I past the 3,500 Nm mark yesterday sailing on Kielder Water.
I had a cracking sail, hot with a steady(ish) F3 westerly/south westerly, more like the Med. than Northumberland.
Kielder is a big lump of water, it is (was?) the largest man made lake by volume in Northern Europe and is 50 metres deep when full. However, in the recent dry spell Northumbria Water have been releasing water from the reservoir into the North Tyne. Consequently the level has dropped about 3 metres in the last month. This has had the effect of producing islands where I would normally be sailing. I am having a different sailing experience as a result, I need to give the depth gauge much more attention than I would normally.
Last week my keel touched the bottom where there would normally be 3 metre of water, this week the same spot is now a rocky island.
At this rate the sailing season may soon be curtailed because the water will drop beyond the end of the launch ramp. This is not a problem because the boats are kept on moorings, but it means the boats can not be recovered for winter storage. We could be forced to haul out early while we still can.
Any one know a good rain dance?