Ready, steady, stop!

My husband and I first took a boat out on our own from Mylor Harbour, chartering a 29 foot Westerly Merlin. We decided on our first passage and that night’s stop in advance, made all the tidal calculations and identified the buoyage. It took some time to squeeze all our gear and supplies aboard.

Having last been on a training boat with lots of eager crew and one person on each mooring line, our main concern was how we would manage with just the two of us, with no one to pass lines to. We planned in detail how I would slip the lines and my husband would motor out of the berth. We rigged and re-rigged the lines and fenders (with much discussion as to length and configuration) so that I could release us and be back on board quickly.

Finally we were ready. The motor started happily, lines were slipped and I was feeling rather proud of our progress until my husband started shouting ‘let go’ with increasing frustration in his voice. I had, but we were not going anywhere. I shouted back, thinking perhaps the engine wasn’t in gear. Finally it dawned on us that we had run aground in the berth. Our extravagant departure preparations resulted in our planned high tide departure slot having been and gone.

Sheepishly we concluded there was nothing for it but to put the kettle on and wait for the tide to turn.