Having been in the Precuil River for 4 nights, l was wanting to move somewhere else but the forecasters just couldn’t make up their mind, on Thursday they said light northerly for Saturday but by Friday morning it was looking like strong northerly becoming an easterly. But by evening back to the previous forecast.
I think l was just fed up waiting, so decided to set off and go to Polkerris early on Saturday. And so l pulled up the dinghy onto the davits and when l went to bed set the alarm for 0430hrs. It made me think of Vicki, she would have hated to get out so early.
When the alarm went off in the morning, l got out and had my normal breakfast of pot of tea and dish of muesli, watching the dawn coming. With the updated forecast of north force 4-5 decreasing north force 2-3 later. I pulled up the anchor 0610hrs and raised the main before motoring Elektra down river to St Mawes.
Out off St Mawes harbour l stopped her engine and sailing just on her mainsail out around Zone Point, after the main gibed over l pulled out the genoa and we set off at over 5kts towards Dodman Point 10nm away. The wind was variable northwest then north and some of the time force 4 and some force 3, it wasn’t easy sailing as one minute not enough wind and the next too much wind, kept reefing and then letting it out again and then reefing again! Then when we arrived at the Dodman Point, it dies away altogether! Next minute it’s a head wind a northeast force 4, at which point l got fed up and started Elektra’s engine and motored on into it! I continued to motor her across St Austell Bay and has the sea eased getting closer to shelter, l let her mainsail down and roughly tied it to the boom. Motoring into Polkerris anchorage and dropped her anchor at 1030hrs having logged 21nm.
Having done the jobs, l retired to the cabin and went fast asleep 😴 until 1230hrs.
When l arrived Elektra was the only boat, by 1500hrs there were 11 boats anchored around and hundreds of people on the beach!
I was still looking at the forecast, it was now saying, strong northerly from from 1600hrs, then about 3 days of little or no wind. I thought l could just go back today. But the wind didn’t change until 1730hrs, but l waisted no time lifting the dinghy back on your it’s davits and quickly pulled up Elektra’s anchor and headed back out of Polkerris. It was a great sail across St Austell Bay to Yaw buoy but as Elektra slowed near the Dodman Point, l started her engine for additional speed, and once past the Dodman Point continued to motor sail because by then l was worried about it getting dark and not seeing the many pot markers in and around Zone Point just before turning into the Carrick Roads. At Zone Point l rolled away her genoa and motored her into the Precuil River, dropping anchor at 2200hrs having again logged 21nm. In some ways it gad been a stupid day, but at least l had my fix in the form if some very good sailing.
Grab something to eat, and then bed! Tomorrow l am going to sleep in!
Love Sailing 