Page 12 - Yachter Spring/Summer 2022

12 CRUISING REPORTS
A WESTWARD
CRUISE 2021
The discussions about the direction of our 2021 Cruise were very short – The West Country and maybe The Scillies. The discussions about passage planning were also short – the Crew, me, stipulated no overnight sailing. The Captain sensibly agreed – always good to keep the Crew happy!
In late June we set off, on Ripple of Kyle, our Contessa 32.We had finished the first half season of our duties as Committee Boat and Race Management Team for the Beaulieu River Racing Series. Remy, the Committee Boat Dog, had gone off to Summer Camp, so we were free to go.
First stop Portland.We got as far as Yarmouth, beating against a rising wind and decided a night inYarmouth greatly appealed. Next morning, we left just before high
water and had a champagne sail to Portland, picking up a spare buoy in Castle Cove.Then a motor, in a line of 12 other boats, across Lyme Bay to Dartmouth. Dolphins greeted us just off the entrance; welcome to the West Country! Many boats were entering the Harbour as a gale was on the way. Being little, and of course, perfectly formed, we managed to find a space at the very end of a Deep Water Pontoon, just south of the Higher Ferry, facing into the wind and settled down for a couple of days in the rain. I was brought
up in Dartmouth, so every visit Guy has
to relive my past with visits to most of the watering holes of the area! Apart from lack of washing facilities, which were closed due to COVID, we had a lovely time.
We continued West, motored to Salcombe in bright sunshine.A peaceful night on
a buoy, watching the world go by.Then
off toTheYealm.The Dolphin Inn was as welcoming as ever, where we enjoyed a lovely Summer’s evening with local friends. We then set off up the Tamar on the flood, via The Bridge channel. Neither of us had been up the River for years. Passing the Dockyard, the spectacular Brunel railway bridge, all the way up to Weir Quay, before turning on the ebb before we ran out of water – we wondered why we had waited so long! Down to Plymouth for a night, then on to Falmouth arriving just as the new extension to the Harbour Master’s Pontoon opened. Once again the weather was on the turn, everyone heading for shelter but there
was room for a ‘little one’ at the very end. After two days in Falmouth, we headed
up the River Fal, always a delight to explore with a peaceful night at Ruan Creek.The Helford River was next, where we studied the weather forecasts, leaving early the next morning forThe Scillies.A forecast of 10 to15 kts from the north sounded perfect, which shortly after The Lizard became 25 kts on the nose.A very bumpy trip which was not much fun but we made it to St. Mary’s (for the third year in a row) by early evening, relieved to pick up a buoy.To make up to the Crew for that less than perfect trip, the Captain booked a meal at the fine Star Castle Hotel for the following evening. It rained heavily all day, so dressed in full wet weather gear, we pumped up the dinghy, fitted the outboard, went ashore and arrived looking like two drowned rats.The welcome was warm, the food and drink excellent and the Crew was very happy.
The weather settled down to glorious hot days with no wind.As we left St.Mary’s to explore the islands we were greeted by the star turn of the summer – Wally the Walrus!!! We had been warned not to leave our dinghies alongside the boat at night, as he was happily sinking them but his sheer size was amazing. We anchored in Porth Conger and explored St Agnes and Gugh and then moved to New Grimsby Sound to explore Bryher and Tresco, with its white sandy