From Saturday the 4th July we have been allowed to sleep aboard, of corse with the luck we have had this summer, it turned out to be a stormy weekend so we stayed home. On the SSOA facebook page I suggested a local rally, this seemed to take on a life of its own with owners from all along the south coast of Devon and Cornwall saying they were coming. Set for the weekend 10-12th July to meet and anchor at Channels Creek, may be a barbque, by a week before 11 owners said they would be bringing their yachts, I have found out from the pass experance if you divide the number by 2, thats normally the number that turn up.
Friday 10th July
We needed to get aboard on Friday by 1300hrs due to the tide going out, I needed to go and see Mum and chat with her in the morning first. It was a little late by the time we had loaded the punt on the beach. Not enough water to lower the outboard, to deep for Wellingtons and a dinghy to loaded up to row! Only one thing to do and that was to use an oar as a punt pole to get to deeper water.
Out at Elektra we transferred the gear and store, while Vicki was stowing it away l got outboard off the punt and onto Elektra’s rail and the punt lifted up on her davits.Then getting Elektra ready to sail before sitting down in the cockpit to eat lunch.
At 1350hrs we droped the mooring and sailed out of Gillan with a forecast of NNW4-5, slowly at first but once out of the shelter of the Dennis Head into the Helford River the wind got us moving. We were close on the wind but we had a good line for Pendennis Point with reefed main and reefed genoa Elektra was making between 5-6kts SOG into a NW5. Our first tack came just south of the southly cardinal buoy of St Mawes having logged having logged 5.5nm in an hour and 5mins. The starboard tack took us over to Falmouth Harbour before we tacked again heading for St Just in Roseland. Tacking again this time heading just north of the Mylor moorings into shallow water. I knew we were pushing it just after low water there wasnt going to be much depth but the sailing was good. Logging over 5kts our least depth was 0.2m under the keel, but all adds to the joy of sailing. Our next tack took us over just south of Turnaware Buoy, I wasnt going to risk going over the bar so we I started the engine and furred the sails before motoring into Channels Creek and dropping anchor at 1620hrs having logged 11.5nm. we had only been there about an hour and the wind dropped of to a flat calm.
In Channel Creek there was a Sadler 26 our S29 a S34 and a Starlight 35 at anchor, around the corner of the river on a visitor pontoon were another 2 SL35s because they liked lines and fenders, later in the evening a SL39 also arrived and moored to the pontoon.
Love Sailing 