After a night at anchor, l woke early and having looked at the weather apps decided to move Elektra the 3/4 mile down stream to Place on the then high water. So once dressed, l started her engine, switched on her instruments and untied her tiller before walking up onto the bow to pull up her anchor. Today’s forecast was for little or no wind but Wednesday and Thursday was showing strong southwest winds.
I motored Elektra down river quite slowly though the moorings, l wasn’t in any hurry. Motoring into Place, l was looking for a level hard bottom to dry Elektra out on. Once happy l dropped anchor with 1.4m under her keels. Then a light breakfast to take my tablets. I hadn’t noticed Elektra’s touchdown until l got up from breakfast, hard ground yes but not level, she was listening to port on the bottom part of the beach. Not a problem but not comfortable either. Anyway clearing away the dishes and doing some other jobs during the morning before locking up and getting down into the dinghy before the tide had completely gone.
I had found a new use for my broken telescopic boat hook. I had by then replaced it with a nice new one, having lost the hook and the end section of the pole in the Exe River earlier in the season. But while l was home having taken the outboard back to reclean the water system. And the broken boat hook was sitting there on the bench! I used to have a while plastic waste pipe doing the same job but that was lost in the Yealm River during the gales of September 2025 when the dinghy was spinning on the end of the painter and ended upside down more than once. So carefully removing the clamps, nuts and bolts for spares, l used the handle section as the extension outboard handle. Trying out my new handle on the way across the river to St Mawes. I came into the free harbour steps (lots of visitors use the pontoon and get charged a fee).
I went into the Rising Sun for a pub lunch, l do enjoy a Men-dhu stout. The last time l had a pub lunch here was with my wife Vicki just days before she was rushed to hospital. I had avoided going back in here for lunch because of it, all season. Having a pub lunch here was a little luxury we allowed ourselves a few times during our sailing seasons, normally we would eat aboard.
After lunch, l was going for a walk but having only walked a few hundred yards, l looked at the tides and thought l could get back to Elektra before it goes completely out, so turned around and pulled the dinghy down to the water. Motoring back out across the river l had timed it very well, just landing on the bottom of the beach before the tide disappeared over the level mud/stone.
Although Elektra was listing, she was solid on the ground, and safe to move about her as needed. So l did a few job and then started cleaning her freeboard, Elektra had been a bit neglected since the winter 2024-25 when l had her polished up lovely. Until the fire of that year when she had been towed three times and her freeboard had suffered fender marks which l hadn’t removed last winter because it rained almost nonstop from being November to end February.
Then as the incoming tide allowed, l moved the dinghy over and tied to Elektra’s stern and climbed aboard. Later once floating again l moved her out a little to land next tide on level ground. Then l settled down for the evening and listened to the radio.
Love Sailing 