Humber Barge Waterdog
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It was great planning, together with a little luck, that we arrived at our new moorings both at slack tide and in flat calm waters. We threaded our way through the numerous swinging moorings, around the last port marker post and in towards our berth. There were two wooden posts, 6m apart, for our stern moorings, so we glided between them and then into the berth. On slowing, the boat was caught by the suddenly ebbing current and we were swung gently around the post on our port side, bringing the bow close to the large boat on our starboard side. Rob was ready with a wandering fender so it was a very soft coming alongside.

With a mooring rope on each post, we motored forward until the bow was about 1m off the quay and then made fast. We used a ladder over the bow to get ashore and before we had finished tidying the ropes we could feel a slight list and Waterdog was starting to go aground in her new berth. It was a strange feeling to have her aground on the mud and a little unsettling as she settled with a 2 degree list.

What a great journey! At last, we broke out some bubbly to celebrate our arrival with friends and then heaved a sigh of relief and started checking out our new home.