Day 18
Thursday May 20th
Woke after strange dreams to find Steve up and making coffee. The day was better.. you could see the other side of the river. The forecast gave light winds and smooth sea so we decided to make for Falmouth. This was achieved. Visibility was never good, but we could see the headlands and the smooth sea made spotting pot markers easy. Today we saw guillemot, a lone puffin, shearwater, fulmar, gannet and diver. A mackerel went into the freezer, and we fuelled up before hitting the town. Falmouth is bigger than I expected, and has good shops. We bought meat and wandered up and down the main drag before coming back to Pepsand. G3 connection OK, so the blog was updated. Tomorrow we plan to visit the National Maritime Museum.
The Visitors' Yacht Haven at Falmouth is very convenient, only about 100m from the main shopping street and two excellent pubs. In the evening we ate at the one where we had two fine meals for £10, and drank in the other, just to be fair. Unlike at Fowey the boat lay very quietly and we slept well.
Day 19
Friday May 21st
Up at 06.30 and had leisurely breakfast . The boat was looking decidedly scruffy, so we spent some time washing down the cockpit. By 09.50 everything was done, and we made our way to the museum, only pausing at a wonderful hardware store, Trago Mills, where I managed to get a stainless steel anchor swivel and some cork tiles, which will come in useful to repair the cork tile floor of the cabins.
At this early hour the museum would be very empty, or so we thought. Even as we paid (thanks, Steve) the familiar sounds of a reception class in full voice assailed our eardrums. Accordingly we put some distance between ourselves and the rampaging horde. The museum was interesting and well laid out, in a splendid building, with a fine café which commands the best views in Falmouth, but it was somewhat small to be styled a National Maritime Museum. We came away and did a little food shop. I was able to buy a chunk of Yarg, a Cornish cheese. Back on Pepsand we tried it for lunch : a bit like Wensleydale in taste and Havarti in texture. While Steve supped his coffee in the now blazing sun, I prepared a stuffed breast of lamb and put it in the oven to roast We then left the pontoon and motored upriver to a sheltered spot by Malpas to anchor. A brief check with the harbour authority informed us that the present tides are not sufficient for us to proceed to Truro, which is a shame, but Steve can go ashore and be picked up by Marcus at Malpas, which is barely three miles downriver.
Once at anchor we enjoyed our lamb with boiled new potatoes, green beans and a salade nicoise made by Steve, washed down with some Italian vino da tavola that had been cooling in the fridge. This is living!! The temperature in the boat was not helped by the cooking. Today was the first really hot day, and inside out of the sun it was 25 degrees. In the cockpit it was hotter. There has not been a cloud in the sky since the morning haze lifted. Steve got in the dinghy and cleaned some scum off the hull which had been troubling him. At one stage a harbour patrol launch came alongside and the gentleman pleasantly relieved us of £5 for the privilege of anchoring. If you tie up to a visitors pontoon here it is £3 for 2 hours, or £12 for 24 hours. No water or electricity of course, but rubbish bins are provided. The evening was spent enjoying the isolation. The river was alive with fish rushing just under the surface and leaping out. Egret and heron patrolled the shallows whilst shelduck and gulls hoovered up on the exposed flats on the inside of the bend. We sat outside until dark, finally going to bed at a quarter to eleven.
Day 20
Sat May 22
Another scorcher, but with some wind to keep things a little cooler. Up at 07.00. After breakfast did jobs around the boat. Steve prepared a goulash which he would never taste. A lone heron successfully fished the water,s edge. Marcus was due at about midday. At half past eleven we raised anchor , dropped off rubbish in the bins provided on a nearby pontoon and made our way a few hundred metres to Malpas, tying up at a pontoon. Contact with M was established and at almost 13.00 he arrived. We soon paddled across in the dinghy and so Steve left. I shall miss him. He has been an i
deal sailing companion.
Back on Pepsand I motored downriver with the tide and as soon as it opened out into the estuary I was able to kill the motor and sail on the genoa, out past Falmouth and St. Mawes and on to the Helford River, and anchored at Porth Saxon, just inside the river mouth, at 16.15.
Scenically, the anchorage was wonderful. It appeared to be roomy and sheltered, and peaceful. Unfortunately the east wind kicked up a swell which set Pepsand rolling. I did not have a good night.
Day 21
Sun May 23
Woke early and after a quick breakfast left the Helford River, motoring out into a choppy sea. Once in deep water and heading south towards the Lizard the sea became much kinder and we motorsailed on genoa as far as the point. The forecast Nef5 kicked in , and so the rest of the trip to Penzance was reaching at 4 – 5 kt. on the genoa. HM Coastguard warned yachtsmen that powerboat racing was taking place in Mount's Bay, just off Penzance, but they were not difficult to see, hear, and avoid. Penzance Harbour is not large. There is a drying part to the north, and a deep water , smaller section to the south which was easy to spot since the Scillonian was parked at the outer pier. On rounding that, you enter through a lock gate which opens for about three hours at the top of the tide during the day. I had timed it to arrive at HW. The harbourmaster was very laid-back, and took my lines himself. They were offering three days for the price of two, and as I needed a rest and a chance to find a launderette, etc., I took it. Again there was not a cloud in the sky all day. We tied up third out on a raft of yachts. John, the owner of the inside yacht, lives aboard and overwinters in Penzance. He turned out to be a mine of useful information. As he was so helpful and I had rather more goulash than I could manage myself, I invited him over for a meal. Later we walked round the town and he showed me interesting buildings. Naturally we ended in a pub, the Dolphin, where yet another fine pint of Cornish ale was consumed. And so to bed.
Day 22
Monday 24th May
Woke at eight after a really good night. The harbour is very quiet at night. A leisurely breakfast was followed by a hot shower and shave, then it was launderette time. Following John's directions I found it first time and made contact with a form of technology that I had neglected since getting married.
Thursday May 20th
Woke after strange dreams to find Steve up and making coffee. The day was better.. you could see the other side of the river. The forecast gave light winds and smooth sea so we decided to make for Falmouth. This was achieved. Visibility was never good, but we could see the headlands and the smooth sea made spotting pot markers easy. Today we saw guillemot, a lone puffin, shearwater, fulmar, gannet and diver. A mackerel went into the freezer, and we fuelled up before hitting the town. Falmouth is bigger than I expected, and has good shops. We bought meat and wandered up and down the main drag before coming back to Pepsand. G3 connection OK, so the blog was updated. Tomorrow we plan to visit the National Maritime Museum.
The Visitors' Yacht Haven at Falmouth is very convenient, only about 100m from the main shopping street and two excellent pubs. In the evening we ate at the one where we had two fine meals for £10, and drank in the other, just to be fair. Unlike at Fowey the boat lay very quietly and we slept well.
Day 19
Friday May 21st
Up at 06.30 and had leisurely breakfast . The boat was looking decidedly scruffy, so we spent some time washing down the cockpit. By 09.50 everything was done, and we made our way to the museum, only pausing at a wonderful hardware store, Trago Mills, where I managed to get a stainless steel anchor swivel and some cork tiles, which will come in useful to repair the cork tile floor of the cabins.
At this early hour the museum would be very empty, or so we thought. Even as we paid (thanks, Steve) the familiar sounds of a reception class in full voice assailed our eardrums. Accordingly we put some distance between ourselves and the rampaging horde. The museum was interesting and well laid out, in a splendid building, with a fine café which commands the best views in Falmouth, but it was somewhat small to be styled a National Maritime Museum. We came away and did a little food shop. I was able to buy a chunk of Yarg, a Cornish cheese. Back on Pepsand we tried it for lunch : a bit like Wensleydale in taste and Havarti in texture. While Steve supped his coffee in the now blazing sun, I prepared a stuffed breast of lamb and put it in the oven to roast We then left the pontoon and motored upriver to a sheltered spot by Malpas to anchor. A brief check with the harbour authority informed us that the present tides are not sufficient for us to proceed to Truro, which is a shame, but Steve can go ashore and be picked up by Marcus at Malpas, which is barely three miles downriver.
Once at anchor we enjoyed our lamb with boiled new potatoes, green beans and a salade nicoise made by Steve, washed down with some Italian vino da tavola that had been cooling in the fridge. This is living!! The temperature in the boat was not helped by the cooking. Today was the first really hot day, and inside out of the sun it was 25 degrees. In the cockpit it was hotter. There has not been a cloud in the sky since the morning haze lifted. Steve got in the dinghy and cleaned some scum off the hull which had been troubling him. At one stage a harbour patrol launch came alongside and the gentleman pleasantly relieved us of £5 for the privilege of anchoring. If you tie up to a visitors pontoon here it is £3 for 2 hours, or £12 for 24 hours. No water or electricity of course, but rubbish bins are provided. The evening was spent enjoying the isolation. The river was alive with fish rushing just under the surface and leaping out. Egret and heron patrolled the shallows whilst shelduck and gulls hoovered up on the exposed flats on the inside of the bend. We sat outside until dark, finally going to bed at a quarter to eleven.
Day 20
Sat May 22
Another scorcher, but with some wind to keep things a little cooler. Up at 07.00. After breakfast did jobs around the boat. Steve prepared a goulash which he would never taste. A lone heron successfully fished the water,s edge. Marcus was due at about midday. At half past eleven we raised anchor , dropped off rubbish in the bins provided on a nearby pontoon and made our way a few hundred metres to Malpas, tying up at a pontoon. Contact with M was established and at almost 13.00 he arrived. We soon paddled across in the dinghy and so Steve left. I shall miss him. He has been an i
deal sailing companion.Back on Pepsand I motored downriver with the tide and as soon as it opened out into the estuary I was able to kill the motor and sail on the genoa, out past Falmouth and St. Mawes and on to the Helford River, and anchored at Porth Saxon, just inside the river mouth, at 16.15.
Scenically, the anchorage was wonderful. It appeared to be roomy and sheltered, and peaceful. Unfortunately the east wind kicked up a swell which set Pepsand rolling. I did not have a good night.
Day 21
Sun May 23
Woke early and after a quick breakfast left the Helford River, motoring out into a choppy sea. Once in deep water and heading south towards the Lizard the sea became much kinder and we motorsailed on genoa as far as the point. The forecast Nef5 kicked in , and so the rest of the trip to Penzance was reaching at 4 – 5 kt. on the genoa. HM Coastguard warned yachtsmen that powerboat racing was taking place in Mount's Bay, just off Penzance, but they were not difficult to see, hear, and avoid. Penzance Harbour is not large. There is a drying part to the north, and a deep water , smaller section to the south which was easy to spot since the Scillonian was parked at the outer pier. On rounding that, you enter through a lock gate which opens for about three hours at the top of the tide during the day. I had timed it to arrive at HW. The harbourmaster was very laid-back, and took my lines himself. They were offering three days for the price of two, and as I needed a rest and a chance to find a launderette, etc., I took it. Again there was not a cloud in the sky all day. We tied up third out on a raft of yachts. John, the owner of the inside yacht, lives aboard and overwinters in Penzance. He turned out to be a mine of useful information. As he was so helpful and I had rather more goulash than I could manage myself, I invited him over for a meal. Later we walked round the town and he showed me interesting buildings. Naturally we ended in a pub, the Dolphin, where yet another fine pint of Cornish ale was consumed. And so to bed.
Day 22
Monday 24th May
Woke at eight after a really good night. The harbour is very quiet at night. A leisurely breakfast was followed by a hot shower and shave, then it was launderette time. Following John's directions I found it first time and made contact with a form of technology that I had neglected since getting married.
As a ten-year-old I used to take the family washing on my soapbox buggy down Newland Avenue to a launderette near the Monica cinema, thereby earning my pocket money. This Penzance launderette was space-age in refinement. No messing with soap powder or detergent. Put in clothes; insert coins; select temperature; press GO. The tumble-dryer was equally simple and fast. In no time I was out in the hot sun with my washing done. Back on board a cup of tea went down well, as did a little midday nap, broken by the arrival of David, in a very fine Danish-built yacht, tying up alongside Pepsand.
Are you stopping at Liverpool or thereabouts?
ReplyDeleteThe nearest to Liverpool will be the Irish coast. I plan to cross to Kilmore Quay from the Scillies and work my way up the East Coast to Bangor by June 25 to meet more crew.
ReplyDelete