With the wind at its predominant south westerly but blowing around 25 knots I had two reefs put in my sail and off I went, westerly. It was cracking, I felt comfortable and the Solent although a little lumpy didn't slow me down. My skipper has a thing with the tides now and so I creamed along at 9.9 knots SOG (speed over the ground, that's my speed plus the tide) after a couple of hours and about a half a dozen tacks I was approaching Totland Bay. May be this was just a weekender, I hope not.
The crew sorted themselves and got back in to the swing of living on board and at 1200 just before the tide turned, the anchor was raised and I was pointed westward out to sea at last. The small back eddy took us round past Alum Bay and then we were out past the Needles. With the promise of 4-5's and strangely south easterly, both reefs were left in, the main eased out I was off again galloping along like one of the New Forest Pony's, that weren't that far north of me. As the wind appeared to ease so the reefs were taken out.
Mupe Bay was to be my destination originally, but with the SW'ly wind it would've not been the best place to be. The eastern side, the more sheltered spot, however, as Cowes had been rammed yesterday my fresh water tanks were still low and so I headed on. Approaching Portland, I was gybed and headed north. With full main out I was becoming over powered, however it wasn't long before I was turned to windward and the main was dropped completely. Behind me was the entrance to Portland Marina and I was taken in. In the sheltered harbour of Portland hundreds of little Toppers were out racing and so I was guided around the outside of their course and on to the first 'Tango' pontoon. It had only taken 6 1/2hrs to get here. Once tied on my tanks were soon replenished with water and my batteries at long last had a good baulk, absorption and finally trickle charge from my shore power charger.
With 4 - 5 occasionally 6's promised and much the same the day after, it took a while for my skipper to decided to stick to plan A. The second reef was put back in before I left the pontoon and we waited till the little fleet of Toppers had left before following them out. This time I was lead to the Naval entrance and once outside the sails hoisted, I was short tacked up the side of Portland. Others leaving around the same time were under engine. My skipper had timed it just right I got a lift from the eddy around the inside of Portland and just entered the eastern race to tack once more clear of the Bill itself. The waves in the race always look more menacing from within, but it wasn't long before I was clear of them and pointed at 270 which coincided with the wind 40 degrees to port.
After I had caught and passed two smaller yachts and I think because a larger one had passed me, that my skipper shook out one of the reefs. Again with 6 hours of tide with me I maxed at 10.1 knots SOG but averaged around 7. Now I've been to Torquay a few times, but my crew feel it's a bit run down and the marina's full of Gin Palaces, so I was brought in to Babacombe Bay around 1930. This is the other side of the headland to the east of Torquay. A beautiful bay and I was the only one in it. Cary's Inn is to the south and a kiss me quick type area to the north, divided by a number of linking bridges. My skipper booked in for a meal on Tuesday at Cary's to catch up with their friends in the evening and sit out the 6's that appeared in the forecast.
According to my Skipper, the Cary Inn was a jolly nice Gastro Pub and they had a really nice meal. More importantly they had a good old chin wag with their friends including a Fastnet crew mate. For the third time my skipper actually mastered getting the dinghy ashore without getting a boot full of water. It almost looked as though they knew what they were doing as they launched back to me after their meal. At least they remembered to put my lights on so they could find me on their way back !
Wednesday and the crew were moving around down below around 0900. My new cooker provided them toast for the first time from the grill. With that washed up and the four Mackerel, gutted, cleaned and prepared were given fresh sea water and put in the dinghy, for my next passage. This commenced at around 1130, earlier than the skipper had suggested, but the forecast was for 5 - 6's and at that time the weather had yet to fill in. With two reefs set and a turn of jib, I was set out around Hope's Nose and across Torbay. Once past Berry Head the wind built and the seas became more confused.
25 knots across my deck with my hull occasionally slamming in the next trough. Skipper took over the helm at Start Point. 6.3 knots of boat speed added to that the tide, of course he had the tide worked out and I was pushing 9.0 knots SOG. This enabled me to push through most waves, but there were times when I rose high only to bury my nose deep in the following trough, gallons of water tumbling down my decks towards the crew in the cockpit, like waves making their way up the beach. I'm pleased to say that my bilge remained considerably dry, although some of the seals on my hatches were tested as was the seal around my mast.
Once clear of all headlands and obstructions I was eased away and on a broad reach and attained 6.7 knots of boat speed. Eased further to head for the house indicating the outside of the bar at Salcombe the jib was brought in. Just before the bar I was swung to windward and my main dropped, the skipper radioed the Harbour Master and they brought me in and up the estuary to Salt Stone where I was anchored. This is a quiet spot, a nature reserve amongst the drying creeks. I arrived just after low water but had 1.5m beneath my keel.
The four Mackerel, were shown the inside of my oven and served.
As you can imagine it was pitch black as light faded and my
skipper hadn’t been quite so generous with the anchor chain as he should’ve
been and around high tide at 2300, the anchor alarm sounded as I was being
dragged up river. Fortunately with the
only yacht close by having his anchor light on too, and the GPS still live, I
was brought back round in to deeper water and re-anchored. My skipper did stay up on anchor watch to
make sure I held until the water started to recede.
The dinghy was taken in to town and more food was brought on
board. The small town is always busy
during the summer school holidays but at least we’d manage to miss their
regatta week.
On leaving Salcombe a number of dinghy races were going on
and so I was taken off to one side of the estuary and headed to the bar once
more. The forecast had predicted south
easterlies and 3-4’s so once the main had been sorted out my new sail the G2
‘Thor’ came out from below and was hoisted.
Once filled I could feel the power that immediately came with it. The winds were probably lighter than
predicted but that gave my crew a chance to try various things and I was gybed
back and forth. With the winds as light
as they were Fowey seemed a long shot and so I was taken to Plymouth. Sutton Harbour to be precise through the
lock. Here my crew met up with another
friend for the evening.
Having been replenished once more with fresh water and my
batteries re-vitalised by the charging cycles of the Sterling pro-charger. My skipper radio’d the lock keeper. The lock itself wasn’t required as the water
level enabled free passage in and out, but the footbridge needed to be swung
out of the way and this in itself governed which direction traffic would flow.
Once out in to the Plymouth Sound, my sails hoisted and I
tacked back and forth out and then to Fowey. To a large mooring buoy near the
entrance and Polruen, which is on the east side of the river the town of Fowey
on the west.
Again the dinghy was made ready and the crew headed to
Polruen as there was a sign saying laundry & showers. There’s also a pub there and so a table was
booked for that night too. On returning to me, they didn’t stop but left the
crews handbag and picked up a can of fuel and set off again exploring the
upstream section of the river. Lostwitheil was their goal, however on nearing
Saint Winnow, the river bed could be clearly seen beneath them. With uncertainty as to where the actual main
channel was, it seemed a good time to turn round and run back with the ebbing
tide. The outboard spluttered to a stop, but this was due to it
running out of fuel and once topped up started and ran faultlessly back to me.
St Winnow in the distance, before retreating quickly
The following day my crew went in to Fowey itself, to the Royal Fowey Yacht Club, where showers were taken, my skipper took his lap top and caught up on some work and the crew went in to town to get some fresh vegetables etc.
Making use of the tide as forecasted winds were to be light again, my crew were up and out by 0900. Today was not going to be a sailing day, with main out and tight, my engine was left at 2000 rpm and pointed seaward. With the forecasted winds never materialising, the Autopilot was engaged and a route set, the first time I think this year that it has done that. It did play up for a short while with the words ‘drive lost’ but after resetting it all was well and I pointed to Helford River.
On arrival my skipper radio’d for the mooring officer, but one didn’t exist at that time and so the Helford Ferry answered instead. I was taken to the Pool and a green mooring buoy was lassoed, however there was no ring in the top in which to put ‘Loopy Loo’ through and the sinking line unable to pass the weed growth slipped off. ‘Loopy Loo’ is two lengths of rope with a length of chain between, this stops chaffing. I was motored back downstream to Robins Cove near Durgan and anchored there instead.
Wednesday and my crew were up and ready and so I was sailed out of the estuary and set for the Manacles. The wind appeared light and so the engine was on until a new course was set that would take me past the races off Lizard. A broad reach was then set and I was sailed until past the Lizard and a beam reach was made towards St Michaels Mount. Once inside the bay, I was gybed out but the course sent me well out to sea, so a course was made and the sails set accordingly.
Then the wind died. The crew looked at each other and the jib was furled in, the engine went back on and there was even discussions as to whether 'Thor' could come out. However no sooner said than done the wind filled in with a 40 degree shift, the jib was extracted and I was now close hauled pointing at Newlyn.
Newlyn is a fishing port and boats like me are foreigners, but we're put up with as we bring in extra revenue not only to the port but the local economy too. My nostrils filled with the smell of fish and an oily film wrapped around my hull but I had a place to stay. Fishing boats by the handful prepared themselves and moved around the port like mechanical monsters. The low thud from their engines reverberated as they moved graciously from one spot to another, then eventually out towards the harbour entrance and off to some special spot some miles out to sea.
Setting off for the night, week or months ?
Saturday, and the weather looked more than promising, so I was prepared once more and was sent on my way towards the harbour entrance before the water level became an issue. Once outside and clear and my Skipper had tidied all the lines and put away my fenders, I was turned to point at Mousehole (mouzzall), and up went the main. With the wind light and not the expected 3 - 4's I was motored out in search of more wind, this came but from a westward direction, the direction I was being taken. My jib unfurled I was pointed west of south, just off of Bishop's Rock lighthouse, with light winds 'Chianti' a 30 or so footer was catching me up and eventually passed. The winds strengthened and backed soon I re-passed as we crossed paths once more. Eventually the swell of the sea and the wind direction was such that 'Chianti' started to motor, I was still under sail. Eventually the donk came on and I was pointed at St Agnes and Hugh islands, where I was anchored.
The following day the crew went for a walk around St Agnes and by mid afternoon I was moved across to St Martins and my crew picked up a buoy. Once more the crew disembarked to pay their dues and returned the following day to re-provision. Back on board, I was prepared again and was gently motored between the many islands at low water to expose as many dangers as possible, but still the crew took me slowly round, spotting many seals enjoying the sun on my way to New Grimsby Sound between Tresco and Bryher.
On the Tuesday with light winds my crew raised my anchor and I was taken around the northern part of the islands and headed towards the Lands End TSS. Here too, where many of the Fastnet fleet still trying to make their way to the rock. I was manoeuvred around a few then once clear headed 90 degrees to the shipping lanes. With engine ticking over, my skipper took a few shots of the Wolf Rocklight house as I passed. Progress was slow, but eventually the forecasted wind filled in and about 1730 my sails where hoisted and I was off sailing once more. In fact as the winds were steady not only in direction but consistent in strength, my skipper took time to adjust and trim the sails such that I sailed my self along around 45 degrees off the wind no matter which tack I was on. In fact the crew coming up from listening to the radio below, hauled me over to the opposite tack and released the helm, once I found the wind I adjusted my angle to 45 degrees. My skipper was pleased and now wants me to do the same thing at just of 30 degrees to the wind.
By now I was approaching the Helford river again, but this time I was anchored on the southern side.
Leaving the Scilly's behind
The harbour master insisted that there should be at least 4.0m. My crew remembered that when I was in Scotland, the skipper adjusted my depth gauge to read metres under the keel. My previous owner had me depth below the waterline. Skip, then checked what he had set me at and realised that the 2.3m that he had entered, didn't take in to account the depth below the waterline of my transducer. Giving me another 600mm, so it should have read 1.7m. Once re-calibrated, a lead line was put over the side during several states of the tide to make sure everything was spot on.
Two nights were spent here, whilst the crew did laundry, re-provisioned and managed to visit the National Maritime Museum, which oddly had a theme of the Vikings. Even time for a meal at Rick Steins restaurant instead of their usual favourite fish & chip shop. With water tanks and on board showers used, it was into the murk once more. This time I was headed up the Fal River and to a pontoon just SE of Malpas, which in turn is near Truro. A very remote spot with the river surrounded by deciduous trees and occasional rocky shoreline and it all looked a bit pirate as the murky mist still filled the tree tops.
Me on the pontoon just down stream of Malpas
The following day I was moved back downstream but instead of stopping at St Mawes, the other side from Falmouth, I was headed out to sea. Gorran Haven had been mentioned as a possible anchorage to, but in the misty murk I continued past. Hour after hour I was clocking up the easterly miles, my skipper clearly had other ideas. Eventually I was gybed north and headed in to Cawsand.
Cawsand and Kingsand beautiful Villages
Dittisham was mentioned, but that would be for the following day. The weather that clearly my skipper was trying to get ahead of, caught up. The following day I was moved from the pontoon as promised to the harbour master and taken down stream in torrential rain and high winds to Dittisham a place I had been taken to before but unable to find a mooring buoy. My skipper having spoken to the harbour master had been told of two buoys that I could be rafted against other vessels. As I arrived I was taken low to be turned and headed to wind. Slowly my skipper edged me closer to the yacht mentioned keeping me under control under the high winds, more so than the yacht I was to be rafted against that swung every now and then. Despite words being passed between us boats, no one appeared on deck to lend a hand. On the second approach the difference between my high freeboard and that of the smaller yacht on the buoy was evident and the rafting exercise was abandoned.
I was taken to the Anchor Stone where my anchor was dropped, but with around 15m of water beneath me, howling winds and weed, the anchor never really took and so this exercise was abandoned and I was brought under control to anchor elsewhere. My crew were about to set the kedge anchor to stop me from swinging so violently in the high winds, when on the VHF the harbour master suggested I could be rafted against the old British Steel racing boat back in town. As we approached it was evident that the blue flagged yacht that didn't come to my crews assistance where about to raft on the other side of the same vessel. My skipper refused to speak to them.
That night the winds built and from about midnight to 0400 the wind howled, stretching, pulling at the warps an uncomfortable night for my crew, but after 0400 the wind just stopped.
Deciding that a trip around the corner to Brixham or slightly further north to Teignmouth was not going to give any great benefit, my crew slipped my lines and I was off on the long trip across Lyme Bay. The wind however was such that a course just south of east was made taking me to around 8nm south of Portland Bill before being gybed round and headed towards Weymouth. However the crews mother was going to make a visit and the crew decided that a stop in Weymouth could mean rafting and a 90yr old would struggle to get on board, so I was taken once more to Portland where wide clear pontoons were available. However she did not visit and so I was taken out of Portland and headed to Studland for an overnight stop before heading to Cowes Saturday lunchtime.
Sunday and my skipper had everything on deck to dry out before packing it away. On the Monday my insides where wiped down with disinfectants and all the tinned or canned goods, plus clothing were taken off me. Another year and another adventure, hopefully it won't be too long before I am taken out once more. There's rumours of yet another sail to be added to me suit.
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