Netherlands Trip - Shotley      30th June:

Promise of a Beautiful Morning at 3am in Shotley

    It was already steaming hot when we arose. After the usual bathroom rituals, I enjoyed a long warm, then cold, shower. Bliss! It doesn't take much to make me happy.
    We attended to a few jobs in the morning, as well as help other craft arrive to/depart from berths. A late breakfast was cereal followed by fried eggs on toast. Rex excelled himself again.
    While Rex retired to his bunk for a read, I took myself for a short hike, ending up on the seawall separating the marina from the harbour. The heat was now oppressive, but at least I could capture a sea breeze on the wall. I lazily watched containers being loaded/unloaded on the leviathan ships at Felixstowe.
    Meanwhile, a chap perched on a large sit-on lawnmower motored noisily along the sea wall, shaving the grass and spraying the cuttings out in all directions. I only realised this shortcoming of the operation when I suddenly found myself covered in grass cuttings and shredded dog excrement as he sped past in a zombie like state, unaware of others in the universe.
    Later, I got chatting with the Dutch crew of a neighbouring yacht; two inexperienced couples and an experienced sailor. They had hired their vessel, and sailed to Shotley from Bruinissa on the Grevelingenmeer; the town of mussels. Their plan was to sail up to Wolverstone marina, and use that as a base from which to walk to Pin Mill. And after achieving that ambition, they would sail back to Holland; a very short break indeed.

Parkeston Quay from Shotley

    In the evening we dined at the Bristol Arms, serenaded by the shanty singers' rehearsals again. The pub contained quite a few noisy Hurray Henry customers, not there for the music I hasten to add. The food and drink kept Rex very happy, as did the young motorcyclist who kept his engine running whilst he practiced photography. Rex is generally a tolerable man, but his patience was tested as the motorcyclist accelerated at full pelt up the hill blasting out excessive decibels. In contrast, a throng of happy teenagers surged past caked in mud after an afternoon spent keeping cool in river shallows and muddy pools.