Weymouth to St Peter Port (Guernsey)

As usual, the timings for this trip meant a silly o'clock start - leaving Weymouth just after first light. Heading out it was very quiet - a few yachts had left a little earlier and we think that was brave as there were plenty of pot markers scattered around the harbour entrance when we walked around there a day ago.

We didn't quite bother with the first light thing though, enjoying an extra 20 mins or so of sleep before heading out:

The tide was a pretty strong spring offering and we started to fight it as we went down the side of Portland. Then, as you can see from our course, we got nicely swept to the east as we followed a constant compass course that was designed to have us swept to the east, then a  little way back westwards - just enough to keep us out of the traffic separation zone. That worked pretty well:

and we then had the benefit of a fair tide from the Casquets all the way down to St Peter Port. 10.4 knots passing the Casquets at 1650rpm seemed pretty good really. The sea state was kindly, even though the forecast "F4 variable" was actually "F4 on the nose" all the way. Just a little residual Atlantic swell which the stabilisers laughed at. Around the Casquets it was a bit more confused with the strong tidal stream and rapid depth changes but nothing dramatic at all.

We made the normal pilgrimage down the Little Russel channel to St Peter Port and then had to hold off for a while waiting for the Commodore Clipper ferry to enter the harbour and dock. For anyone who was following us on Marinetraffic or similar, that is why we looped the loop on the way in.

This time there was no sign of the grumpy and unhelpful harbour assistant Clint. Just the normal friendly service we've come to enjoy over many years visiting the place. We were told that we could go into the marina area as there was a spot deep enough for us. Amazed - this was a UK Bank holiday week! We dropped onto the cruise liner tender pontoon to wait for the tide to rise a little more and give us enough depth over the cill then headed into our favourite little corner in Victoria marina.

The trip took just over 10 hours and was delightful - even if the crew missed some of it:

No maintenance issues to report. The keel cooler for the main engine is clearly pretty messed up now as the temperature difference between the flow and return was down to 15 F or so - normally it runs at 30. We guess that a long wide open throttle run would cause some trouble. Good job that the lift out is next on the agenda.

Weymouth musings

We just love being in Weymouth harbour. OK, when rafted onto a Bendy toy (better known as Beneteau) motor cruiser less so but it is still a great place to be.

We were even happier when we revisited BoHo Gelato the excellent ice cream place:

and on the second and third visits there too.

Alex and Gisele, the Contest yacht folks joined us for dinner on board and as Alex was suffering a little from hip trouble, we ended up launching the RIB to use for a very short water taxi service from the pontoon.

The fragile Beneteau and the very nice folks on board departed after a couple of days but not quite quickly enough to make our lives easy. Our original plan was for Anne and Izzy (our goddog) to come and see us. We would then hitch a ride with her back to Hythe to drop off some clothes etc ready for some time ashore. Yes, ashore! Anne's father was ill so we then had to instigate plan B.

Plan B involved getting the train to Southampton, the bus to Hythe, scrounging lunch from the toddlers and then borrowing their car to drive back to Weymouth. The next day involved taking a RIB full of cases and "stuff" ashore to load up the car before returning to Hythe and then getting the train back. Tiring to type, more so to do.

Naturally the Beneteau headed off the day after doing all this. Then the wind picked up - the Exmouth lifeboat dragged in this little yacht and dumped it on the pontoon directly ahead of us in really foul weather:

since the F7 winds had been forecast for days we did wonder why the yacht was out to sea but... The youngish couple on board vanished pretty quickly once the boat was secured. The RNLI write up is well worth a read - see Lifeboat website link

Falmouth to Weymouth

You know the old line about "having too much fun and having to move on? Yes, that applied.  Hence we prepared for a little overnight run to Weymouth. After a final trip to Muddy Beach bistro in Penryn, a final coffee and cinnamon bun and a little lunch in Falmouth, we had to go. Amazingly, we had been 2 weeks swinging around our little buoy and had managed without a fresh water top up. Before you ask, we had showered each day and run the dishwasher - we just avoided using the washing machine and tumble drier. These Nordhavns have big storage tanks you know!

The route looks like:

The people who know the area will see that we went further south of Start Point than normal. This was because that would be a night time passage and there are just far too many pot markers inshore. Weather was kind, only a F4 and the sea state was slight to moderate, again no big deal and mainly on the stern quarter.

South of Plymouth you pass the spookily isolated Eddystone light:

It never looks friendly.

As the light faded and the moon took over a little cruise liner, the Europa, passed us heading for Cowes (or so her AIS said):

With the busy moon and the  reflections on the sea it looked way better than this mobile phone image can offer. One of those "you should have been there" things.

Heading across Lyme Bay the crew had to avoid a few pesky fishing boats. She is sure that they know when she is on watch and they turn in front of her on purpose as the captain had no such issues during his time at the helm. We then caught the favourable tide around Portland and up toward Weymouth, arriving around 19 hours after leaving Falmouth.  As a "bigger boat" the Weymouth harbour folks like to know of your impending arrival a few days beforehand. The crew has called them and given an EA too but when we arrived the spot that we were supposed to use still had a boat in situ. A Beneteau motorboat hadn't departed as planned owing to a sickly crew member so we had to raft onto them. Beneteau boats are not renowned for having a robust build so we went alongside very very gently. Walking around their foredeck to get ashore was a squeaky event and leaning on her guardrails was not advisable. You get a good reminder of just how sturdy a Nordhavn is.

Weymouth was relatively busy - three abreast behind us and four later on:

Maintenance news - there wasn't any. Sorry to disappoint you.

Staying put and exploring

We were planning a trip out to the Scilly islands but we felt very settled in Falmouth. The weather had finally broken to a more normal UK summer too. We contemplated a gentle series of trips east via Fowey, Plymouth, Salcombe etc but the madness of summer holiday time and all the local regattas in this area kind of put us off. We now know why being up in Scotland was such a good idea! Falmouth week was just starting and there was lots going on. So, we decided to stay put for a bit longer on our rather nice mooring buoy off the town:

with an ever changing and interesting view aft from the saloon:

What to do? Well first of all we went to St Mawes and walked around the castle a little:

another one of Henry VIII's defensive fortifications erected by a local landowner and suitably dressed with ornate symbols and carvings showing allegiance to him, Much safer than not having them of course, Henry did remove the odd head.

Then we took the ferry to Trelissick to meet up with Norman, Julie and their canine trio. Milo the Jack Russell had a nice time cwtched up in the car being cuddled by Norman whilst we headed for the pub and lunch:

Being 14 is so tough.

The lovely folks from Blue Twinkle (henceforth to be known as Alex and Gisele) joined us for TGT and a chat then invited us for dinner ashore. The town was heaving (and the rain was falling) but we found a table in a pub that offered excellent pies - see website. A couple of days later we fed them on board the Nordhavn and luckily it was nice and dry this time for the RIB water taxi service that the captain provided. They have a beautiful Contest 48 yacht:

and are contemplating a move to the dark side (a power driven craft) in future. As they headed off to Fowey, they came to wave farewell:

Lovely people to spend some time with, we are sure that our paths will cross again.

We wandered over to the bay one evening to watch the Red Arrows display:

Colin, the BA flyboy who was a fast jet pilot in the forces before he became a BA bus driver warned us that they were not as good as they used to be. He called them the "Dead Sparrows". Well, based on this picture of their famous diamond nine formation he is right - one guy was out of position quite often:

However, the overall impression was still pretty good and they amused the huge crowd nicely.

Some walking was in prospect as the crew had not won the step count challenge in her "Fitbit friends group" for two weeks. Quite a crisis it seemed. So, a trip across to Flushing by ferry and than a walk around to Mylor was needed. We revisited the rather good cafe place in Mylor Yacht Harbour for lunch then got the bus back to Falmouth. Something that needs careful timings as there are not many of them each day and they seem to be driven by the grumpiest of First bus employees!

In the relentless quest for more steps, another ferry to St Mawes was followed by a walk to St Just and the stunning little church there, right next to the water:

The bus back (to Truro) this time was around 20 minutes late and had the most uncomfortable seats we can remember with non existent padding for the bum. The antique Dennis Dart bus had clearly seen better days. The crude leaf spring suspension was given quite a workout on the Cornish back roads and the vibration when stationary in gear was tooth rattling. When added to the almost solid seats, it was an hour and a quarter we don't plan to repeat. Shame as the countryside was lovely.

As we seem to have taken root here, our neighbours have changed a little. Initially there was this lovely old wooden sailing job:

Then we got this thing:

There is only one question - why would you?

Perhaps because of this:

Must be grim being a non boat person. Cheaper, but grim.

Plymouth to Falmouth and pottering around

Plymouth was going to fill up even more. There was a national fireworks championship contest planned over two days then a music festival. We needed to depart as the marina wanted to evict us. At this time of year, many places have their festivals / sailing regatta weeks planned. Where to next? Well, we thought about Fowey and then Falmouth. However, "Falmouth Week" was starting in a few days and so a mooring near the town would be at a premium. We could easily find a slot upriver but as the forecast was for some wet and blowy days, we thought that being closer to civilisation might help. Fowey is lovely but tiny of course.

So, we opted to head straight for Falmouth and find a nice mooring buoy off the town (we hoped) before the yacht race folks arrived.

The trip and route are very easy:

Just lots of pot markers, yachts and fishing boats to avoid. As we left Plymouth yacht haven, a lovely Contest 48 yacht was leaving QAB and headed out ahead of us. Then they called us on the radio and said that they wanted to compliment us on our boat and that they were in touch with the Nordhavn Europe folks as they wanted to buy a 47 too. Small world. We were not tempted to sell though.

The trip took around 6.5 hours and was relatively calm, The wind was more or less on the bow but nothing too dramatic (20 knots) and we didn't even need to activate the stabilisers. As you can see, the crew took an active role in the proceedings:

Arriving into Falmouth was found two of the bigger buoys were free - amazing! The visitors marina was full but we didn't want to be there if the wind was to pick up. Being pinned against the pontoon probably with a boat rafted alongside does not appeal. Life is much quieter out in the open water.

What to do in a place that we know relatively well and always enjoy? Well, some new stuff. Based on a recommendation from John (the knees) Baker, we had to visit Dolly's gin palace. Only we had a cream tea and managed to resist the gin. A most eclectic spot:

The table of 8 "young things" (ie anyone younger than we are) in the left hand corner were trying gin. Trying, more like inhaling actually. As there are over 295 different gins to try, we worried about their ability to get home unaided.

Having visited Falmouth on and off since 1995, we felt it was time to explore Pendennis Castle. So we did and were pleased that we made the effort. A real mix of fortifications from different ages but all designed to defend the harbour and town. As you can see, some trees have grown up since the original cannons were placed looking over the harbour entrance:

If fired today there would be leaves and splinters everywhere. This bigger and scarier guy was a bit newer:

and finally the stuff installed during World War II to fight off marauding E-boats and anything else that wanted to come nearby:

When you visit the spotting room you get to see just how primitive the equipment was that the gunnery directors used to calculate range and bearing for the big guns:

You look through the telescope on top, focus on the target and the pointer below shows where the target is on the sea chart. Amazing that they ever hit anything really. The fortifications started in 1539 and were constantly changed and updated as different threats arose. These barracks were built much later to house the soldiers:

and look rather grand. The little shaded spot with tables you can see gives great views across the site and sea when you stop for a spot of lunch.

We saw that "Blue Twinkle, the Dutch flagged yacht that had called us on the radio was in Port Pendennis so we pottered over in the RIB and said hello. Lovely folks, good chat and an arrangement to give them "TGT" (remember, the guided tour?) too.

Dittisham to Plymouth

After the gales went through, and the captain had a fun afternoon scrubbing and scraping around the waterline, we decided to leave the paradise known as Dittisham and head for the "bright lights" of Plymouth. Finding a marina berth there was difficult. We'd not been boating in the west country during the holiday season before and will try not to again - nice weather means lots and lots of boats from the Solent are infesting the area!

We left a little before the tide turned westerly to help us as we wanted to avoid F4/5 over the tide around Start Point. The track is simple enough:

and the wobbles are thanks to the hordes of yachts / a few pot markers / the crew being at the helm.

Anyway, leaving Dittisham / Dartmouth felt kind of sad but we were in danger of getting charged council tax there. The river and town looked lovely on the way out:

 and the harbour entrance too:

The forecast F4 to 5 SW wind just didn't happen - 6 knots or so at some times so a pretty gentle trip that also allowed us to go close inshore at Start Point. A nice little run at around 1600rpm with no big dramas to report.

Plymouth must be very busy - the only slot we could find was at the Yacht Haven and although they are nice folks, you are stuck over at Mount Batten on the south side of everything. We booked in for a week and got ourselves a weekly bus ticket too!

Although we know the area pretty well, we still enjoy time here. A must do is a visit to Just Be a lovely little cafe come bistro come wine place at the foot of the bridges in Saltash. A most civilised light lunch was followed by a very naughty scone. Great place, great food. Wandering around the Hoe and city has to be done as well, especially on days like this:

We had an excellent day with Simon and Amanda - the folks who own the canal yard and hire fleet at Norbury Junction (see the post from March about our canal trip). We had a little run across to Cawsand Bay, anchored for a light lunch, chatted, talked about their glorious 100 foot Luxemotor barge conversion and generally chilled. They look like potential future Nordhavn owners - they liked the concept.

The bus ticket also took us to Tavistock, a lovely old town with obvious signs of the past wealth generated from the mining industry. Now it is home to the best carrot cake we have sampled since leaving Penarth:

Thanks  Dukes coffee house. The Pannier market, town centre and riverside walk were well worth a visit. Of course Robert and Deborah, the gin experts live nearby. We were unable to steal a gin from them as they were, most annoyingly, sailing around in Scotland. Bad timing.

Maintenance news:

Some time ago we mentioned the little "just in case" kit of wires that we had made up to bypass the automatic shutdown from our Seafire unit. This device would kill the main engine and genset if the automatic fire extinguisher system was triggered in the engine room or lazarette.

The Nordhavn folks had reported problems with a later version of this box, where it was failing and of course, cutting out the main engine. Our older one seems to be robust according to all the other owners - no failures reported. Still, we had some bridging wires ready just in case but the nice American Nordhavn folks supplied this dinky little engraved panel and switch as a neater, permanently installed and hence quick to deploy solution:

Some fun was had squeezing into the little cupboard where the Seafire unit (the black box in the background)  is installed and fitting the panel / wiring it up. Still, done now and more peace of mind. Not that the remote possibility of a failure and the need to undo a wire from the box was stopping us from sleeping. Perhaps we should also worry about a possible main engine crankshaft failure or Martians landing on the boat deck. Both seem as likely.