Saturday 8th June
On Thursday evening I moved Elektra up Carne Creek because of forecasted strong northeast wind. On Saturday before work I moved her back to her mooring.
After a wet week at work on Saturday I still needed to do some s-trimming but my brush-cutter had been playing up, I had taken it to my garden machinery guy to look at on Friday and he got it working again but first job on Saturday it wouldn’t start again! After coming home and ringing around for a new machine it seemed I wouldn’t be able to pick up until Monday.
The time was now 1145hrs. As no work could be done we decided to go sailing instead, looking quickly at the tide tables we needed to leave St Anthony beach before 1330hrs, I needed a shower and bags needed to be packed, we rushed around to get out the door in time, I filled a 25lt of drinking water and we made it to St Anthony in time.
Down at St Anthony as we were getting ready to leave there was another chap who had a 10ft dinghy with a little 2-3hp 2 stroke motor. We loaded up our 12ft RIB and headed, a while later the chap in the dinghy with dog headed out of Gillan, the wind was gusting westerly force 6, I thought he might not like it coming back in later, just out off the Dennis Head his engine cut out and he started paddling for the south shore of the Helford River, once closer in he paddled along the shore back into Gillan, that’s one way of getting a work out!
Shortly after seeing him make his way back into Gillan we dropped our mooring and headed out into Falmouth Bay, I set a the genoa only with 2 reefs and we were soon logging 5kts SOG, the forecast was west 4 gusting 6 and Helford River looked full of white horses looking west as we crossed the mouth of the river. Once into the shelter of Rosemullion Head the wind eased a bit and I unrolled the genoa a bit more. Seeing the rain over Falmouth sent me below for our coats but I am glad to say most of the heavy rain was blown though with the wind before we got into it. Crossing Falmouth Bay the wind eased a bit more and I let out all the genoa. The wind speed increased again as we entered St Mawes and our SOG with it to 6kts, we thought that a little to fast for going up the river though the mooring so I rolled the genoa and motored instead.
Up in the Precuil River there was a big Royal Navy yacht (white ensign) feeling her way up river. We soon came up on her from behind, now just a hour to low water there was very little depth left, we motored into the pool and dropped anchor staying out of their way. Not liking the shallow water the yacht reversed out and turned around before straying out of the channel and going aground, here they stayed stuck for 2hrs until the incoming tide re-floated them.
We had done the 7.5nm in 1hr 20mins from mooring to dropping anchor.
Love Sailing 