Plymouth to Fowey to Falmouth (which was not the plan)

Although the forecast meant a bit of a bumpy trip westwards, we felt that the time had come to leave Plymouth. Our plan was to head into Fowey for a few nights, catch up with Amanda and Chris then head on to Falmouth where Tina was planning to join us. All most sociable again. Arriving in Fowey after lunchtime on a Sunday should mean that the weekend invaders from Falmouth / Plymouth had already departed to free up some space.

We headed off on the flybridge but once out of the shelter of Rame Head (the bit sticking down to the west of  Plymouth sound on the track image below), we had to retire inside.  Plenty of spray and bumpy enough (wind on the nose) to delay lunch preparation too. Here is our track:

and as you can see it did not go to plan. Arriving in Fowey we called the harbour folks to ask if there was any space on the upriver pontons at Mixtow or opposite the commercial wharves (Grid Irons). They said that they didn't know so we trundled up there in nice sun but plenty of wind too:

Both locations were totally full, as were the mid-river pontoons off the town and the larger mooring buoys that we could have used. The harbour was rammed full - it looked more like school holiday time than late June! 

In a fit of frustration we didn't take any pictures but here is a nice borrowed aerial one for you to see how lovely the place is:

 

No sensible anchorages for us there so, miserably, we headed out of the harbour and made for Falmouth instead. More bumpy stuff and plenty of spray again until we neared Falmouth and got some shelter from the land. We arrived early evening and luckily there was a free large mooring buoy we could use. Since our last visit, they've added a pick up buoy attached to plenty of heavy chain to them. This caused the crew much effort and stress, picking it up and putting our mooring line through the loop in the chain. Then it caused the captain plenty of stress too. To add a second line over the bow roller we need to launch the RIB, thread it through and then pull it up to secure it. Finally happily and safely secured, we did at least get to enjoy the sunset views:

over a relatively peaceful harbour:

It was far from the nicest trip we've had. The south coast is fast becoming a cruising no-go zone as it is just manically busy now. That isn't the idea of boating for us! We consoled ourselves with a very bad evening meal of cider and crips. Scurvy might be an issue on board soon.