Our season hadn’t started very well at all, with April mainly East winds stopped most sailing. In May l got busy at work, so by the end of May we had only spent one weekend aboard. I was determined to get to the Sadler and Starlight Owners Association rally in Fowey over the Jubilee weekend.
With the Jubilee weekend came the problem of fitting 40hrs of work into 3 days along with wet weather which increases time needed! The week before had taken longer because of wet weather so l had to work the weekend doing some of the Jubilee weeks work. Anyway having worked 10 days nonstop we were able to get aboard during the evening of the 1st of June for the 0545hrs start the next morning.
Out the next morning at 0500hrs to catch the tide, l pulled up the main and dropped mooring at 0545hrs as planned and motorsailed across Falmouth Bay towards Fowey in light Northeast wind. I soon went down to get the tiller pilot to take over. Then followed a quite fast passage motorsail passage to Fowey arriving about 4hrs later having logged 23nm. In Fowey you wouldn’t have thought we were an early yacht, the pontoon was already full so we rafted to “Rockhopper” a Sadler 32. Being still quite early, Vicki cooked brunch before we rested. With a pontoon party early evening and run ashore for an evening meal, the day seemed to fly by.
The plan for the following day was a sail together to Fal River pontoon with a photo and video drone arranged for us just off Fowey, the plan was for the drone to be taken to the Dodman point for more photos later, this didn’t quite go to plan! There wasn’t much wind, ok for a few drone photos off of Fowey but very little wind to sail SW towards the Dodman Point, some got cruising chutes out but very little wind to fill them, then over the radio came the message the drone from the Dodman wasn’t going to happen. At which point we started motoring, we don’t own a chute, always opt for engine in very light winds. I had been busy with my camera, I am always looking for a good sailing photo and with all these Sadler’s around, was an ideal time.
We motored all the way to St Anthony light house where I knew there would be wind in the Carrick Roads, and there was. We then started sailing, beating north. The rest of the fleet just continuing to motor. We had a lovely sail having tacked 5 times, we were nearly to Turnaware before the engine was started again. On a chart the Carrick Roads look shallow north of St Just in Rosland, most visiting yachts stay in the marked channel but we know we can sail anywhere in the Carrick Roads except for 2hrs either side of LW on spring tides when we also need to keep to the channel.
On the first Truro River pontoon, we got ready for the next evening party. An evening of singing with music. Roast Pork and apple rolls, very nice with cheese to follow and drinks to wash it down.
The next day was wild, wet and windy from the east but the pontoon seemed very sheltered, a few yachts left, 3 to sail east, 2 of which returned having had an intersting time, the other pressed on getting into Fowey (20nm) 9hrs later! We stayed put, deciding to pay for another night on the pontoon.
The following day, time drifted on and we had to motor the 10nm back to Gillan before the tide would be to low to get into St Anthony beach. A weekend with a lot of motoring but it was great metting up with everyone.
Love Sailing 