Message originally posted by John Robertson on 17-Oct-09 at 09:59 PM
Decided I'd better check out the craft before the Treasure Hunt next week so I set off down to Berwick Harbour (yet again!).
Weather was excellent - sunshine and no wind. A bit chilly at 4C though!
Launched and set off upriver - uneventful trip. Further upstream from Paxton, the river was VERY busy with fly fisherman standing in the river - I must have passed twenty or more :rolleyes:. I eventually gave up (it was like a slalom course
) and headed back down river to the estuary. After a stop on an island for lunch the engine starter seemed a bit sluggish. The charge light on the dash was dimly lit so I checked the battery voltage whilst the engine was running. Only 11.5 volts - not good!
I headed back to the launch site and picked up a starter pack as it was clear that the engine was running from the battery rather than the alternator!
Headed out to the coast but I had to give up after getting past the end of the harbour breakwater. The rollers were around 20 metres spacing and were HUGE! All you could see was a 8 foot high solid wall of water heading towards you. It was OK until they started to break :eek:. I turned tail and ran along a trough between two waves back into the shelter of the harbour wall and decided that a sea cruise probably wasn't a good idea today!! The North sea is very strange - high pressure seems to pile up waves but on windy days it can be often be very calm!