I am writing this update from New Grimsby Harbour just off Tresco, the Scilly Isles. We sailed here yesterday from Falmouth - in around 10 hours. Unfortunately it is raining quite heavily at the moment and the forecast for today is not good - in fact I hear on the radio there is flooding in Cornwall. Our plan is to explore Tresco today then set sail for Ireland tonight, but if the rain continues we may set sail earlier.
The sail from Falmouth was great - the winds were from the right direction and Force 5 to 6 for much of the voyage, and we managed to sail in a straight line from the Lizard averaging 7 to 8 knots and made the passage in around 10 hours. I am trying all sorts of remedies to avoid sea sickness, regularly taking Stugeron and now also wear these wrist bands which are supposed to help. Also, I avoid having to go downstairs except to sleep (lying on your back is ok) during the voyage, which means wearing all the right gear before starting out; this is more difficult to predict than you think as often it is sunny and the harbour is sheltered but conditions at sea are very different. During the voyage from Falmouth I felt ok for the first half, then a little nauseous, recovering again when I took over the helm towards the end of the voyage. There was one really exciting stage when we rounded Lizard Point, the southernmost point of land on mainland GB. At this point the Atlantic swell meets the Channel tides over shallow water and the sea state is generally rough, with steep breaking waves. Our boat, despite being 46 ' and around 13 tons resembled a roller coaster riding up and down at frightening angles and slamming over the waves. At times the waves broke over the front of the boat and flooded down the full length, and because we didn't have the entrance fully closed, some water entered the cabin! All this and the winds were only moderate to strong, it would be frightening in anything stronger or in a small boat.
Before sailing to the Scilly Isles, we also had two good days of sailing from Brixham to Falmouth. Firstly and in sunny weather from Brixham to Newton Ferres on the River Yealm where we picked up a buoy in the river for the night - a very beautiful spot -
see photo of our boat moored. On the way we also popped into Salcombe to motor up the estuary and take a few photos - looks a really great place for a holiday, particularly if you like dinghy sailing - see second photo.Then next day on to Falmouth Harbour, again favourable winds and we managed to sail most of the way. We then had a rest day in Falmouth when I got the bike out and cycled up to Pendennis Castle (built by Henry VIII to defend against, the Spanish, but used and extended by many since) and explored the beaches.
Our skipper at the moment is Fred. He worked 30 years for Barclays in various high street banking roles and retired in 2002, although has the appearance of somebody in his 40's Of course he is very experienced in the sailing world, having started out exploring estuaries in a dinghy in childhood during holidays, then racing all sorts of boats from dinghies to small yachts. Although he hasn't sailed GB in one go, he has been around most sections of it several times, for example he has been around Lizard Point on 8 occasions! His sailing experienced is also more than matched by his sense of fun and humour - I am struggling to keep up!!
Our route from here is North to Ireland then hops along the coast, with a stopover in Dublin and no doubt plenty of Guiness, ending up in Bangor, near Belfast for the next skipper changeover on Saturday 8th August. My broadband may not work so it may be while before the next update ... enjoy your summer.
Addendum Wednesday 29th:
After a rainy start to the day, the rain stopped late morning and later in the afternoon the sun came out. We went ashore on Tresco, I hired a mountain bike and cyled all around the island. Seems a great place for a quiet family holiday without motor vehicles, empty beaches, beautiful scenery. I also spent some time in the Tresco Abbey Gardens - very impressive, the Isles of Scilly have a warm and wet climate, ideal for many of the exotic plants.
See photo of Tresco scenery - our boat is moored to a buoy on the far left:
Addendum Thursday 30th:
We made it to Ireland - we are moored to a pontoon in Kilmore Quay on the South East corner of Ireland. We had a fantastic and quick sail from the Scilly Isles overnight and morning today, some 153 miles and sailing for much of the passage around 8 knots, and I say 10.6 knots when I was on the helm for a moment. Unfortunately however I am still suffering badly from sea sickness, I managed to get into all the right equipment prior to the journey to minimise trips downstairs except to sleep, but a 4 hour watch from 11pm to 3am got the better of me and I was violently ill. It is difficult to see the horizon at night therefore much harder to prevent feeling nauseous. I wasn't much help to my fellow watch crew Jacob for the last hour of my watch - trying to sleep it off lying on the bench in the cockpit! Ah well, probably only one long night journey to do - if we go to the Shetland Islands. On the bright side, the sky looks wonderful at night in the middle of an ocean (I think we were some 60 miles from land at one point) - very clearly, full of stars and no light pollution from land. Tomorrow they are expecting gales so we have a few repairs to make to the boat. On arrival my fellow crew, led I have to say by the skipper, went straight off for a few lunchtime "Guinnesses" - I hasten to add I went straight for a shower and a light meal .... and as I write this update have still not sampled the local brew.
