The winter had been wet and windy with almost no dry days and not much winter work done until the last week of January when I fitted Elektra’s new altered bow roller to hold her new 10kg Rocna anchor. Elektra was pulled out for a new coat of anti-fouling on the 28th of February for what was meant to be a few days but the weather stopped re-launch until 11th March, when Elektra went back up Carne Creek to her winter mooring. After that I spent dry days getting her ready for the season and I moved her down river to her seasonal swing mooring on the 10th of April.
I had a day sail on the 14th and we went away for our first weekend on the 18-21st (this weekend to find out what we had forgotten). If was a cold start to the season and only 3 day sails from then to mid May when we had our 2nd weekend. Then when Vicki was away I sailed Elektra to Fowey alone for the SSOA Rally 24-27th May, having engine problems Elektra was left in Fowey for the week and I sailed her home myself on 31st. This passage turned out to be very windy, northwest force 6! Elektra sailed the 24.5nm in just over 4.5hrs with 2 reefs in the genoa and no main, Vicki then joined me aboard for our first warm sunny weather this season. We had the time but the weather just didn’t settle down for the summer, a few nice days and then the wind and rain would return!
We sailed to Scilly on the 24th of June but it was very cold for the time of year (12-14C), we had the cabin heater on most evenings. We returned to the mainland on the 1st of July.
And so this weather continued, we didn’t really get any great summer weather until the end of July, beginning of August. Looking at the forecast I suggested going around the Lizard Point into Mount’s Bay, with little wind and later a wind from the north, seemed like a good idea. We anchored overnight in Coverack, Mullion Cove and at St Michael’s Mount for 3 nights, this was summer, before having to head home to avoid the next southwesterly blow.
By mid August we had only been aboard for one whole week when we went to Scilly, the rest of the sailing had been 3-4 days or day sailing, the season just never settled down into summer. By the end of August I was determined to get a fortnight aboard, the forecast looked good so we sailed east to Fowey, Cawsands, Salcombe for 3 days then west to the Yealm River for 2 days, then west Polgwyn Cove, Precuil River and home before the next strong winds, 12 days, not quite a fortnight but a nice holiday just the same. One last sail to Fowey bought our port hopping to an end mid September. Then another week aboard locally over the first week of October bought our cruising to an end this season, one last day sail and the season was over. Elektra came out of the water for jobs ashore on the 18th of October at Gweek.
“Summer, what summer?”,some might say, but the numbers don’t seem to show a bad summers sailing! It has been our best ever season, the numbers are, we were aboard 87 days, and 59 nights of which 40 nights were at anchor, the new Rocna had proved its worth. We had sailed for 53 days and logged 802nm, over 200nm more than last season and 77nm more than our last best season.
Love Sailing 