What an awesome trip.
Plymouth – Bristol delivery trip
Tag: Rancote
A blustery day
David sheltering his coffee from the morning drizzle.
On Friday we made a last minute decision to head down to Plymouth and suggested mum and David came along. After spending some wicked time with Shaya and Laurie we headed off. On Friday I picked up the van, hoping that they had finally got to the bottom of the power problem that has been plaguing us for a year. Yes! Back up to max power. Awesome. So we arrived at Mayflower marina at 9pm, just in time for last meal orders at Jolly Jack’s restaurant. We stayed aboard on Saturday night; it was windy and the dock lines were too short so it was a bit noisy and bumpy. Heading out to sea, the heavens opened. An hour or so towards Cawsand and back was enough for the day. Enjoyed the fresh air though!
A strong dose of weekend
I’m still glowing from the weekend (inside and out … having caught a little too much sunshine) – even though we only spent a day and a half away, it felt like a lot longer. It’s amazing how refreshing a short trip can be. We only sailed just around the corner from Plymouth to the river Yealm, but the weekend was spattered with a load of different Things To Remember. So what did we manage to cram into a trip not lasting much more than 24 hours?
- Got some great footage from the kite + Gopro
- Decided to hoist the camera up the mast with the boat hook as counterweight
- Lost the camera when the mount broke and it catapulted itself over the side (boooo)
- Couldn’t get the boat hook down …
- Sent Ant up the mast to retrieve it (and fix the wonky windex whilst he was at it)
- Replaced the primary diesel fuel filter after the engine had trouble on the Yealm approach
- Discovered a broken wire to the diesel pump … must sort before next offshore trip
- Had the first swim in the sea this year (brrrr)
- First go at driving a dinghy with an outboard for Anna
- Found some amazing squidgy squashy seaweed to squelch in
- Reminded ourselves how great mud between the toes feels
- Lazed in the sunshine drinking G&Ts and Rums&Cokes
- Had a good mid-ocean (well, slightly off the coast) boogie to Les Yeux D’La Tête
- Slept under the stars in the cockpit – another first for this year
Plymouth – Salcombe
First experiments with kite photos from Rancote.
Got a little distracted by kite flying as the wind picked up on the downwind run with the spinnaker up… Powering along at 6 knots; broached towards the land with only a couple of hundred yards to the rocks. Engine on; up into the wind to get the kite (the one with the camera) down, then charged off downwind to get the spinnaker down behind the main. All’s well that ends well!
Tom and Serena joined us for the evening, having driven down from Bristol.
Swinging at the mooring
View of Salcombe at dusk from visitor mooring #10, as we swing around with the wind. Picked up Tom and Serena who’d driven down from Bristol for the day, had a cruise around the ria on the dinghy, went ashore for some fish and chips, then had a peaceful night on board.
Salcombe was a lot quieter than the last time we were here; probably due to the forecast for the Sunday being damp and calm. This meant that we had a buoy to ourselves – always nicer not to have to raft up to someone else and deal with fenders, ropes and the squeaks and bangs throughout the night. Rob the harbour master came by in his launch, took our £12.60 mooring fee and left us with some biodegradable washing up liquid and a Salcombe handbook (I’m guessing it was Rob, unless he’d nicked someone else’s life jacket). Salcombe is one of the most forward-thinking places I’ve been to along the south coast; this year the fees are even recorded on an iPad, transmitted back to the office, and a receipt printed out while you wait. And I go to sea to get away from technology!
L’aber Benoit
Enjoying an amazing sunset in Brittany following a crossing over the channel from Plymouth with Ant in Rancote. We took 30 hours to sail 100 miles, with some motoring when the wind got light. It was incredibly warm, and as you can see completely still. Very peaceful.
Wait for me!
Drifting gently back from Salcombe to Plymouth. Warm enough for a proper swim.
Yealm
A shot of the river Yealm near Plymouth. It’s about an hour’s sail away from our berth, around the island of x. It’s a tight squeeze between the end of the sandbar and the land when you’re coming in. I wouldn’t fancy doing it during an onshore swell. Had some good times here.
Leaving Bristol
Looking back towards Bristol suspension bridge as we motor down the river Avon towards Portishead. And and I will be staying onboard overnight in Portishead where Dan and Mel will join us at the crack of dawn to start the trip around to Plymouth where we’re going to be based for the summer. Weather forecast is looking good 🙂
A view from above
While Rancote was in Bristol, we hauled Rose up the mast to take some photos.
Road and Ocean 