Morning all and todays nautical phrase is familiar to most of you, perhaps?: Grog – In 1740, British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon (whose nickname was Old Grogram for the coat of Grogram he wore) ordered that the sailors’ daily ration of rum be diluted with water. The men called the mixture grog. A sailor who drank too much grog was groggy. Interesting to note though there is a channel mark up the river Orwell near Pinmill which is also called ‘Grog’, is there any connection I wonder? The weather is a little cool this morning and overcast after last nights rain. However the sun is trying to break through and the forecast is for sunshine most of the day with light rain overnight. Winds are staying in the east for the next few days. Today’s inshore forecast as follows: Gibraltar Point to North Foreland Strong winds are forecast For coastal areas up to 12 miles offshore from 0600 UTC Thu 27 Mar until 0600 UTC Fri 28 Mar 24 hour forecast:
- Wind Easterly or northeasterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 in north.
- Sea State Slight or moderate.
- Weather Rain or thundery showers.
- Visibility Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours:
- Wind Easterly or northeasterly 4 or 5, decreasing 3 at times in south.
- Sea State Slight or moderate.
- Weather Rain or showers then fair.
- Visibility Moderate or good, occasionally poor at first.Today’s tides are: HW 08.31 3.56M LW 14.30 0.78M HW 21.00 3.47M. Note predicted depth over the sill at LW will be 2.28M. The answer to yesterdays quiz question, ‘Which IALA buoyage system is used in th Philippines?’ Answer, IALA system B (reds to starboard when entering port). In the yard and marina we have had the pilot boat St Cuthbert in for some repair work to one of her windows and this morning Andy and Craig have lifted the motor boat Kingfisher ashore for lay up, anti fouling etc. Our first English sea school boat of this year, Strata 3 locked in last night and left early this morning. Today’s question is, ‘What is the cause of advection fog?’ Later on this morning we have the Leisure Vessels Navigation Committee meeting with Harwich Haven Authority so we will report the details tomorrow.