sailing barge II

Out of Maldon on Centaur again and a very different trip from last time in that we had wind - lots of it - and actually did some sailing. Down the Blackwater, past Brightlingsea and up the Colne to moor overnight at Wivenhoe. Quite fun to be moored at the town quay as a tourist attraction again. Dad and I stayed onboard while the others went to the pub. We sat on deck drinking tea pretending to own the Barge while the tourists snapped. We had the idea pf offering guided tours at £5 a head but thought skipper might not approve and it's a long way to walk home from Wivenhoe.
Coming back on Sunday the wind was even stronger and Old Centaur tacked her way down the Colne heeled over like a racing yacht (though thankfully we weren't asked to hang over the edge to balance her!).




It was quite hard to move about and the couple on duty in the galley were doing some pretty nifty footwork catching plates sliding off the counter. There was a lot more work to do since every tack involved pulling up and letting down the side boards and winding in sails but luckily we had a full crew who were a lot more expert so I felt free to mostly sit on the hatch and just watch! It was great to see her in action (doing at least 5 knots!)
Coming home we were in danger of being overtaken by Zylonite yet again but Skipper switched over to engine power and we beat her back to Maldon. He said we had to get home first in order to get our mooring sorted out! But it was rather nice to wave to Zylonite as we went past.