Love Sailing

On Friday 24th of April, after a four days of strong east winds, l had decided we needed to get aboard and move Elektra over the channel, so as to let us escape from Carne Creek before she would be neeped. We packed up all we needed for our first few days aboard and were driving down to St Anthony by 0930.

On arrival at the beach, l topped up the outboards fuel. The beach had waves which is unusual at St Anthony and getting aboard without get wet looked unlikely. So with a lot of seaweed on the shoreline, l slipped the dinghy off the trolley onto it. Taking the trolley back upto the top of the beach before unloading bags out of the car into and into the dinghy. Not too many to make the dinghy unsafe, l pushed the dinghy down the weed and partly into the sea and then let Vicki climb in, then pushing into the sea properly, l pushed off the shore and climbed in myself without getting wet, the motor started first pull and so l could engage forward with a little choke we were off.

Motoring out across St Anthony to the narrows the swell was side on, but once we turned into the narrows behind us all the way to Elektra anchored in Carne Creek. At Elektra Vicki climbed aboard and l held the dinghy in place under her until she was safely into the cockpit. Then l pulled the dinghy along the side of Elektra and unloaded the dinghy onto the cockpit. Then back to the ladder, made fast the dinghy and climbed aboard myself.

I looked at my tide app, it was showing 3.8m and Elektra was floating, the ground here was deeper than where we used to have a mooring. I helped Vicki with the bags into the cabin and we discussed options on moving Elektra. The high water tomorrow was 4.0m and Elektra was floating in 3.8m today, her anchor was well dug in, we decided to leave from here tomorrow at high water. So l left Vicki with the bags to stow and having put on a lifejacket, l went back in the dinghy to St Anthony for the remaining bags. I went into the office to see if l could get a carpark pass, but not been delivered yet. Then went and parked the car. Then it was back in the dinghy to Elektra and unload into cockpit.

Once l was back aboard, there was a lot of stuff to stow and it was possibly 2hrs later before Elektra was ship shape, Elektra had been swinging at anchor all this time but took the ground again at about 1400hrs, later in the afternoon we both fell asleep for an hour, l find the sea air dose that.

Vicki cooked dinner for 1900hrs, and afterwards we played Scrabble and opened a bottle of red. The evening and night where cold and we ran the cabin heater to warm up and had a hot water bottle for the bunk.

Day two

I was out at 0600hrs to check that the dinghy hadn’t gone in under Elektra, and whilst out did some washing up which we had found the evening before. Then sat for a bit looking at emails and social media. When Vicki got out she cooked breakfast, after we had eaten we both had jobs to do to get Elektra ready to leave.

Elektra floated at 1130hrs and having started at the engine at 1200hrs and switched on the instruments, l walked forward with the winch handle to pull up the chain and anchor. The chain was easy and clean but the anchor was so well dug in, l wondered if l was going to break it out without getting Vicki to motor Elektra forward over it. But it did break out and broke surface as a ball of mud, which l then spent the next 10min cleaning off, while Vicki motored Elektra out down the channel to Gillan Harbour.

In Gillan Harbour l pulled up the main, while Vicki continued to motor Elektra east out to sea. Once out we turned north setting all sail and turned off the engine. The swell was leftover easterly from the week before, but now the wind had almost disappeared, sailing was slow and unpleasant, we did try but then decided to motor over Falmouth Bay to Pendennis Point which we passed at 1330hrs having logged 5nm. From there we sailed slowly as far north as St Just before the wind died altogether. So started the motor again and motored to Channels Creek where we dropped anchor at 1450hrs having logged 9nm.

I had suggested at the last Cruising Association planning/social in March a gathering of members here in the evening of the 25th, we couldn’t call it a rally because the CA has certain rules which have to be followed. At the social, there seemed lots of interest but by 1800hrs nobody had shown up and we had shut up and retired below. Around 1830 Robert l think whistled and l poked my head out of the companion way hatch to see them coming into the anchorage. Sometime after 2100hrs Robert and Lisa.   came over for a drink and chat, staying for about a hour before having to leave to make up their berth to sleep.

Day three

I got out about 0700hrs having had a wonderful nights sleep, but my shoulder was now giving me a lot of pain and l needed painkillers for it so made coffee. Vicki cooked brunch at 1000hrs anf at 1100hrs we went over to Robert and Lisa’s yacht for coffee, to say they were good company is under stating it as we stayed until 1700hrs, with one funny story following the next 😄

But having eventually returned to Elektra with Vicki, l motored over to Iain aboard Myrtle his Hunter 32 to say hi, had her re-launched today.

But l didn’t stop long because we were moving from Channels Creek to our favourite anchorage in the Precuil River this evening. I removed Elektra’s cockpit enclosure and pulled up her anchor at 1745hrs and Vicki motored Elektra back out of Channels Creek and south down Carrick Roads in no wind, we dropped anchor again in the Precuil River at 1850hrs having logged 5nm.

We had started the cabin heater as we came around the point by St Mawes Castle and so when we arrived the cabin was nice and warm, l refitted the cockpit enclosure when we arrived and went below into the warm, there l open a bottle of red and we had a quieter evening reading.

Day four

I got out about 0700hrs, l had some washing up to do so put on the kettle for hot water, while l was washing up, l put the kettle on again for coffee, the gas started to look like it was running low and before boiling it ran out altogether. So out on deck to the anchor locker for the spare bottle. Then l found the the retaining strap fastening had rusted solid and wouldn’t loosen. I was able however to pull in off the bottle to remove. I then cut off the old strap off and removed because l had a new replacement strap. Gas bottle replaced and new strap attached, it was time to boil the kettle for that first coffee of the day.

Peter had messaged me last evening to say he was expecting to be anchored near us today, his eta was 2200hrs.

I had to call my insurance about the pick-up l sold as the automatically renewed the policy. Once l had sorted that out, l rowed the dinghy over to see Peter aboard Tela his Sadler 26. Peter had left Starcross in the river Exe, stopping at Dartmouth and Plymouth before here, he was planning to get to Scotland and back by mid July, but having seen the latest forecast, he had decided to stay put in Precuil River for a few days until the strong east had blown out.

Vicki and l went down to St Mawes and the Rising Sun for our first pub lunch of the season. On arrival back at Elektra we decided to head back to Carne Creek and home for a few days while the wet and windy weather was here. The high water was about 1530hrs but but being 4.3m we didn’t have to arrive on high water. There wasn’t any wind for this short passage, so l just motored Elektra all the 7nm. Once anchored we decided to stay abroad overnight and leave Elektra next day. We sat in the cockpit until 1800hrs enjoying the sunshine, but it got chilly and so we moved into the saloon. But this weekend had been wonderful weather for April.

We opened a bottle of red and listened to the radio before turning in for a great night’s sleep.

Day five

I didn’t get out until 0800hrs after sleeping very well. Elektra had grounded facing the out going tide just before dawn, and having attached the dinghy painter to the bow last night the dinghy was clear of her bow. Because Elektra was facing upstream in a west-southwest direction the cold wind was coming from the northeast and our plastic wash boards weren’t a good fit and this  cooled the cabin so much by 0930hrs l had pulled on a fleece and turned the cabin heater on.

We didn’t leave Elektra for home until about 1300hrs because she was she had been aground all morning on soft mud. It wasn’t until the tide was coming back in, the dinghy was floating and deep enough for me to put the engine down and run that we could go. I climbed into the dinghy and Vicki passed bags for home down to me whilst l held on with a 2-3kt tide stream rushing by. Vicki climbed into the dinghy and held the painter ready to slip until l got the engine started to use. We headed over to the channel and down river against the tide, at the narrows the engine here was just enough speed over the tide race, possibly 1/2kt faster! But slowly making it and out into Gillan Harbour and over to St Anthony beach. It was about 1400hrs when we got home.

It had been a nice few days aboard we had logged 21nm but not much sailing, and no real sailor’s like motoring, but we had met up with 3 sailing friends on the water.

The day following loading Elektra’s sailing gear looked good for a day sail. The forecast saying almost no wind picking up to easterly force 3, there was a strong wind warning out of easterly force 6-7 for the following 5 days. Normally we would have gone aboard and gone over to the Precuil River before hand, but our car was booked in for a MOT on the Wednesday, so for now, only a day sail was possible.

I awoke early, had some breakfast and drove down to St Anthony. I launched the dinghy, pushed off from the shore and pulled the cord twice before the motor started, pulling away with just a little choke, before shutting it off halfway across to the narrows, 10 minutes I was climbing aboard Elektra. Then unlock the cabin, plug in and fit the chart plotter, plug in and fit the tiller pilot, I put on my lifejacket and took the sail cover off, hook on the main halyard, fill out the header of log sheet ready. Then I had to anchor the dinghy off because I wasn’t taking it with me. I started the engine and switched on the instruments. Then I walked forward and pulled the chain and anchor back aboard, cleaning the mud off it as it came aboard, by the time I got back to the cockpit at 0845hrs, Elektra had drifted with the tide back down stream to the dinghy, so I let the dinghy slide along the starboard side of Elektra and away from her bow before pushing the control lever into forward turning to starboard and heading for the channel, with 0.8m under keel. out over the channel it was 1.4m and once out into Gillan Harbour 2m.

There before getting into the moorings, I pulled up the mainsail and tided the halyard ends and reefing lines. Then motored her though the moorings and out of the harbour, turning to port around Carcrock East Cardinal Buoy. From there I pulled out the genoa and turned off the engine, the wind was showing northeast force 2 and “Elektra was logging 2kts SOG north across Helford River entrance. I tacked Elektra to a starboard under the cliffs between Mawgan Sheer and August Rock Buoy in a east-southeast direction. With the wind being so light she would point tight to the wind, I needed to bear away a bit to keep Elektra moving.

I tacked her again to port once east of Nare Point, from here the wind filled in a little more and Elektra was logging 3kts SOG in 6-7kts of wind from the northeast, with the wind picking up a little more halfway across Falmouth Bay, Elektra would now point better, and we were heading north-northeast. It wasn’t looking like we would be east enough to pass Pendennis Point on the this tack. I would of continued in under the cliff before tacking again, but we were closing in on a some sort of work boat, I started looking for maybe a dive flag, but they are never easy to see when the vessel up wind. The work chap at that moment grabbed end of the flag and turned it toward me, so there was no doubt that she was a dive boat. At which point, I tacked Elektra to starboard and away from her.

We continued in this direction, until halfway across the entrance into the Carrack Roads, before tacking again to port. My plan had been to sail up the Carrack Roads to Channels Creek anchor for lunch and then come back, but when we got into Black Rock, I thought we would be fighting the tide all the way up there and all the way back. So decided to head into St Mawes instead. The wind seemed to change direction to east once in the shelter of the Roseland and Elektra was pointing, and was going northeast towards St Mawes harbour, sailing right into the moorings before starting the engine and rolling away the genoa. With a falling tide I motored Elektra up river though the mooring and droped anchored at 1130hrs having logged 9nm. About half hour later Elektra grounded on the soft level mud bottom, low water of 0.3m was at 1350hrs, but being a lovely day I was quite happy to get on with a few jobs and later sitting in the cockpit and having lunch.

Elektra lifted off again at 1500hrs, and I pulled up her anchor at 1545hrs, motored her back down the Percuil River and out past the moorings before starting to sail again. Nice a still calm inside the Carrick Roads, but once out in Falmouth bay, the swell had built up though the day and it was a quite uncomfortable motion, still very little wind, Elektra was rolling. I thought about motoring but continued to sail back across the bay, until entering Gillan Harbour, I started her engine again and motored her in. With the strong east wind forecast for the next 5 days, I countinued in though the narrows into Carne Creek and dropped anchor at 1730hrs having logged 16nm for the day. It took a while to pack everything away and get back ashore, but I was home by 1915hrs.

I needed to get to Elektra’s winter mooring by 0600hrs, so l was up early. Having driven down to Carne, l climbed into the dinghy and pushed off, the momentum was enough to get me out to Elektra without having to sit down and row. At Elektra, climbed aboard at the tied the dinghy amidships, keeping it clear of the lines.

I fitted Elektra’s chart plotter and switched on the instruments and stared her engine. Then l made the lines ready to let go. I let go the starboard stern line first then walking forward to let the bow lines go. Then back to the cockpit to pull Elektra out to the channel by her port stern line, dropping it over the side when reaching the chain.

I checked the depth sounder, she had 1.4m under her keels as l put the engine into forward. I like to give a blast of powder here, then drop out of gear as she floats over the stern lines of the other moored boats. Once passed the other boats, putting engine into forward again and slowly followed the channel out to Gillan Harbour.

Once into Gillan Harbour, it was too early to dry Elektra out on St Anthony beach. So l motored her on out into Helford River entrance to check engine and instruments, an hour or so later motored her back into the Harbour and slowly eased her speed to almost 0, so her keels slowly grounded on St Anthony beach, then putting the engine forward again to hold her there. When she stopped rocking, l stopped her engine. Locking up the cabin and climbed out into the dinghy and to the shore and pulled up.

Then walk back to Carne for the car, l got my ladders from the woods and loaded in the car, then drove to St Anthony, l left the ladders in the dinghy and drove home for breakfast at 0900hrs.

After breakfast, l loaded up the car with the cruising gear and drove back to St Anthony and loaded the gear aboard Elektra. Once done l lifted the petrol generator out of Elektra and into the car along with the ladders and a few other bits, l also set the keg anchor out astern to allow me to pull her out into deeper water later. Then drove home again and unloaded.

After a coffee l took my wheel barrow (l used to do this with my pickup, but l sold it about 10 days ago) back down to Carne. This time to remove the winter mooring for cleaning and checking before next winter. The joys of a cheap winter mooring is it normally costs time instead of money! About 1.5hrs later l was back home with the 2x 15kg Bruce anchors, 2x anchor chains and 6x lines in the wheel borrow saying, l’m not doing that again! It had been harder than l thought pushing the wheel barrow back loaded.

After that l had a 2hr rest, before driving back to St Anthony to wait until Elektra floated off again. Once floating, l motored her back into Carne Creek, just above the narrows and dropped anchor, back in the dinghy to St Anthony and drove home,walking in the door at 1900hrs.

Elektra had to go up into Carne Creek on anchor because the next 4 days the forecast was showing easterly gale force wind and Gillan Harbour is open to the full force of the English Channel from the east, the swell almost never makes its way above the narrows into Carne Creek. Once into the sailing season we would go elsewhere during east wind but our car was booked for MOT on Wednesday.

The evening 18th April l drove down to St Anthony, and l motored the dinghy up the creek to her and eased the bow lines and pulled her out of her winter berth into deeper water, down the side of the creek bank. Because of my the high pressure, 1026, it had pushed high tide down by quite a bit. And l was worried Elektra might be still aground when l came to move back down river to the sea.

Having done so, l was happier and decided to leave the dinghy tied to the shore of creek for quicker exit next day. So l walked back to St Anthony for the car to drive home.

I alway had a pick-up or trailer to get my punt to the sea, but having become an OAP, I put my pick-up on the market and it sold within the week, for a nice amount.

But this had left me without any transport for the dinghy to the water, but we live within walking distance and the launching trolly is good, it’s only about 1/2 mile from home to the head of Carne Creek, from there I can put the trolly on top dinghy and motor down the creek to St Anthony.

On 15th April, high tide was 1650hrs, but the tide would be high enough to launch at the head of the creek by about 1500hrs. I loaded the punt with a few late delivery items for Elektra and her davits and cockpit seats, straped the dinghy down onto the trolly and set off down the mainly single track road to Carne at about 1445hrs, it was like a big wheel barrow loaded up with gear! The advantage of the narrow road is there wasn’t much traffic and over the 1/2 mile I only saw 3 vehicles, but I did get funny looks, lol.

Now down at the head of Carne Creek, I unstrapped the dinghy and launched into the water, I hadn’t tried it but the trolly sat quite securely upside down on top of the dinghy. I had run up the outboard in a water tank, but you really don’t know for sure it’s working OK until you put in gear and use for real. I pushed off out into the creek and gave it a few pulls before it fired and then started. The short run over to Elektra, never really warmed up the engine, before I stopped it again.

At Elektra, I refitted her davits and unloaded the dinghy into her cockpit, made the dinghy painter off and climbed aboard Elektra and unlocked her. Because it was a lovely day I removed her cockpit encloser which I had put up about a month ago, rolled away dry and stowed below, I also stowed the other items I had bought aboard. Then I started Elektra’s engine to check there wasn’t any problem with it for the 18th when we planned to move her down creek to St Anthony beach to load her cruising gear. Once happy the engine was fine, I shut down, turned off the power and locked up.

I climbed back into the dinghy, pulled the dinghy along Elektra’s mooring line a little to stop it being blown ashore, and starter the outboard again, it needed about 1/2 choke for a bit before it would run without, but ran very well all the way to St Anthony. This 2-stroke outboard I had bought new in 2006, now 20 years later it was still running well and it will possibly do another 20 years before it needs replacing, I think 2-stroke engines are good for a 1000hrs, and we only do about 20hrs a year. I have no plans to replace it with battery outboard as many cruising sailors seem to have done these days.

After pulling the dinghy out on the trolly at St Anthony, I walked back home on the road, passing Elektra now at high water 4.8m, she wasn’t quite floating, so decided I would go to her again on the evening of the 17th to ajust her lines, pulling her out into deeper water to make sure she wouldn’t be still aground when I want to move her on the morning of the 18th.

When I was working full time, April and May were my busiest months of the year and so I always got our yacht ready for the coming season before the end of March because, if I didn’t I woudn’t have the time to do the work needed before June. Quite often our yacht would be one of the first on the swing moorings in April. But April is very seldom a good month for sailing(I think only 2018 was since we have owned Elektra), either very cold or lots of strong wind, most years we would only go out for the first sail at the middle/end of April. So this year with me having become an OAP, I wasn’t going to rush and plan to use the sping tides of 17-20th April to get Elektra back down river to the sea.

I was down to Elektra this morning changing her winter sprayhood and winter cover for her summer sprayhood and cockpit encloser. Then I scrubbed her cockpit and sealed up some tank fittings.

Another difference to other years is that we aren’t paying for a local swing mooring (last year I did pay the £1,200 for the season but only used the mooring for 6 weeks). This year we are planning to be away all of May, back for a day or so early June, then gone again until mid July, back for 1-2 days and then off somewhere else and so on. In the past when I was working, I only had a week long holiday twice a season.

I think we paid £500 in visitor moorings last season also, so I am thinking, I won’t be so bothered about paying for visitor mooring this season, if I haven’t paid for a seasonal mooring. Most of the time we are at anchor anyway for free, but there are always places where your not allowed to anchor.

We haven’t been north of Torquay in Lime Bay to our east for 21 years, we would like to visit Exmouth and Teignmouth at least once, until we visit a place we have no idea if we would want to go back. So we are going to spend May going east visiting places we know and like and some places new to us.

By the 16th of March the weather was looking up and the sun had showed it self, so I spent Monday and Tuesday scrubbing Elektra’s bottom and washing her freeboard and decks. On the Wednesday, I did what I said I wouldn’t ever do again and that was to give her a coat of antifouling on her mud berth (the last time I had done this back in 2018, the mud was 12-18″ deep and it was quite a workout just walking around her in the mud). But this year the mud was almost gone from around her bow area and only 4-6inchs at her rudder, so was a lot easier to do.

On Thursday I refitted her boom, mainsheet and kicker, along with some other internal jobs. On Friday I painted her bot,top line and on Saturday recoated her teak and bent on her sails, On Sunday I refitted her dodgers, by then she was quite a good way along for the coming season. But we hadn’t any plans to move her down the river until the weekend 17-20th April. We had a brief chat about taking her down the river early but in the end decided to stick to our orginal plan.

I still with a few mainly internal jobs, after the week of great weather, and I had 4 weeks to complete, but Vicki had arranged for a cleaner, to do an internal spring clean prior to the season on the 7th April, so I only had 2 weeks in reality but still plenty of time.

And l have to yet pick up the sprayhood from Kernow Covers, which had gone in for repair,  in the photo below, her winter sprayhood was still in use.

Ever since the winter laying up period started in October it had been “wet, wet, wet! and by the beginning of March, I had only been aboard Elektra about 3 times just to check on things.

So it was Wednesday 4th March, before l went aboard to check her out again and start on her recommissioning for the coming season. There was a curtain amount of fresh water in a number of locations which wasn’t surprising considering the winter weather. Ever since we bought Elektra in 2016 we had been trying to solve leaks, summer time these small leaks are manageable but with the constant rain over the winter and my lack of visits to her the amount had built up.

Ever since the rewiring last summer, l thought the automatic bilge pump under the engine to be faulty. It hadn’t worked at all during the winter, so my first job was to hand pump out the bilge and remove the pump and float switch for testing at home. And clean/sponge out under the engine.

I found my torch needed recharging and the clock and smoke detector needed new batteries.

There had been a lot of condensation off the fore hatch and that had ended up under the floor in the head, there is a pump here too but not on a live circuit hadn’t activated. Also the condensation had gone in under the forward bunk and from there seeped out into the cupboard under the sink. I sponged out about a about a gallon of water in all, from the 3 places for the whole winter.

The battery banks where all charged and l checked the history from the last 30 days, all looked good.

I screwed down the under cockpit locker, known to Sadler owners as the bathtub, it and it’s contents had been removed for her engine work back in November. Back then when replaced the bathtub l couldn’t find the fixing screws. But when l opened the cockpit locker to restow the lines, keg anchor and fenders. I found the fixing screws just sitting there really handy!

With the tide coming back in, l locked up and headed for home. There l tested the bilge pump and switch, both were working fine.