29th August – Monday
Our trip today was a relatively short one, but we still didn’t want to be pushing tide unless we really had to. Chris worked out that the best time to leave was about 9 o’clock, so we showered and had breakfast and slipped our lines on the dot of 9. Unfortunately, the wind was coming straight at us so we had to motor all the way but the upside was that we were getting almost 3 knots of tide which had us radioing in to Ramsgate for permission to enter just before 11.30. Carole waited until we were inside the breakwater before putting out the fenders as it was still a tad bumpy out there.
We found ourselves a nice wide berth for the night and then proceeded to spend some of our spare time getting ready for our final trip back to Ipswich. Chris brought the dinghy in, washed, dried and put it back in its cover. He then got out the hose pipe and after “checking” that all the windows were shut, proceeded to wash the salt off the decks. Carole was down below at the time defrosting and sorting out the fridge, when she became aware that water was pouring through one of the side windows onto the galley settee. She shot up the stairs shouting for Chris to turn off the hose pipe as a window was open. We then took the wet cushions up into the cockpit to dry off leaving Carole to mop up the remaining drips and dry the windows.
Note to Carole: when Chris says he has checked something, go behind him and check again, especially if water is involved.
We then took a walk along the quay and up the hill to the shops to buy some rolls, buns and fruit for our long sail home in the morning. Ramsgate was packed with people having a good time in the sunshine. There was good live music on the front, the sounds of which carried back to the boat. Once back we earned our tea and cake by sorting out the contents of the fore peak storage space under the bed. Carole then sorted out everything to go back home with us, including lots of dirty laundry and Daniel and Bobby’s clothes, toys and books. We then brought the cleaned, dried and folded dinghy on board and stowed it away in the spare cabin.
Time was getting on now and we decided to have our last supper of the trip out and after a short walk found somewhere suitable. We enjoyed a simple, nicely cooked meal and a glass of cider and then returned to the boat to write up our blog to try to bring it up to date before leaving Ramsgate. We got quite a bit done, but eventually Chris’s brain was beginning to shut down, so we headed off to our beds just before 11 pm and before Carole had finished cleaning her teeth, Chris was gently snoring away.