With the time availible for more sailing the plan had been to get Elektra loaded with water, diesel and new camping gaz bottle Friday morning over high water before I had some work to finish. We had problems with the outboard the last time we were aboard when I thought I had flooded it, it was stupid really, I was running up against time, having filled the water cans and filtered the diesel, I never tried the outboard having changed its sparkplug. When I got down to St Anthony, I thought it was better to try the engine first before loading the dinghy up. But it didn’t want to start and the tide was going out, I didn’t want to row the heavy ladened dinghy out to Elektra, so I drove back home having not done anything!
Then it was time to go to work, 3hrs later I was back home again. The first thing to do was to try to get the outboard running but without any success I finaly put it to one side and got the spare outboard out, this hadn’t been started since last season but had been laid up properly after last use and after filling up the fuel tank, it started 2nd pull. The tide wouldn’t be high enough to float dinghy at St Anthony until 1530hrs. So I helped Vicki with packing and had I a shower before I drove down to St Anthony for the 2nd time with the water ect. This time with a working outboard things went better and I was back home by 1700hrs to load pick-up with stores and gear for a week away. Back to St Anthony, unload the pick-up onto the pontoon beside dinghy, I then parked the pick-up in the carpark, walked back, loaded the dinghy and Vicki and I climbed in, it was another heavy load back out to Elektra by which time it was 1830hrs. With stowing the gear and stores we has already decided to stay on Elektra’s swing mooring overnight.
The next morning was Saturday 8th June, the tide would have been right for leaving early to head east but we are both owls (more awake at night than in the morning). So after a lazy morning and cooked breckfast we cast off the mooring at 1235hrs and headed northeast with a forecast of northwest force 4. I first set the genoa but thinking we needed more sail pulled up the main with 2 reefs while still underway (only possible because with the new sails last year we did away with the lazyjacks). It wasn’t a fast sail across Falmouth Bay but the wind picked up to a NW4 gusting 5 from the Roseland and Elektra was creaming along at 5-6kts between the Roseland and Dodman Point. We covered the 14nm to Dodman in 3hrs and were anchored off Gorran Haven at 1600hrs having logged 16nm against the tide.
We think Gorran Haven Fish&Chips are the best we have had in Cornwall, so having dropped anchor Vicki placed our order for 1730hrs. I lowered the dinghy and fitted the outboard and when we were ready we went ashore, as the tide was still coming I pulled the dinghy up the beach a bit and we walked to the chippy. We ate our food overlooking the harbour, Elektra did look nice at anchor beyond the harbour wall.
We went back aboard and having taken the outboard off the dinghy onto Elektra’s pushpit we decided to tow the dinghy. We pulled up her anchor and motored Elektra east out of Gorran Haven then northeast to Chaple Point and north to a anchorage we know called Polgwyn Cove. When motoring north I turned on Elektra’s cabin heater (it might be June but it was still cold). we motored in and dropped anchor at 1915hrs having logged 20nm today.
Love Sailing 