Love Sailing

Sunday 9th June

There was no hurry to get back to Gillan as the tide wasn’t going to be high enough to get in until 1900hrs, just as well after a busy week at work we both slept in until 1030hrs! Its only when aboard I can truly relax, if we stay home there is always work of repair jobs on machinery to do.

Vicki cooked breakfast and we sat and enjoyed until it was time for me to do the washing up, after that was done we sat and read for a bit, time to leave seemed to come round all to quickly. Just before leaving Jake came over in his Hurley 22 to say hello, I had taken a few photos of his H22 a few weeks earlier, the suggestion was to sail together for sailing photos.

At 1430hrs I lifted the anchor, up with it came a plastic fish box and a pile of seaweed, which took a bit of clearing before motoring down the river. Once out off St Mawes I set the main and a reefed genoa on a port tack, the wind seemed to be south-southeast force4 which gave us quite a good line towards Helford River. Jake had a head start but Elektra was faster so was catching up quickly, I unrolled all our genoa and Elektra’s SOG was 5.5kts. As we got closer I got the camera out and stared shooting. We slowly passed Jake and sailed off leaving him behind.

About 1.5nm south of Pendennis Point the wind changed to southwest force3 and we changed onto a starboard tack, we were now heading south-southeast for another 1.5nm. When the wind changed again to a northerly force3-4 and we could sail on a broad reach into Gillan. We moored up at 1600hrs having logged 7nm in 1.5hrs. There we stayed with the tide out, had a late lunch and sat in the sunshine until we could go ashore at 1900hrs.

Saturday 8th June

On Thursday evening I moved Elektra up Carne Creek because of forecasted strong northeast wind. On Saturday before work I moved her back to her mooring.

After a wet week at work on Saturday I still needed to do some s-trimming but my brush-cutter had been playing up, I had taken it to my garden machinery guy to look at on Friday and he got it working again but first job on Saturday it wouldn’t start again! After coming home and ringing around for a new machine it seemed I wouldn’t be able to pick up until Monday.

The time was now 1145hrs. As no work could be done we decided to go sailing instead, looking quickly at the tide tables we needed to leave St Anthony beach before 1330hrs, I needed a shower and bags needed to be packed, we rushed around to get out the door in time, I filled a 25lt of drinking water and we made it to St Anthony in time.

Down at St Anthony as we were getting ready to leave there was another chap who had a 10ft dinghy with a little 2-3hp 2 stroke motor. We loaded up our 12ft RIB and headed, a while later the chap in the dinghy with dog headed out of Gillan, the wind was gusting westerly force 6, I thought he might not like it coming back in later, just out off the Dennis Head his engine cut out and he started paddling for the south shore of the Helford River, once closer in he paddled along the shore back into Gillan, that’s one way of getting a work out!

Shortly after seeing him make his way back into Gillan we dropped our mooring and headed out into Falmouth Bay, I set a the genoa only with 2 reefs and we were soon logging 5kts SOG, the forecast was west 4 gusting 6 and Helford River looked full of white horses looking west as we crossed the mouth of the river. Once into the shelter of Rosemullion Head the wind eased a bit and I unrolled the genoa a bit more. Seeing the rain over Falmouth sent me below for our coats but I am glad to say most of the heavy rain was blown though with the wind before we got into it. Crossing Falmouth Bay the wind eased a bit more and I let out all the genoa. The wind speed increased again as we entered St Mawes and our SOG with it to 6kts, we thought that a little to fast for going up the river though the mooring so I rolled the genoa and motored instead.

Up in the Precuil River there was a big Royal Navy yacht (white ensign) feeling her way up river. We soon came up on her from behind, now just a hour to low water there was very little depth left, we motored into the pool and dropped anchor staying out of their way. Not liking the shallow water the yacht reversed out and turned around before straying out of the channel and going aground, here they stayed stuck for 2hrs until the incoming tide re-floated them.

We had done the 7.5nm in 1hr 20mins from mooring to dropping anchor.

Saturday 1st June

After a hard week catching up with work after taking bank holiday Monday off, the earliest we could get out to Elektra again was Saturday. The tide was falling and we needed to leave St Anthony beach before 0830hrs, so we decided on breakfast aboard.

Today was the start of the AZAB race from Falmouth and we thought we would go and watch the start but there seemed very little wind! We motored Elektra out of Gillan and set all the sail with 2-3kts of wind we were logging 1.5-2kts SOG, we might have continued to try to sail but after 1.25hrs we had logged just 2nm and when I looked at the chart-plotter we were going backwards! That was enough of that, I started the engine and we motored back to our mooring having logged 2.5nm.

There we sat for the rest of the day enjoying the sunshine and our surroundings. I played with my new camera, filming yachts and dinghies as they came and went. The forecast for Sunday was wet so at around 1700hrs we came ashore and went home.

Monday 27th May

After a lovely weekend in Fowey talking with all the other Sadler and Starlight owners and crew it was time to leave and get back to work. A few had left on Sunday but the headwind looked less for us on Monday. The forecast was for the northwest force 4 to pick up and backing to west by midday, the tide stream for what it was worth (neaps) was with us from 0330-0930 so we had decided to try to leave around 0530hrs.

We cast off at 0545hrs just after Dean in his S29 who was heading east for Salcombe. It was a lovely sail for us south-west to the Dodman Point but the wind was on the nose from there so we motor-sailed, it was very cold and I had wrapped up in full waterproofs and Vicki sat next to the engine at the chart table keeping warm. As we neared the Roseland I decided to close in on St Anthony Lt so it would allow us to sail across Falmouth Bay on a better angle to the wind.

This we did and then set sail across the bay with a reefed main and only about a 3rd of the genoa out, healing a little bit more than I would have liked but handling it well, the wind was WNW 22-25kts and Elektra was sailing at over 6kts SOG. As we got into the shelter of the Dennis Head we started the engine turned into wind we rolled and lowered the sails, motoring into Gillan and picking up the mooring at 1045hrs.

Once back on the mooring we had a few jobs to do and it was nearly 1400hrs before we were ready to go ashore.

Sunday 19th May

The forecast was north-northwest 4-5 for our sail back to Gillan.

We lifted our anchor at 1500hrs and set just the genoa to sail south down the Carrick Roads, the wind was due north and Elektra was logging 4-5 knots SOG into the 3rd hour of the incoming spring tide. It was lovely to sit back and watch the dinghy racing as we passed by.

Nearing Black Rock we saw another Sadler and took some photos. The wind died away a bit as we sailed pass Pendennis Point but once out in Falmouth Bay again the wind was back. We picked up our mooring at 1645hrs having logged 8.5nm.

Saturday 18th May

We like to anchor as much as possible, apart from most of the time we are anchoring for free, we also like finding new out of way places. Over the years we have spent over 250 nights on our anchor, our last yacht had a Danforth which seemed to hold very well most of the time. One time we had to move just before a gale because another yacht was to close, the wind already blowing force 7, we found a space and dropped again, our anchor dug in, in its own length and held though the gale.

But one night we dragged it into deeper water, it was the change of motion which awoke me and I got out to have a look, sticking my head out the companion way hatch I could see we were moving so quickly got dressed and started the engine before pulling our anchor back aboard. With Vicki on the helm we relayed the anchor, I watched for a while to check we were holding before going back to bed.

Elektra came with a CQR anchor and replacing it was one of my first jobs as we have seen other yachts drag them loads of times. This time we bought a Bruce claw anchor because I had seem them dig themselves in right down to the shank. This anchor had also held Elektra the 80 nights without any problems since we bought her in 2016. I normally have taken some transits to make sure we are not dragging.

We had dropped anchor on Friday evening just after high water and she had been fine though the night, still good though the day but on the evening high water Elektra dragged into deep water, I was sitting in the cockpit reading when I noticed I could see the first visitor pontoon which had been out of sight, looking around at my transits I said to Vicki “we are dragging” “are you sure?” “Yes!” After turning on the depth, chart plotter and starting the engine, I went up onto the bow but couldn’t pull chain aboard by hand so came back to the cockpit for the winch handle for the windless. The windless lifted the chain well and once the anchor was out of the water. there in the claw of the anchor was a huge rock. it was all I could do to tip the anchor to let the rock drop out.

It was easy to see now, the anchor had hooked the rock which didn’t let the anchor dig in so at high water and the offshore breeze the anchor must have slid along the bottom and into deep water. We like our Bruce anchor but never say never when it comes to talking which anchor type is best.

We anchored again for another night with out any problems.

Sunday 5th May

With a forecast of variable 1-3 the passage back to Gillan wasn’t looking that good. The plan was to leave at 1100hrs and we would have been on time if only we could have broken the anchor out easier, it turned out to be very good holding, a sort of clay/sand. After motoring over the anchor twice it broke free and came up full of bottom which then took a bit more dunking to clean. We got away at 1115hrs and motored south to try to get a good line to the Dodman Point in the wind which was from the south to start with.

When we started sailing in looked like we had a good line to the Dodman north of the Yawl Rock but unknowing to us at the time there was another area of mussel buoys on that line off Mevagissey, on reaching them we tacked to the southeast until we could tack again towards the Dodman on a line south of the Yewl Rock, we were logging 3-4kts but it seemed to take an age to get to the Dodman Point. We were met by a large sailing race (30-40 yachts all sizes) coming from west heading to Fowey. I was thinking the wind would be better west of the Dodman but this wasn’t the case as the wind moved around to the south-southwest, later into the southwest and was very light. It had turned very cold (colder than I had been since Elektra’s delivery passage in March 17) and I had full waterproofs to try to stay warm, Vicki had gone below to warm up by the engine box.

After a while I decided to motor-sail and when we reached the Roseland we rolled the genoa and motored, we got into Gillan at 1630hrs having logged 28nm.

We stopped aboard for a snack and coffee before heading for home and wood-burner about at 1800hrs

Saturday 4th May

After a lovely sheltered night at anchor and a lazy breakfast, the wind had swung into the east and small white horses had started to roll into the cove, the cove had started to get lumpy. Now nearing low water I checked the sounder which said we only had 1m under the keel, I decided it was time to move.

We picked up the anchor at 1130hrs and motored out of the cove past Black Head towards Polkerris. we knew there were mussel buoys in the centre of St Austell Bay but we didn’t know what area they covered. The wind turned out to be from the southeast, no wonder Polgwyn Cove had got lumpy.

Arriving at 1215hrs having logged 4nm and anchoring of Polkerris a RIB zoomed out of the cove and said there was going to be a paddleboard race starting and could we move 20m to the north, so we did as asked.

We went ashore in the dinghy before the race started. Polkerris was one of those places we always had planned to visit but this was our first out of 14 seasons of cruising. What a lovely place with a nice inn serving food and also a Sams fish house, we looked at the menus, not being very fishy we booked a table at the Inn for an evening meal and sat back and enjoyed a lunch time pint.

Back aboard Elektra I fell asleep in the cockpit, it being quite hot in the sunshine out of the wind. The wind blew from the north about force 4, three more yachts had arrived when I woke up. one left again soon after. A bigger yacht possibly a fin keeler moved out to deeper water which off Polkerris was a long way out. We were still floating with about 0.5m under the keel at low water

After a lovely meal ashore we came back aboard and started the engine to start the cabin heater, still cool in the evenings, once the heater was running hot the engine was stopped and we opened a bottle of red and played Scrabble.