Since my last mail, we ‘sat out’ the ‘blow’ in Padstow which tied our hands somewhat, so, with a paucity of havens suited to the weather, we stayed put which took us to our next crew change. As this was not in Bristol as planned, this presented something of a problem for John Morris who was due to join us by train from Redditch. In the event, he was driven to Padstow by his wife Birgit and she stayed for a couple of days which meant we could provision using their car to and from the out of town Tesco. Hearing the Church bells for a wedding on the Saturday, Hedley, made himself known and was invited to ring on the Sunday morning which I hope compensated, in part, for the enforced detention in Padstow.

Terry and David arrived in my car on Monday and Mike and Hedley returned in the same car having suffered a compromised but (I hope) enjoyable week. Birgit returned home the following day and we left at high water. The passage to Lundy was in light airs but with no real deadline, we sailed as much as we could and discovered that the Bristol Channel is well stocked with dolphins. Over the next three days, we saw so many dolphins, we actually became blasé about their presence as they chaperoned the yacht.

Anchored off Lundy using about 50m of chain to allow for the big tides and the strong currents.

Our trip ashore on Wednesday morning was interesting – at £5 per head landing fee! There is an active resident community, 27 rental properties and a camp site which was stuffed with tents.

The Lundy Church has a renovated peel of 9 bells which apparently attracts visiting campanologists – Hedley take note.

 

When we tried to lift the anchor to leave on Wednesday morning, we discovered that the anchor windlass repeatedly tripped the circuit breaker, even when not under load so we had a problem. This was overcome in the short term by running a strop from the chain to the electric cockpit winch and pulling the chain along the deck in 8m lengths. With the anchor up we had probably the best sail for some time, close hauled up to Tenby.

Given our anchoring predicament, we had already arranged to use the RNLI mooring buoy  and arriving at about 9pm and leaving at 8am, we chose not to go ashore.

With the lock gates into Milford Haven Marina broken, we had a deadline to ensure entry on ‘free flow’ but on leaving Tenby, we discovered that the two firing ranges in our direct path were both active, necessitating a diversion offshore to keep out of range. We agreed with the range control over the VHF that we would steer south until they called us to say we were clear. Having not heard for longer than expected we called the control on the phone to discover that they had been unable to reach us on the VHF. We had been picking up some transmissions but, checking using the handheld, it became clear that we had only intermittent reception on the main ships VHF. So, we were behind schedule with Windlass and VHF problems. Our time in Milford Haven was going to be busy !

By speaking to specialists and phoning around, I managed to locate a replacement windlass in Luton, and Bob very kindly drove there to pay and pick it up – many thanks Bob !!! We spent the morning removing the faulty windlass and the rest of the day trying to ‘fault find’ the problem with the VHF. This turned out to be (I think) a corroded wire and connections between the mast and the receiver unit. Replacing this cable was a chore but having completed the job, the VHF exchange with the Pierhead control reported a clear transmission so we will just have to monitor the situation. The AIS data is transmitted over the VHF aerial so this would explain our lack of visibility.

With the crew change pushed back to Sunday to accommodate the 1^st Lions Test, John took the train back to the Midlands being more of a soccer (well, Aston Villa!) fan and we were left to sample the Pembrokeshire Fish Week event after a short trip to the Milford Haven Museum. An excellent, much craved curry in the Marina has topped out an excellent day following the lucky Lions win so I am beginning to feel a little more chipper.

Bob Haywood and Stephen Williams are due to arrive by car tomorrow morning, bearing a shiny new windlass and, fingers crossed we can leave early on Monday morning with everything working.

Well, the weather has indeed interrupted again.

We are currently sheltering from gales in Padstow – and, on the bright side, there are worse places to be storm bound !

The whole plan was structured to avoid deadlines and the travelling to wherever we are by car for the in/out on the mainland was intended to accommodate the necessary flexibility.

Since my last ‘missive’ we crew changed in Newlyn, Hedley and Mike arriving and David driving back in the car they drove down. We set sail late morning,  round Lands End in freshening but generally favourable winds and picked up a mooring buoy outside St. Ives harbour so we could carry the flood tide North East up the coast in the morning. We felt we should ‘see’ St. Ives and needed to pay the Harbour Master his £12 due for the mooring so, in very choppy conditions we made our way ashore in the dinghy. After a pint ashore, we made the return journey back to Hejira and, soaking wet, tried to dry out with the heating and dehumidifier going at full tilt. After a meal on board, it was straight to bed in preparation for the early start.

At 3.30 the next morning it was up and away but with the bay littered with lobster pot marker buoys and dawn not till after 5am, it was a case of someone on the bow with a powerful torch looking out until we were clear of St. Ives Bay. With the big wind gusting at 30 knots and directly behind us, a partially furled jib alone pushed us along at the required 6.5knots. With the sea building, we rounded Trevose Head and headed for Padstow in plenty of time for the inner harbour gate deadline of 10.15am. We rafted next to a yacht which had been towed in by the lifeboat the previous day and went ashore to explore the town. I think it may have been the relief at stepping on ‘terra firma’ but Hedley had more than his usual quota of cider and became loud and strident in the quay side pub. This was compounded when he went to the loo in the Ladies ! I subsequently checked and the cider he was drinking was 6% alcohol which is probably too strong for someone who doesn’t usually drink – quite a lot for someone who does !! Mike has taken to wearing an OAP hat which has been necessary after he forgot to apply any sun screen and has turned a bright crimson. This is particularly surprising as it is difficult to remember when we last saw the sun !

Padstow seems much more affluent and buoyant than St. Ives which had a tired feel about it. It is difficult in Padstow to escape the presence of Rick Stein who has at least 8 establishments bearing his name and tonight we had fish and chips from his ‘chippy’. It was good but at over £40 for 3 of us, you would expect it to be !

The decision to hire bikes and ‘do’ the Camel Trail was good but, for non cyclists, pressing on beyond Wadebridge to Bodmin may have been a mistake. Mike fell off, ripping his trousers and grazing his leg. We all suffered sore nether regions. It was a relief to hand the bikes back.

The winds are still big here and, even when they diminish, it will be some time before the sea state moderates from the 4.5m swells given in the forecasts. With no really safe refuges between here and Bristol and the need to carry favourable tide for the remaining 120 miles, it is difficult to see how we can make up the time.

However, we remain optimistic and will study all the permutations in an attempt to make it work but we must remember that this is a holiday and no one should be uncomfortable with the prospects when properly explained.

So, we will stay here, in Padstow tonight and review tomorrow.

 

At last some signal and a partially working lap top so a quick resume on the cruise so far.

We slipped from Northney Marina on Hayling Island on Friday 17^th May 2013 with a crew of Ollie and his friends Ashley and Raph. We sailed west, spending nights in Newtown River on the IOW, Studland Bay outside Poole Harbour, Weymouth, Lyme Regis (where we ‘dried out’ alongside the Cobb) & in Torquay Marina. We then had a reconnoiter for the following week, entering the river Avon at Bantham and drying out, then on to Salcombe before mooring up the Dart at Totnes for our crew change, Ollie and his friends leaving and my wife, Paula and  friends Graham and Lucy Read joining. That is a very brief description which doesn’t do justice to the various antics but the photos and captions give some idea.

Bad weather was forecast so we anchored in the Dart opposite Bow Creek to ‘sit it out’ going ashore at Tuckenhay in the dinghy in torrential rain and a gale to discover that the first pub was fully booked and the other pub, 10 minutes walk away had stopped serving for the evening. Back on board for a meal of sausages and beans and to dry our clothes !

On to Salcombe where we moored to a visitors buoy and spent two days, again while some weather blew through. The plan was to enter the Avon but, in the event, the left over swell from the blow made the entrance treacherous so we carried on to the Yealm river and a crew change by dinghy in Newton Ferrers. The week with Paula and the Reads was not uneventful but, on the basis of ‘what goes on tour, stays on tour’, you may need to ply me with beer for the details the picture of Graham above will give some clues.

With the new crew of David Scott and Martin Robinson, we headed straight off to Queen Anne’s Battery in Plymouth to fill up with Diesel, Petrol, Gas and Water.

We took the decision that conditions did not favour taking in the Scillies so with time in hand, we moored in Mevagissey after spending a night in my favourite Fowey. Fresh seafood from a dock side fish stall went into a superb paella cooked on the BBQ on the aft deck – bliss ! On then to the river Fal and upstream to a delightful stop over on a mid stream pontoon at Malpas. A walk into Truro to the mega Tesco and a taxi back to Malpas and the Heron Inn topped out a fruitful day.

A mooring buoy in the Helford River for the following night was a beautiful spot but there was still no signal and the fresh Easterly wind brought in an uncomfortable swell. The easterly wind made for a good, if lumpy passage to Mounts Bay and a phone/internet signal. Concerned about the NE/E winds and the exposed nature of St. Ives harbour to winds from this direction, I spoke to the HM and this confirmed that it would be best to delay ‘going round’ until the wind settles into the South next week.

So, here we are, moored back in Newlyn, the ‘intermediate’ crew change for St. Ives to Padstow is adjusted to take place here, Martin having taken the train home from Penzance. So in an effort to ‘make the most’ of our enforced spell in Mounts Bay, we are off to ‘dry out’ in the tiny harbour at St. Michael’s Mount.

The delay should only result in fewer stops up the Bristol channel and we hope to be back on schedule thereafter – until the next weather interruption !