all at sea day 2

Saturday 5am Up with the tide for our first real sail. Beautiful calm dawn, just a breath of wind but it appears to be enough. I help to wind up the anchor and Leo and Phil help with the sails.
 
  The mainsail is huge, when it shakes down it's like a young tennis court unfolding, held at the corner by an iron ring that slides to and fro on a bar across the deck (the aft-horse). 'We do not get in its way' appears to be the basic safety rule on board and the mate points out various safe havens to crouch down in if we happen to be on deck when someone shouts Lee ho!

leo heave-ho 
6 am Seems to be a lot of cloud building up. Notice that various old hands are donning some serious wet weather gear. Seems a bit premature -doesn't look that bad....
6.05 am We are suddenly in the middle of lightning and torrential rain. I go below to get my own gear on, pop my head up again and get a crack of lightning/thunder right over the mast. Try to remember if Centaur is a timber barge or a metal barge- And does the Faraday cage effect work in water ....decide to retreat to the galley and make some tea.
10am The storm has long since passed to be replaced by blazing sunshine and we are sailing down the Blackwater towards the sea. Lots of lazing around the hot deck chatting and reading punctuated by cups of tea and coffee and occasional bursts of winding and hauling as we attempt to find some wind.
1pm No wind. In fact we appear to be going backwards. Skipper gives up and takes us by engine the last half mile to moor up by Mersea Island. Typically just as we get all the sails stowed (a major job!) the wind picks up. Every sail in the Blackwater including our rival Reminder appears to be out and about except us!
2.30pm Shore parties set off in the dinghy. A couple of us opt for a pub walk on Mersea Island and the rest go sightseeing in Brightlingsea. Mersea is beautiful, wild flowers, birds and butterflies and a nice half of cider at the Dog and Pheasant.
Help the girl in the pub to spell 'tagliatelle' and 'glazed' on her board and resist the tempatation to suggets she joins her local basic skills class - I'm on holiday!
10pm A good roast supper followed by a folk song concert from the mate and his girlfriend and we're all definitely ready for bed.