Plymouth to Penarth

As the three day weather window was rapidly turning into a two day version, we opted to head straight to Penarth from Plymouth. The trip is around 215 nautical miles from berth to berth, which is 398 Km or so for the land based folks. Planning said it would take about 33 hours to complete. The run west on the south coast of England would involve a lot of contra tide so that we could take advantage of a fair tide at Land's End and, most importantly, on the final leg to Cardiff where the tides are VERY strong.

We departed Mayflower marina at a most unsociable 5:30am and headed out to sea in fog. Great way to start a trip. Based on the forecast, there would be plenty of fog banks to negotiate too. At least it was way calmer then we had seen in ages:

6.3 knots wind speed was amazing. The sea had almost calmed down from the prior gales / strong winds so we only had a metre or so of wave height and some residual swell on the nose. Quite a nice trip, only we were glued to the radar / AIS and keeping a good watch out ahead of us for pot markers as they loomed out of the fog. Visibility varied from poor to non existent. 

The trip had plenty of dolphin fun to watch as the fog cleared a little and we approached the Lizard peninsular:

This video only captures one of them playing in our bow wave but gives you an idea of how the Nordhavn managed the swell left from the strong winds:

The iconic Land's End area looked like this to us:

and we only "saw it" on the radar screen:

as we followed this path around Longship's lighthouse

;

chasing a vessel of some description that didn't have AIS but showed up nicely on our radar and was tracked by the ARPA function (green circle no 13 on the image above)

Amazingly, once clear of the lighthouse and rocks, the visibility started to improve and we saw some hazy sun:

As we overhauled the radar target, it turned into a ghost like yacht:

By the time we reached here, things had brightened up dramatically:

as you can see:

Nice calm seas, a gentle following wind, sun, the north Cornish coastline to watch (first time we saw land since leaving Plymouth despite the route not being that far offshore). We were almost sad when sunset came, but as it was a spectacular one, we forgave it:

During the long haul up the Cornwall / Devon coast, we were aghast at the conversation between the coastguard and a pleasure vessel near Lundy. They reported that they had lost their electronics, but the engine and propulsion system was fine. Basically they were lost and either didn't have a chart and a compass or didn't know how to use them. The Appledore lifeboat was called out to the position they reported as just west of Lundy Island. As you can see from the lifeboat track, they actually found the casualty well to the east of it, and then escorted it into the harbour:

An uneventful run followed - little other traffic but the FLIR saved us a couple of times, spotting pot markers that we had to divert around. That piece of kit is worth each one of the many many pounds it cost. 

Sunrise was quite beautiful too:

but as we approached and passed Hartland Point, the wind ignored the forecast and came from the wrong direction - ie right on the nose or only just off it. It also managed gusts to 38 knots and a regular 30. So, it was a bit bumpy. As we headed further up the Bristol Channel, the wind strength dropped but stayed stubbornly in an unexpected direction, making us nod our way through the waves that it was pulling up as it blew against the direction of the strengthening tide:

Frustrating - it also meant that we lost a lot of speed bashing through the waves at the planned cruising rpm. It is important to get up to Cardiff before the tide turns against you so we ran a little harder for the last couple of hours or so to make up for the speed loss thanks to the sea conditions. Yes, a wild 1800 rpm which many owners treat as their normal coastal cruising power anyway. Approaching Cardiff, we made the only diversion that was needed on the entire trip for another vessel. This strange looking cargo guy cut very close inshore across the spit at Lavernock - an area normally frequented by pleasure craft only, not commercials:

So, we had to jink around his stern which meant missing the 14:15 lock into Cardiff Bay. They are every 30 minutes so we gently pottered up to the barrage ready for the 14:45 instead in glorious sunshine but with a salt encrusted filthy boat:

As you can see, we had a personal photographer too. John is the man who kindly posted some pictures of us on Marinetraffic before and he happened to be fishing as we entered the lock.The captain and crew looked suitably tired:

Yes, before you ask, the crew did end up with a salty bum from sitting on the foredeck lockers.

Departure from the lock was captured too:

Cue the old line of "does my bum look big in this?"

Here is the last part of our route:

It was satisfying and good to get back into the marina in Penarth, although it felt strange to be here so early in the summer. We say summer but as it really hasn't been anything like normal weather, hence our early return.

The trip took nearly 34 hours berth to berth. Most of it was at 1650 rpm doing just under 6.3 knots through the water - we are still very full of fuel and hence heavy. We had also picked up some hull fouling from  our two week stay in Plymouth. There is no maintenance news to report. We didn't even manage to blow a navigation light bulb. Sorry. 

A social whirl, of sorts and a summer storm

Enjoying our unexpected extra  time in Plymouth, we dug out the little Brompton bikes and headed into the City. A stop at the rather good coffee stall that also sells good cannoli was a must:

spoiled only by a woman on the next table sucking away at a cigarette and making clouds of noxious smoke. The sooner it is banned outside as well as inside the better.....

We met up with Michael, the owner of Coracle a Nordhavn 40, chatted about the ever lengthening list of things to do on a boat and had an excellent lunch together in the Barbican area, going to a restaurant that isn't dog friendly. Sorry Izzy, sometimes we do frequent places that don't like you.

On a (rare) totally dry day, we cycled to Saltram house, a National Trust property outside the city. The route involved some nice waterside paths and the odd bit of unpleasant local road. Only around 15 miles but most enjoyable. The house is pretty impressive:

but the queue for the tea room was less so. After an eternity, (the National Trust really need to look at how they organise such places!) we enjoyed our coffee and scones as far as the local wasp colony would allow. Kind of a half successful trip. Good exercise though. Overtaking a "proper road bike" on the way back when climbing a steep hill impressed / amazed the other cyclist. He didn't spot the electrical assistance we enjoyed on our tiny Bromptons. 

Excursions got curtailed a little thanks to storm Antoni. Rather unseasonal to have a named storm in August and forecasts like these:

and even before it arrived, stuff like this:

Since the weather wanted us to stay locally, we decided to take the train to Exeter. We've visited before and really like the city and area, plenty to see and do and some lovely old buildings like these:

It still seemed suitably "prosperous" despite having the usual smattering of closed shops and restaurants. 

The arrival of the storm meant a day staying on board. Plenty of baking and tinkering and not much more. The wind gusts at Berry head were measured at 78 mph. Berry Head is only 25 miles away from our mooring so you can imagine that it was a "bit fruity". Plenty of little waves and the boat rolled a bit in the bigger gusts. Apart from the creaky rope noises, all was well though. The following day was rather a relief - a relatively tame force 5 to begin with which felt like a calm day in comparison, despite being officially a "fresh breeze"

We continued our local exploration on foot and by bike and were delighted to finally see a nicer weather window for a trip around Land's End coming up. Not a long one and more strong winds afterwards but maybe there would be three days of relatively (yes, everything is relative) calm winds, allowing the seas to decrease and a more pleasant trip to be undertaken. Of course, forecasts can be wrong and based on this year so far....

So, we had  a last "day out" on the train to Dawlish, a proper old school seaside town resort. It reminded the Captain of how Great Yarmouth used to be in his childhood,  Yarmouth is rather different today and not in a better way. Great walk around the seafront promenade and along the river, In the older part of the town we just felt that this place was not a good advert for the company that inhabited it:

Yes, the sign does say builder and decorator. We don't think that corporate identity and advertising are their strong points somehow.

After some final weather checks, boat checks and a supermarket raid, we felt that the time had come to officially give up on the pretty grim summer of 2023 (way too windy) and head back to Penarth.