24 July Afternoon cruise to Faversham Creek

Sunday 24th July turned out to be perfect day for our late afternoon cruise to Faversham Creek, the forecast was for south westerly winds, F4-5, gusting F6. The sun shone, the sea was warm and once we launched over the mounds of seaweed along the shoreline there was no stopping us.

The turnout was superb with 22 sailors, the majority sailing with crews, friends and family on 13 boats. The cat fleet comprised 4 Dart 18s, 2 Sprint 15s, a Hobie 16 and a Weta trimaran. The dinghy sailors went afloat on 2 Mirrors, a Pico, Laser and a Topper. Our fleet included young sailor Charlie with mum Zoe and intrepid teenage sailor Henry on his Topper.

As quite often happens as the fleet launched, the wind increased to F5-6 making for a challenging sail to the mouth of the creek for the majority of sailors. Along the way we spotted seals, curiously not alarmed by our passing boats. A couple of D18s decided that a quick diversion to Fowley Island was in order so pressed on with choppy seas building in the Swale channel. The fleet then negotiated the moored craft in the creek entrance and the motoring yachts to arrive at the Shipwrights Arms for a rehydration stop!

After a relaxing break sitting on the bank watching passing barges from the Faversham Nautical Festival and chatting with our friends we headed for home. A smooth swift run along the coastline, we were joined by shoals of fish around us breaking the surface of the sparkling seas, what could be a better way to end a perfect day afloat.