Fowey

After a week in Yachthaven, we left on Friday afternoon (20.4.07) and sailed to Cawsand where we anchored for the night, ready for a trip to Fowey in the morning.

We set out at 0800 but with hardly any wind we motorsailed all the way arriving at 1300. We moored on the town jetty and had a walk around Fowey, bought some chips and sailed across the river and moored on the floating pontoon for the night (£13!) The photo's are of a cargo ship that was turned around by two tugs before it reversed up the river to get it's cargo of china clay. Everyone came out of their boats to look, but one of the spaniels on the boat next to us was more interested in the duck swimming past.

We left Sunday morning into fog and sailed for an hour (even overtaking someone) before the wind died and the fog made everything dissapear until we arrived back at Rame Head, when about ten boats emerged out of the fog aiming at the same destination. We sailed into Cawsand again staying for a few nights before returning to yachthaven this morning

More work

After leaving Cawsand on Tuesday, we went back to Cellar bay to park on the beach and fit new annodes. After one night on the beach we anchored off a few metres and stayed another. The weather was perfect - just like the med, but for the temperature of the water!

We picked up supplies from the chandlery at Mayflower on Thursday and moored on a buoy in Plymouth sound until some navy jobsworth chucked us off. We motored across to Jennycliff and anchored there for the night (still the only boat at anchor in the sound) before coming back to Yachthaven this morning, just before the first rain fell for a week! Booked in here for a week now.

Work

We arrived in Cawsand at 1445 Sunday and after the crowds had left we found a space nearer the beach, nearly busting a bloodvessel while manually winching in the anchor windlass - which I later stripped & greased. We stayed a couple of nights enjoying the luxury of loads of water from our refill in Polpero. I also stripped the alternator and fitted an external regulator which happened to be on the boat. We seem to be regulating ok again.

The West country

Lots of new sounds, most of them quite worrying, as we parked on the rocky beach and went up and down with the tide. The grinding crushing noise of landing & taking off and the banging as the boats starts to float and drifts sideways into the other small rocks.

We left at 1000 for Polpero in wind from 2-9kts, flat calm sea and sunshine (on a bank hol!), sailing all the way until a mile off when the wind totally disapeared and we were just drifting. After taking a mooring buoy at 1550 I cut my head walking into the door when the harbour master asked for his £10 for the night. We took the dingy ashore and went for a walk while it was still sunny, returning after the tide was high enough to bring Janix into the harbour.

We planned to moor alongside another boat and were just about to when someone shouted for us to come alongside the harbour wall. This meant reversing back where we came and turning in a really confined space, while coming alongside like telegraph poles stuck into the floor. A crowd was gathered to watch too. No pressure though! Luckily someone caught our rope, and within half an hour there was a rats nest of ropes & horizontal fenders holding us off the poles.

This morning the battery was flat - surprise - so when we left I rigged the genny on the fordeck. Although there was hardly any wind again, it was the best sailing I've done. All three sails were up and filled, the engine was ticking over keeping us at about 4kts and we plugged the remote control in and laid on the fordeck in shorts & sunglasses all the way home. The most effort I made was to lift a hand to wave now & again, although at least I stayed awake unlike some.

Alternator - again

Did all washing and shopping yesterday, ready for a trip to Fowey today with UFO a Maldives 32. Just before we pulled out of our (very tight) berth I found the batteries were being cooked. Three hours later with the alternator in bits we left anyway, with the plan to use our £33 B&Q generator to charge the batteries via the 240v charger. Unfortunately by the time we got out it was quite late so we decided to visit Cellar bay on the Yealm.

Out of the marina

Left yachthaven on the 28th for a week of living off the boats supplies of water, food, fuel & power. As there were strong wind warnings we only went across the river to Millbrook in Cornwall. Our new (1999) charts for the laptop got us as far as the multihull centre before we grounded on the mud for the night. We were offered a place on a pontoon close by which we accepted the next day when we refloated on a slightly higher tide and stayed for most of the week, while we visited Cawsand & Kingsand, walking & biking. We spent the last two nights on mooring buoys before returning to yachthaven today. It was a great experience. We now know that the boat won't be sucked down into the mud never to reappear (Mayuri), not to ride on the pontoon on a foldup bike across hosepipes & to make sure the seat is tight before attempting Mt Edgecombe (me). To fill a bucket of water before the tide goes down to flush the toilet with and that the seacocks will fill with mud if you don't shut them.