and Oyster’ at Pin Mill, and a few minutes further inland at Chelmondiston is the excellent Hollingsworth Store and Butchers, with a good supply of tempting local produce.
The prospect of a wet and windy weekend saw us proceed another couple of miles up-river to lock into the wet dock
at Ipswich, where a lot of regeneration has taken place around the waterfront.With a main railway station near the wet dock and
Orford Sunset
plenty of shops for victualling, this would make a good venue for a crew change, but Ipswich is well worth a visit in its own right, with plenty of interesting architecture, museums, art galleries etc. A meal ashore led to a lengthy chat with the local MP who was at the neighbouring table.
Once the weather improved, we had a gentle sail back down the Orwell to Shotley marina, at the site of the old HMS Ganges sports pitches.With the container port opposite working through the night, it’s not the most peaceful location, but a good spot for devotees of military history to catch the ferry across to Landguard Fort and Harwich.
On a calm sunny day, we fuelled and joined the waiting list to lock out of Shotley,
before motoring round to the River Ore.We passed Tuesday of Ore (R41), who was clearly more patient than us and more confident
of when he could safely cross the bar into the Ore. We found helpful information
at https://eastcoastpilot.com/downloads. html, advising an initial entry 2 hours before HW. Once in the river, there was plenty of water, as we headed past the strange pagodas at Orfordness; a remnant of cold war trials and a venue for early radar trials but now a peaceful nature reserve.We picked up a buoy off Orford, courtesy of the Orford Quay Warden.We inflated the dinghy and rowed ashore for a superb lunch at the Oysterage, and had a less efficient row back, not due to lunch, but as the glue around the valve for
Katie McCabe’s Morgan Giles 26, Falanda
CRUISING REPORTS 15
Orford Keep