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HighunDry

for a squelchy bare foot walk. It became clear that walking in deck boots
was harder than bare foot and the blisters I suffered from the previous day
were soothed. Food was rationed, toilet visits and use of electrics also. Un-
able to run the engine, we had no means of topping up the batteries. We
used Humber water to flush the heads. The flush water I collected from a
pool at the stern which had been created by the
churning of the prop. The water was poured into
empty 5 litre water bottles, which were left over-
night to allow the mud sediment to settle out.
Regarding use of the heads; No. 1s went out to
the “Lady Whee” channel dug to direct fluids
away from the boat and the source of water at
LadyWhee Channel
the stern. An oar was the perfect tool for the civil
works! No. 2s went to the holding tank - would it be big enough?
I estimated that the next spring tide high enough to lift us off would be a
week away. With three on board, supplies and holding tank wouldn’t last.
My good friends at Nothern Divers insisted that they would visit and
attempt to take Alison ashore and deliver more supplies. Great news - this
would happen on Day #6, so time to prepare.

Day #5 Sheenagh and I took a walk on the mud
together to retrace the gouge created by our
hull. It was about 300m long! We moved the an-
chor to a better position thinking about wind and
current - though it was guess work at that stage.
We hadn’t had any water near us for three days. I
tied a small buoy to the anchor so it would first
float to mark the anchor position in the murky
water and then submerge when water was 1m
deep.

Day #6 We eagerly awaited the afternoon arrival
of Northern Divers, 2 hours before HW. Their dive support boat, Anne Ma-
rie, anchored off at 1320hrs and launched the inflatable loaded with provi-
sions and a small generator. The mud was deep at the landing point and

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