So Watanga was taken out of the water very early this year as we had a long holiday booked in Japan and we couldn’t risk leaving her unattended in Swanage Bay for that long. A decision justified by a long period of bad weather while we were away.
So now we’re back in Blighty and its time to get on with some maintenance issues, Always something to look at.
major items on the to do list are
a non functioning wind gauge
The cabin heater has given up working
The drive leg was occasionally refusing to lock down (very tricky when docking)
Steering is getting stiff – cable change
Rudders are clunking badly – modifications?
The best thing I’ve done is join the geminicatamarans group, which is a great community and has so much useful information and helpful members.
I’ll try to keep you all updated.
Oh and I joined the septuagenarian’s club in October.
You will have guessed by now that we chose the dry day to cross Lyme Bay.
Leaving Dartmouth at the crack of dawn, we had no wind to talk of until about 10 miles off Portland.
Plenty of dolphins on the way across to break the monotony.
At the Bill we took the inner passage in growing wind and swell. A boat coming the other way, and needing to do a gybe right at the Point, all added to the excitement.
The best sailing of the holiday came on the portion of the trip from the Bill to Weymouth. A broad reach in 18 knots of wind on flat water saw us ripping along at 8 to 9 knots for the last hour.
We spent Tuesday exploring Salcombe and generally relaxing, even spending an hour on the beach.
Today we’ve moved on to Dartmouth, a light-wind day on fairly flat sea’s. A dead run, in a goosewinged configuration most of the way, 19 miles berth to berth all done in just over 3 hours. We did have help from a big spring tide, mind you.
Hobson’s choice. (Lyme bay)
We have to come back, it’s just a matter of when.
Tomorrows wind is about 11 to 17 knots from SW. making it a pretty good run / broad reach. (Fast) moderate sea state, raining most of the day
Friday winds of 5 to 14 knots pretty much dead West. Flat sea, no rain, that makes it a dead run. (Slow) but in good conditions.
The boat was rocking around all night with residual swell, so we had a very disturbed night. We left at 0800 to go to Salcolmbe, the wind forecast was 12 -20 knots from the SW, however there was a swell of 1.5 to 2.0 meters meaning it was uncomfortable.
With full sails and sailing broad reach, come run, most of the way was OK. However the area south of Bolt Tail, and all along to Bolt Head is always a bit lively, and with the wind now at 18 to 20 knots with a spring tide flowing against it the swell was getting larger. At one point we got picked up by a particularly large wave and we surfed at nearly 11 knots for a good 30 seconds.
Not long after as this, we were rounding Wolf rock into Salcombe when we spotted two paddleboarders surfing on the waves surging into the estuary.
Good News the engine keys have turned up. They were in the bottom of the lifejacket cupboard. Must have got caught up when we put them away.
The tides are all wrong for us at the moment and we always seem to be sailing against the tidal flow. However, with the wind behind us we do not lose leeway in the same way as tacking upwind. We just get there a little later.
We said our goodbyes to Chris and Alison, leaving Fowey at 0800. The wind was light to start with, however by the time we were rounding Rame Head 7.5 knots was showing on the log..
We arrived at Cawsand Bay around 1230 and soon found a spot to anchor. Its quite a popular spot, being so close to the marina’s of Plymouth.
Cawsand is a typical West country seaside village with tiny winding streets, half a dozen bars, and lots of knick knack shops. It has a good vibe about it and we can see why people have been recommending it to us.
With bad weather over the next few days, the Scillies have been shelved for this trip, maybe another year.
We have now begun planning our return journey, starting with a 25 mile trip from Falmouth to Fowey. As you can see the morning started as a dead calm and continued to be very light winds for most of the time.
We had anchored 4 miles up the estuary so it was getting on for a hour before we passed between Pendennis and St Mawes Castles and rounded St Anthony lighthouse into open sea,
When the sea is flat, dolphins are easy to spot, and there were quite a few around, but were too busy feeding to come and play!
The screecher was up for the last two hours or so but it wasn’t helping much so we continued by motorsailing. At 12 o’clock we were in sight of the entrance, just needing to skirt round Cannis Rock before entering the harbour.
We berthed behind “La Sociere” Chris and Alison Bell’s boat with Chris waiting on the dock to take our lines. After spending the afternoon in town and then dinner on the boat, we spent the evening on their boat catching up.
We left Fowey early on Wednesday to make our way to Falmouth, a bright morning with absolutely no wind. We motored steadily and soon had a small pod of dolphins playing round the boat. It was a brief encounter and only I managed to get one photo, the video would have been great but you have to remember to press record for that to happen.!
Also my wordpress subscription doesn’t do video anyway.
About 2 hours in a light breeze sprang up and with the help of the Screecher sail we were able to sail the rest of the way, and around 1pm we were berthed up at Falmouth Marina. Whilst preparing to go into town we discovered the engine keys were missing, soon after which I found a large hole in my pocket. We have assumed that they have gone overboard while tying up. This is the second set of keys that have gone missing this trip, the first set may even have been lost on Buck Shore beach as we set off. If anyone has found a set they’re probably mine!
Pizza at the Shack was this evenings meal, and they had a live band on, The Old Sea Sailors, find them on Facebook, there a really good band.
Thursday we explored some of the Fal estuary. After anchoring at Turnaware point. we visited Trelissick house and gardens, a National Trust property. Whilst tendering up to the landing pontoon, we encountered seals resting on bouys in the river.
Trelissick had a very relaxed atmosphere to it and the gardens were beautiful.
Next up was to move to Restronquet, re-anchor and go to the famous Pandora Pub. I last visited this place about 20 years ago when I was doing my dayskipper practical course, apart from ordering by phone, it’s exactly the same as it was.
The Pandora Pub. Restronguet
Last move of the day was to return to Turnaware point to anchor up for the night.
We spent the day in port today. We went ashore and walked through the town to go to Readymoney beach then on to St Catherines Castle, the remains of a small artillery fort built by Henry VIII in the 1530s to defend Fowey Harbour. Stopping only to buy a Cornish Pastie and a couple of cinnamon buns to have as a picnic.
I couldn’t help but notice as we walked the high street the number of knockers, all shapes and sizes. I took photo’s of a few to share with you.
Sorry… Door knockers. what else did you think I was talking about? There does seem to be a bit of a competition going on.
Looking out from St Catherines, it crossed my mind that it may have been better to move on today. The sailing looked perfect and tomorrow looks like light airs, as we move on to Falmouth. Still we’ll see how we get on.
It seems like an age since we left Swanage, but already a week has gone. Sunday was another bright and sunny day and it was also the day that Russell and Nicola were jumping ship. Nicola to work and Russell on duty for the RNLI in Swanage.
After a lovely Sunday roast dinner @ Jolly Jacks we bade farewell to our departing crew.
In the afternoon, we set about rearranging the boat, spreading our stuff out into the now vacant back berths.
Also on the agenda was setting up for the Euro’s final, another beautiful evening apart from England losing, ooh a Half Moon, it must be Neaps!
Monday morning, and the weather was foul, St Swithers day, not a good omen.
So wet weather gear on and off we set, one of only very few boats venturing out today. The light south easterly wind was not enough to sail so we motored all the way in a surprisingly lumpy sea. The coastline going in and out of sight as the showers passed though.
A few features on the way, photo’s taken in between the showers.
Approaching “the bridge” Penlee Point Rame Head Polperro Approaching Polruan.Punch Cross Rock
And four and a half hours later, here we are in Fowey.
Our drop off point for Russell and Nicola is the Mayflower Marina, about an hours motoring down river. The day was warm, so we waited until 1.00 pm for the tide, before gently motoring to the marina. There was plenty of space at the Mayflower, and the facilities are top notch, that said, it set a new highest price record for us at £71.00 per night.
We wandered towards town for drinks ending up in Lord Williams yard, a redeveloped area that was once the Naval Victualling Stores. Fancy bars and eateries, that had all the trendy Q codes, where you order on your phone, but a lack of staff. It took the best part of 20mins just to get a drink.
Despite the sunny skies, the evening was turning chilly so we headed back to the boat for dinner.
The Yealm river is one of the most picturesque places we have visited over the years and we love coming back to it. Once ashore, there is a store, a pub and a yacht club a short walk away. If you land on the other side of the river you can walk to Noss Mayo and that also has a couple of pubs. It was here that Dawn French’s “The trouble with Maggie Cole.” was filmed. At low tide you can walk between Noss Mayo and Newton Ferrers across the river.
First thing on the agenda today was a trip up the mast to see if I could find the problem with the wind vane. Nothing untoward up there, connections OK., wiring ok no corrosion, so straight back down. Russell on “winch” had to go for a rest soon after. So we still have no wind instruments.
I will have to tie some streamers from the shrouds.
Russell and Nicola are leaving us on Sunday and we’d promised to show them another anchorage that we like, called The Dandy Hole. It’s on the river Lynher, on a wooded bend in the river, far enough away from the main marina’s that only a few boats venture this far.
Some never come back!
Our journey to the Dandy Hole was uneventful with next to no wind. We motored all the way, arriving to the sound of thunder, and anchoring just before it tipped down.
It turned out to be a lovely evening though, as we spent the evening playing scrabble.
Today was bright and sunny with a light breeze from the South West. We decided to make the best of the wind in order to get further West. A relatively short hop to Newton Ferrars on the River Yealm.
Motoring out of the estuary we were met with a gentle breeze, nice and steady, giving us about 5 to 6 knots of boat speed. Even better we were able to maintain . a single tack most of the way to our destination, leaving only the last mile to motor up the river. We even managed to bag a spot on the pontoon!
Come the evening we went ashore and wandered down to the village stores for supplies. Being thirsty after our walk, it seemed a shame not to try the local ale, and stopped for a meal and a drink at the very friendly Dolphin Inn before returning to the boat for a nightcap before bed.
A good lie in this morning, as the trip to Salcombe required waiting for favourable tidal streams. An eleven o’clock start, bright sunshine and a good breeze. What could be better. Well, maybe the wind being a tad too strong, and the sea just a little too lumpy, and tides not quite what the book said. Still all told we didn’t do badly, only an hour longer than anticipated.
After mooring up in Salcombe. We went to the Salcombe Yacht Club, where we showered, had a meal, then settled back to watch England play Netherlands in the semi final. 2-1. best football England have played all tournament.
I forgot to mention on the first day of the trip, that the wind direction indicator had stopped working. On the way into Salcombe, the wind speed instrument also gave up. There’s no physical damage to the Windicator at the top of the mast as far as I can see, and as direction and speed gave up separately I’m thinking it’s something like a bad electrical connection on the back of the cockpit instrument, which I can hopefully clean up.
After two days of troubled seas, it was time to take a rest. Watanga is safely berthed in the middle of the river, the halyard has been re tied with the frayed part removed, and the furler has been overhauled. I just hope it with still be ok without the broken piece in it.
First stop today was ALF RESCOS. for late breakfast and nice coffee, after which the ladies were up for shopping, whilst the men decided on relaxing in the Dartmouth Yacht Club with a drink. A course of action which suited everyone.
The day brightened a little and when the shopping was done we strolled down to the castle at the river mouth, had ice creams, wandered back to the yacht club for showers, then a few aperitifs before going back to the boat for dinner.
So we’re off again, this time to the West Country. We had already postponed for a day because of the high winds on Saturday, setting off from a quiet Swanage Bay I’m glad I took the precaution to set a reef in the mainsail. As we crossed Durlston bay the wind rose to 23 knots, we set a heavily reefed genoa and headed South into increasingly heavy seas.
It can only be said it was an uncomfortable journey, however the sun was out to keep our spirits up and no one was sick.
Photo’s never capture the sea state well, however I always think that if the horizon looks knobbly you’re probably in for a rough ride.
There were very few boats out with us and Weymouth was quiet when we docked. A meal and a drink on the boat, and by 9pm everyone was yawning and ready for bed.
Monday was a better day in terms of the wind. A light South to South East wind providing a reasonable broad reach. We motored as far as Portland Bill and took the inshore passage turning into the tide. Main and Jib were set and we switched off the engine for the long downwind passage to Dartmouth.
It was quite cold and later in the day very wet. Arrival at the mouth of the Dart was in very murky conditions. By 6 o clock we were berthed up and set about drying the boat up, making dinner and then crashing into bed.
Some exciting episodes on the way included : – Engine failure, (water in the fuel), a jammed furler on the genoa and a badly frayed main halyard.
The worst thing to happen on a boat is fire, and this is just what happened to a poor boat owner the other day at the Boatyard. He went to his boat, topped up with petrol, then started his engines. There was almost immediately a loud bang, and his boat was alight. Despite exhausting two fire extinguishers and someone with a garden hose trying to put it out, the fire spread. The boat owner had lost the hair on the back of his head but was otherwise unhurt. Apart from shock that is.
The Fire brigade took about 15 mins to arrive by which time the boat was well alight.
It took around 45 minutes to get it under control by which time they had poured so much water on it, it was nigh on sunk. It was a cabin cruiser, not an open boat by the way. The pontoon next to it got a little charred but no other boats were near enough to be seriously affected.
Sadly by the next day it had sunk. My commiserations to the owner. Another sad reminder of how careful you have to be on boats.
Back in August last year we mentioned that Lou was having to manually pump the port bilge out during a heavy weather passage. The faulty electric bilge pump was sorted out during our next visit to the marina, but the source of the problem, water intrusion, was more difficult to track down.
In fact it wasn’t until the winter layup that a thorough inspection, found the entry point.
The Culprit Revealed: The centreboard inspection cover, which is in a storage compartment had become detached at one end, creating a gateway for water to infiltrate our bilges, gushing out each time the boat surged into a wave.
Further investigation unearthed the root cause of this malfunction: shoddy craftsmanship. The acrylic cover, intended to shield against the elements, had suffered severe bending during installation. This led to and compromised integrity, allowing water to spill in with ease. Moreover, the screws securing the cover had stripped out of their designated holes.
After using fibreglass and filler to create a flat surface for the new inspection panel to be fixed to. New securing holes drilled and a liberal dose of sealing adhesive hopefully this will solve our problem.
It was a quiet night in Ringstead Bay, morning came bright and clear. The sea flat and glassy.
Only 20 miles to go but with the tide against us all the way. We took our time and hugged the coast, enjoying the Jurassic coastline along the way. Finally mooring up at about 1230.
Here are a few pictures of the journey.
Bats head Worbarrow tout Lulworth Cove Durdle Dor Mupe Bay ,Arish Mell Bay Dancing ledge Durlston Peveril
Yesterday we spent a lazy day in Dartmouth. Breakfast in the famous “Alf Resco” Breakfast restaurant, before heading off in search of sunglasses, My new pair bought only last week, made a leap to freedom, but sadly fell off the boat and drowned somewhere in Start Bay.
A stroll to the castle at the head of the estuary and back. Then where’s the best place to be on the hottest day of the year, the M&S foodhall of course, just the job for cooling down, and we could also buy provisions for todays passage across Lyme Bay.
Friday 8th.
Up early for the journey across Lyme Bay, we were aiming to overnight in Weymouth, but it seems there is a fish festival on and it’s too busy, so we may anchor somewhere like Ringstead Bay or Bats Head.
We set off at 0730 into the misty morning, visibility about a mile or so. Once past the Mew Stone we set our course and had little to do for the next nine hours. The only highlights were dolphins, on occasion, but they too seemed lethargic in the growing heat and none of came to play.
After rounding the Bill of Portland, we headed straight to Ringstead Bay. We anchored up and surveyed the scenery. Oh its a nudist beach.
Then the excitement began. The coastguard helicopter arrived over the cliff top and dropped down close to the end of the beach. After a couple of practices it went in very close to the cliff face a lifted a casualty up before making a quick exit toward Dorchester Hospital.
In the relative calm of the marina at Falmouth, it was all too easy to think we could set off, but the sea state our side of the harbour said otherwise. Even when we did leave, at 12 noon, with a breeze of 18 to 20 knots we were prepared to turn back if it was too lumpy.
It turned out more roller coaster than washing machine so we went for it. A good sail was had all the way to Fowey, even if it was a bouncy ride. Dodman Head got a bit close, but once rounded we had a broad reach all the way in to Fowey.
Despite being only a short passage, it had been quite tiring so we had our supper then went to bed.
On to Dartmouth
Quite a different day, not a breath of wind, and the sea flat as a crepe, as the french would say!
Early exit from Fowey Heading East Dolphin/ Porpoise? Bolt head Start Point
Leaving Fowey at 0730 we headed for the long motor to Dartmouth. Nothing too exciting along the way except when the motor stopped just off Start Point. It wasn’t a surprize as we had started using fuel from our starboard tank, which we suspected had water contamination. We were right, it has!
A quick draining of the water separator bowl and we were on our way again.
We have noticed that there are a very large number of jelly fish in the water, large blooms of them.
Now, I have had trouble identifying them, my best guess is crystal jellyfish, which is not actually a jellyfish. Also they are not native to here. Any jellyfish enthusiasts out there able to assist?
No sailing, we are holed up in Falmouth for today and possibly tomorrow, waiting for the strong easterly winds to blow through.
But quiet it is not, the forecast shown above being spot on with the wind speeds. The gentle hum in the rigging is now more of a roar. Fenders and even the pontoons are creaking. It looks like it could be a disturbed night tonight.
We were very lucky last night to pick up the last inside berthing spot in Falmouth Haven Marina and apart from doubling up our mooring lines we have had little other problems.
There was some excitement in the marina first thing as the wind gathered strength. Those on the outside berths were having a hard time with the considerable chop, that had built up across just a few hundred yards of open water. One small boat having to be towed away to a safer position.
We took the ferry to St Mawes, a village on the east side of the Fal estuary. In the easterly wind it was very sheltered, and with the sun beating down, it was very pleasant.
We watched many a boat, going out, only to come back soon after.
Going out Forget that- coming in.
Over lunch we watched as a yacht in the estuary struggled with its anchor, which, having been raised, appeared to re-deploy as he was moving off. (Been there, done that). When he finally retrieved it, there was something huge hanging on it. We’d finished lunch by this time, and were moving on, so we never saw how he managed to remove it.
It seems that whilst we were having a pleasant day, chaos was going on all around us. Falmouth lifeboat had two shouts, one, to a yacht aground and another to a medical evacuation.
Back at the marina, someone else went aground while attempting to dock, and later some poor soul came in, his main halyard snapped, and the sail at half mast was wrapped about the shrouds. His jib was only partially furled and he had terrible trouble berthing. (4 attempts ) because of the wind catching the sails and slewing the boat all over the place.
We meanwhile, were having our dinner and sipping our wine as we contemplated what a nice relaxing day we’d had.
We have arrived back in Falmouth and just in time, as we have woken this morning to the sound of the easterly F5/6 winds humming in the rigging. Yesterdays journey was a long, largely boring motor into a light easterly. The sea state varied from smooth to moderate, and a couple of stretches of rough seas around Lizard Point and Black Head.
Highlights of the day, again were visits from dolphins, sorry no pictures this time, (I had a bit of finger trouble with the camera and everything was over exposed)!
Now above is a picture you may recognise from a few posts ago. Those lighthouse fanatics amongst you will be saying thats not Bishop’s Rock lighthouse, and you would be right. I made an error, in actual fact it is Wolf Rock lighthouse, no boobies here! Sack the navigator.
Well, it’s been a whistle stop tour. We spent our last day on St Marys. After stocking up on IOS clothing and a few other knick knacks, we sauntered down the coast to Juliets Garden restaurant for lunch. Nice food with a fantastic view over the harbour.
We are aiming to get to Falmouth by tomorrow evening, hopefully before the easterly winds set in. It looks like Monday and Tuesday will by spent in port. We’ll see what the weather brings.
We woke to a favourable weather update. If everything stays as it is we will have at least an extra day here.
At 9:30am, the jetty on Bryher was a hive of activity, Lots of containers (of food?) being loaded onto a fishing boat, lots of ferries toing and froing.
Today is the low tide festival. The tide will go out far enough to allow people to walk from Tresco to Samson. To mark the day there is a pop up food and music event on the sand bar inbetween.
We joined in and were amongst the first hundred or so people to arrive. The first stall to be up and running was the Island Fish stall selling seafood paella, crab, lobster and prawn sandwiches. This had all arrived by the fishing boat which was now aground on the sandbank.
Then tractors with trailers began arriving carrying tables, stalls, bars, food & drink. And a local band to entertain the crowd which by then was possibly 1000 strong.
Now in my last post I said we had seen very few people, but here there were suddenly 100s. All was revealed, when we sailed over to St. Martins in the afternoon. A cruise ship sat in Crows Sound had been depositing vistors to the islands.
After walking the length of St Martins, we sailed to St Mary’s, ending up in Porthcressa Bay for the night.
Although the weather forecast is less severe we still have to start our return journey on Saturday to avoid the heavy easterlies. If we can get to Dartmouth by Sunday evening I will be very pleased.
With that in mind, we set about enjoying the short time we have here. A trip to Bryher in the morning and one to Tresco (not Tesco), Tresco in the afternoon. A mixed day of drizzle, rain and cloud, with the sun putting in an appearance just before it set.
Hoping for some sunshine tomorrow. when we’re going to the “low tide festival” held for a brief time on the sandbar between Tresco and Samson islands. we’ve been there will be up to 1000 people attending, something we find difficult to believe, as we only saw about 30 people all day.
After “sleeping on it”, the decision to abandon the last leg to the Scillies seemed a little over cautious. Time will tell on that statement. So this morning , on reviewing the weather forecast we decided to go for it.
We left on the stroke of 8 am and motored out of the Helford river past the Royalist training ship anchored at the entrance. We were rewarded in the first four hours by lots of fair tide giving us an additional 4kts as we went past Lizard Point. The wind was reasonable at first but later died and went onto the nose. The engine was employed most of the way to boost the speed as we should have left at 6am and wanted to make good time.
TS Royalist
Dolphins were a regular feature during the day, many coming to join the boat and play around the bows. This always breaks up the monotany of a long passage and sightings never fail to lift spirits.
You may have seen on the news that there are a couple of birds, ” Boobies” rare to Britain have taken up residence on the Bishops Rock Lighthouse. We kept an eye out for them as we passed, but as we were not sure quite what they look like, we may or may not have seen one or both of them.
We are currently moored in New Grimsby Sound, awaiting the stronger winds tomorrow.
Our late arrival to Falmouth yesterday meant that we couldn’t fill up on fuel until this morning. The knock on from of this is we didn’t have enough time for the passage to The Scillies. Having fuelled up and taken the opportunity to do some shopping in Falmouth, we moved on to the Helford River, one of our favourite anchorages. Stopping near the entrance to Frenchmans Creek.
Now we come to the weather. Looking ahead to next week there are several days of easterly or north easterly winds. Some quite strong. This potentially would trap us in the West country. We could get to the Scillies tomorrow, however, Thursday looks rubbish weather and also we would need to come back on Saturday to have any chance of getting back home by the following weekend. Taking this all into account, we have sadly made the decision, not to carry on to the Scillies.
Better to enjoy our holiday in West Country while we gradually make our way home.
Something we missed off yesterday’s post was dolphins. Not far from the Eddystone lighthouse we were joined by two adults and a little one playing at the front of the boat.
After our gruelling first day getting to Brixham, we postponed our next leg to Falmouth on Sunday. We had a good nights sleep, and in the morning sought out “The Curious Kitchen” for a hearty breakfast. Highly recommend this place if you’re ever in Brixham. Then a bit of shopping to replace my lost caps and sunglasses, before setting off for Salcombe.
Again this turned out nothing like the passage plan, the wind being much stronger than predicted. The forecast doesn’t take account of how headlands accelerate and alter the direction of the wind. I guess knowing that I should have taken it into account, The upshot was another longer than expected passage and after employing the “iron sail” we eventually arrived at Salcombe about 7pm.
Mondays forecast looked good. Winds F4 NNW, one long broad reach. Happy days. We left Salcombe at 8:00 am expecting a nine hour journey. The day started sunny and our spirits were high.
After a dealling with choppy sea’s that are a regular feature around “Start point” and “Bolt Head” we tried to set course for Falmouth, only to find the wind direction was pushing us way south. Heavy seas were coming over the top of the boat again and we were baling out the bilges every couple of hours. (I still haven’t found where the leak is.)
After a couple of tacks to the north to compensate for the wind angle, we sailed through a variety of wind strengths and sea states before arriving at Falmouth early evening.
Meticulous passage planning for safe boating or so we are led to believe. I always have a passage plan. What course will I take. What the tidal streams are going to be. The best time to leave, the route, hazards and so it goes on. But all this depends on the weather. Now weather forecasting is a lot better than it used be, but it is still guesswork.
If you read my previous post you saw the forecast and the route plan. We were leaving at 0630hrs and arriving at around 2030 hrs. Did that happen, no, and why? Because the weather forecast wasn’t right. The wind was stronger than predicted, so the sea state was rougher and the boat went slower, therefore we got to the Bill of Portland later than predicted and we didn’t get the advantage of the tide into Lyme Bay. We ended up tacking along the coast and finally when the wind got a bit of north in it we could almost get to Brixham on one tack from around Bridport. No broad reach mind you!
Highlights of the trip and some pictures,
An early start, with Swanage Bay like a mill pond. The Peveril race was choppy, beyond Durlston, moderately rough.
Rounding Portland Bill and dodging the rain showers. We managed to stay clear of all the rain.
Sunset and the moon on the water.
During the trip I managed to lose 2 caps and a pair of sunglasses overboard … don’t ask!
We took lots of water over the boat as Watanga pitched into the waves , and a lot of it found its way into the port hull, we still haven’t found out how. The bilge pump stopped working so every couple of hours Lou was hand pumping to empty the bilges.
About 9 o clock in the evening we had to put a reef in the main as the wind had picked up to 30 knots. further delaying us.
We eventually arrived at 11.30pm, tied up the boat, and went straight to bed.
The boat is ready, the fridge and food cupboard are full. The drinks cupboard is stocked.
We leave at 0630 tomorrow, destination Brixham, Winds are F2-4 starting W but veering later to NW. As you can see from the passage plan we start the day tacking down to past Portland and into Lyme Bay. In the afternoon we hope to get the bonus of broad reach down toward Berry Head.
Fingers crossed we will stay dry, and miss the showers. We are aiming for the Isles of Scilly and hope to get there by Monday. We haven’t seen any dolphins this year, but we hope this journey will rectify that.
Stand by for a few more posts over the next two weeks.
Morning came with wind whistling in the rigging, an overcast sky, and a few spots of rain. If I had gone aground during the night, I certainly hadn’t felt it. The sound of the wind in the rigging was annoying me and if I were to stay here again tonight, it would only be worse. So I moved on. This time Pottery Pier west of Brownsea island. I arrived at about 11.00am and there was lots of space to anchor. As the day wore on, more boats arrived, mainly day trippers in small to medium motorboats. Lots of families with kids whizzing about in dinghies or swimming. Come the evening and the party boats arrived, loud music and laughter accompanied another nice sunset.
As darkness fell, most went home again and finally, at 10pm, there was a pretty impressive fireworks display over at Poole Quay
4 Kidneys and a Wonky Leg 