Page 20 - Yachter Spring/Summer 2021

20 CRUISING REPORTS
A SOCIALLY DISTANCED
MEANDER WESTWARD
A mid-August evening phone call to my brother Nigel in Devon,“really ought to get away on the boat soon, before our shortened summer runs out”. Nigel, “I’m up for a sail and can be with you tomorrow evening”. With COVID-19 restrictions in place, this was going to be a slightly different cruise.
Having fuelled, watered and provisioned
the boat we were off at 17:30 the following evening. It was a beautiful warm, windless evening, and we had no specific plan in mind. Motoring and swinging a right from Beaulieu River we rode a fair tide through Hurst and onward to the Needles, eventually fetching up and anchoring at Studland.
Next morning another sunny day dawned; we sailed off anchor with the intention of going west, meandering into Chapman’s Pool, Lulworth for a late breakfast and a
hike up the cliffs, then weighed anchor and picked our way through the cruise ships, before anchoring offWeymouth for lunch.
We hailed the harbour launch, who confirmed there was no room at the inn
(no rafting in Weymouth – COVID-19 restrictions), and unable to dinghy in we decided to move on. It was a cloudless quiet day, so we headed into Portland Harbour, anchoring off Castle Cove for an afternoon of overdue boat cleaning, including hoisting Nigel up the mast to clean the underside
of the spreaders and radar dome, to remove the out-of-reach green verdigris. Early the next morning we set off westwards, with a favourable tide around the Bill, motor sailing in hot sun with frequent visits from dolphins and the odd shark.
Progress was quicker than expected, by midday the wind had filled in from the East, and with the spinnaker set we were off Slapton Sands heading down to Start Point. An hour later we anchored off Lannacombe beach, between Start and Prawle Point for afternoon tea and a swim with the jelly fish! Arriving in a busy Salcombe we found a vacant mooring near the entrance, before bumping into childhood friends David and Jenny aboard Canna.The offer of a socially distanced barbeque was not to be missed, although the slow breaking up of the weather with rain in the late evening did not deter us. Next day we awoke to thick fog (not to be confused with a hangover). Having arranged to reconvene aboard Walkabout for morning coffee, we made a hasty dash ashore for fresh croissants.
David and Jenny eventually found us
after we re-anchored Walkabout near to
a prominent tree, we did not want to be responsible for them disappearing out of the foggy harbour in their rubber dub. Having