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Home waters

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There was nothing stirring when we got up very quietly to leave our anchorage on the River Fal. We silently raised the main sail before putting on the engine at 8am, in a total calm, and chugging away back to sea.  This was a very straightforward journey - no wind and a long motor the 40 miles from Falmouth to Plymouth. We did this because the forecast for the next week is moderate to strong easterlies. We saw several pods of dolphins. (Always a wonderful surprise, always makes you smile broadly.) They played under the keel and flashed past in a burst of spray. At last we came in to the Sound, our home waters, passing the Breakwater, and motoring across to Jennycliff Bay  not far from where we live. Here we dropped anchor again, after an exploratory tootle, in 5.5 meters at low water. Nic put out a bit less than 30 meters of anchor chain as the tide will rise by 3m  and usually we put out 3 times the maximum depth, of chain. It is peculiar seeing places you know from the sea, a quite d
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Lazy day on the Fal

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After 3 nights of luxury in Pendennis Marina it was time to move on. The forecast is 2 days of light easterlies/cyclonic and then 5 days of strong easterlies. A dash SE to ChanneI Islands or NW to Ireland is possible but would we (ever) get back without a struggle? The safe option is stay on S Coast. So the idea of a lazy day at anchor was born. We motored over to St Just, across the Fal estuary from Falmouth and plenty of room there. But there are more sheltered and prettier options up the river. We motored up as far as L'Amour Creek, outside of which is an enormous P&O commercial ship and a large tug, quietly rusting away. This part of the river is still very deep and the Pilot book says 'beware of anything' in this area because it is used to mothball ships not needed.  In principle we could get almost to Truro, however the top of the tide has passed and this is no time for us to risk touching bottom. The unpretty ship dominates this area, so we turned back and anchor
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Falmouth Friday

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It was an early start on a foggy day to catch a local ferry to St Mawes, a glorious little seaside village across the water from Falmouth town. The sun burned off the fog and soon the sky was clear blue. We walked up steep lanes to the small church for a moment's quiet and peace. Then dropped into the church hall where there is a permanent charity sale, and bought a couple of green glasses and a swimming towel. About 140 steep steps later we arrived at the Lamorran House Garden, a subtropical paradise of palms, bamboos and tree ferns. We spent hours wandering through this green shaded place, which had unexpected vistas of what looked uncannily like the Med, scattered with yachts. After a lazy walk through the village, it was time for an ice cream and a ferry back to town. Then a wander through Falmouth's charity shops and a stop at Musto to buy a new coat and sailing gloves for Nic. We feel very relaxed now.
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Falmouth day

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Falmouth being heaving, we got to the Maritime Museum 10 mins before it opened; we were first through the door and spent a fairly happy 3 hours there. I say 'fairly' because it does have a lot for the kids - fair enough - and a fey performance by young women hanging off apparatus with droning music, apparently channelling sea monsters various - not fair.  We were up in the tower with the views when the Pendennis berth master reorganised the boat with a broken engine who rafted to us in the gathering dusk last night - they had come from The Scilly Islands motoring into the wind and twice their engine had stopped. That must have been extremely unpleasant. So we watched with some trepidation as they clambered around our boat to move theirs but all was well. The Pendennis staff take their shoes off before boarding a boat, no doubt something the superyachts expect. Last night's arrivals didn't do this and included 2 teenage boys ' much clumping over our foredeck, and we
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Curate's Egg

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There was good and bad today.  Bad - leaving Fowey with not enough wind and big rolling seas. And due to Lesley's mistake the main was unusable because the halyard got wrapped round the radar reflector. We put out the foresail and kept engine on all the way through the rolling, surging hours, and now our shoulders ache with all the heavy helming. Good was actually getting a berth in Falmouth, after all the marinas had put out the FULL sign. Pendennis, the poshest of the lot, called us back to say he had a small space for us, wedged between two superyachts.  See pic. Good was the harbour master Steve shinning up the mast to retrieve the halyard. Bless you forever, Steve. Bad was the fact that at 9pm, fed, watered and having a game of cards, a boatfull of people and a dog appeared and rafted up to us, trampled all over our bow and generally disturbed our peace. It wasn't our best day, though like a curate's egg, good in parts.
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First 2 days: not Dartmouth, Fowey

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Yesterday, Mon 23rd, we set off up wind intending Dartmouth, because easterlies are forecast for a week. Trouble was, we were a bit casual about the tidal streams ... in fact we hadn't looked at them. Turns out, very surprisingly, the West going stream continues 3 hours after Low Water. This means in effect that we were doing 3 knots instead of 5, so the 8 hour trip would take more than 12. Plus the wind was increasing beyond the forecast F3 to F4-5 right on the nose. So we did the sensible thing and turned round. We had a lovely sail back to Plymouth, and enjoyed a quiet night in our home berth. A first time for everything.  Today we had a forecast of F4 ENE, bit more than yesterday. Heading downwind to Fowey and expecting more than forecast like yday, we set the Genoa only outside the marina expecting a hairy downwind ride. All went well for the first hour out of the Sound,  but then the flipping wind eased leaving us rolling in a biggish swell. Sirena IV does not go well downwin
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Catching up

2021 has seen little yachting activity. Covid-19 lockdown & caution, then family visits when able, plus damage by ano boat the day after she was launched in April (which still isn't finished in Aug!) - all meant so far we've had one overnight trip to Fowey, motorsailed there,  sailed back, and one overnight to Salcombe, sailed both ways. Each is about 20 miles. V pleasant to be sailing and not under time pressure.  Today we started a cruise of up to 3 weeks. 
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