With needing to be home for a number of things during the week and fitting sailing also around the strong winds forecast, l only managed to get out for a day sail on Saturday.
I needed to get down to St Anthony by 0900hrs before the tide went out. A few other boat owners had the same idea and we all made our escape from St Anthony soon after each other. Once out aboard Elektra, there wasn’t any hurry to leave. The forecast was northwest force 4 to 5, decreasing to force 4 later. I had a bit of washing up which l had forgotten to do before I left Elektra last Tuesday, once done l got Elektra ready to leave..
Gillan was calm, no hint of wind when l dropped her mooring at 1005hrs, but with the forecast l decided only to set Elektra’s genoa. What followed was an exciting sail across Falmouth Bay only slowing as Elektra got into the shelter of Pendennis Point. Then going north up the Carrick Roads Elektra was sailing against the out going spring tide but still logging 4.5kts SOG. I have a rule to say in the channel north of St Just in Roseland 2hrs either side of low water spring tides and there’s also a shallow area south of St Just and being inside the time l needed to keep clear of it. I was considering tacking west as Elektra approached from the south. But then the wind altered a little and l could point Elektra better and if the angle held she would sail past the edge of the shallows. Which is what happened with as little as 1.4m under her keels. Another yacht had come out of Falmouth with 2 reefs in both her mainsail and genoa, she was much bigger but almost sailing at the same speed.
I continued to sail Elektra into the entrance of the deep channel west of St Just, there l started her engine and rolled away her genoa to motor northwest up the channel. The other thing decided to short tack up the channel. I had to stop and wait for her to cross back after her first tack, but had motored Elektra far enough northwest northwest not to be affected by later tacks.
I motored into Channels Creek and dropped anchor at 1205hrs having logged 8.5nm. I stayed there until 1430hrs when l pulled the anchor. There was so much tide coming in against that l just had to motor Elektra south until l got her out of the shelter. Once back into the wind, l set her genoa again for the passage south.
It probably would have been better to have more sail for down the Carrick Roads, as it took 1.25hrs to get back south to Pendennis Point. But once clear of the points shelter l was glad that l hadn’t pulled up the mainsail as Elektra was healed over hard and logging 5-6kts. I picked up her mooring in Gillan at having logged 16.5nm for the day.
