Day 7. Fri 5 June. Bucklers Hard to Lymington. 9 miles. HW Dover 1027.
The weather wasn't quite as good today - we actually had some clouds! The wind has gone round to the SW, so after motoring down Beaulieu River whilst Bill cooked breakfast, we put up the sails and had to tack down the Solent - the first time on the trip that we had a beat. We soon arrived at Lymington, where the sun came out again, admittedly a bit hazy. Spent the rest of the morning on household chores, laundry cleaning boat etc., before David and Robin arrived at lunchtime.
The new crew went shopping for food, by which time Pat had come to collect Bill.
Day 8. Sat 6 June. Lymington to Weymouth. 42 miles. HW Dover 1109.
Well, it had to happen at some stage. The sky was overcast first thing, although it improved to hazy sun by mid- morning, and the wind was Force 4 to 5 from the East. We left Lymington under engine at 0845, to reach Hurst Narrows at the West end of the Solent at slack water, and have the full ebb tide in our favour.
By 1510, we were tied up in a sheltered corner of The Cove, on the southern bank of the harbour, in a raft outside two local boats, with another visitor outside us. Here we able to listen to the Wessex Folk Festival, and watch the boats on the other side of the harbour surge back and forth in the swell. After a well deserved cup of tea, we strolled round the harbour, and paid our dues at the Harbour Office. I then went down to the Southern Breakwater, to take pictures of the waves breaking over it - by this time the wind had increased to Force 6. On the way back I saw the lifeboat preparing to go out on a shout.
Meanwhile David was back at the boat sketching, and Robin had the kettle on again. Then it started to rain, and continued all evening, so we had supper on board, listened to the fireworks and had an early night.
Day 9. Sun 7 June. Weymouth to Dartmouth 52 miles. HW Dover 1150.
What a difference a night makes! In the morning the sun was shining and there was barely a breath of wind in the harbour, although the forecast was very confused, with a complex low centred over Devon, and winds of virtually every direction being mentioned, usually Force 4-5, accompanied by either rain or showers. After a quick breakfast, we left at 0755, hoisting sails at the entrance, where the wind was S Force 2-3. We tacked down to Portland Bill, helped by a strong south-going tide, and took the inshore passage, some fifty yards off the shore (making sure we could see the top window of the lighthouse over the obelisk in front of it). As we approached the Bill, we hit a strong squall with heavy rain, but the worst was over before we rounded the headland itself at 0950.

We had another squall half an hour later, then the weather was cold and miserable, with a very light wind from the SSW, as we faced the long leg across Lyme Bay. There was no choice but to motor, if we were going to get to the Devon coast at a reasonable hour. After a fortifying lunch of hot soup, the sun came out, and the temperature increased to almost warm. The wind stayed light all afternoon, so we continued to motor-sail, reaching the Mew Stone at the mouth of the Dart at around 1700.
We tied up in Darthaven Marina at 1800, and ate on board - turkey curry, brought by Robin.
Day 10. Mon 8 June. Dartmouth to Plymouth via Salcombe. 42 miles. HW Dover 1228.
The weather today was overcast and showery, with an East wind blowing about F4-5. After a good breakfast, we motored up river until the water ran out, just above Dittisham. The river flows through a steeply sided valley, covered in oak tress down to the water's edge. We saw several herons and egrets in the shallows, as well as an oyster catcher.

Back down to the mouth, where we unfurled the jib, and sailed down to Start Point, with the benefit of a south-flowing tide. Out came the mackerel line, to try to catch supper. There were some interesting overfalls at the point, which made us glad the wind was only force 4, and the sea state only slight. However, this did not stop us getting the mackerel line caught in a lobster pot, so it looks like a hungry evening is in store.
Our original destination was Salcombe, but we had made such easy progress that we went in to the river at about lunchtime. Salcombe has a lovely sandy beach on the side opposite the town, which would be great for swimming or mucking about with boats on a warm sunny day, but had little appeal on a cold wet windy one, so we turned round and took advantage of the easterly wind to continue to Plymouth, because of the amount of shopping we needed, replenish the gas, and to fill up with water - the leak is not cured!
We tied up in QAB at 1730, after considerable difficulty finding the berth due to mishearing the berth number as "I17" rather than "White 17", and not being able to find any pontoon letters. We then walked over the lock into the Barbican (the old part of Plymouth), where we bought the essentials for breakfast, before finding a fish and chip bar for supper. Unfortunately the Smartie Pants ice cream and the Jumping Jelly Baby ice cream were both "off", so we had to make do with ordinary ice cream.
Day 11. Tues 9 Jun. Plymouth to Newton Ferrers. 6 miles. HW Dover 1305.
The weather was much better today, bright with scattered clouds, although still cold, with a light Southerly wind. After a leisurely breakfast, we walked up to the Hoe to look at the bowling green, then topped up on shopping, before returning to the boat for coffee. Then we back-tracked a few miles to the River Yealm (down river and turn left!). We reached the entrance at dead low water, but this was well marked, and straightforward compared with the Deben or Ore. We tied up to the visitors' pontoon, and rowed ashore after lunch for a walk round the village - delightful. Looking at the choice of night life, it was going to be a hard decision between a pub quiz at the Dolphin, or Scottish dancing at the Yealm Yacht Club.

Unfortunately, we had to rule out both of these, because we broke an oar on the way back to the boat - which led to some frantic paddling - me with the remaining oar, and Robin with the centre thwart, whilst David did a sterling job trying to keep the newspaper dry. So the Orwell Oiks were never put to the test, and remain undefeated in pub quizzes, and David had time to get out his painting kit.

Day 12. Wed 10 June. Newton Ferrers to Fowey. 25 miles. HW Dover 1342.
The morning dawned sunny , with a very light wind from the South. We left the pontoon about 0800, and had bacon sandwiches whilst trying to sail across Plymouth Sound, with very little success. So we had to start the engine, leaving the mainsail idly flapping. Off Rame Head, we watched HMS Kent exercising with her lynx helicopter and a couple of ribs.

By 1345 we had arrived in Fowey, and picked up a mooring off the town quay. Robin had been in telephone contact during the day with Peter and Jane Best, from Wrabness, who were heading towards the Scilly Isles, and whom we had been playing leapfrog with all week. After supper, they collected us and towed us ashore, where we had a very pleasant evening at the Fowey Gallants Sailing Club, hearing the history of the Troy class of local keelboats, which we had seen racing earlier in the evening. Then we went back to " Blue Jay" for a nightcap.
Day 13. Thurs 11 June. Fowey to Falmouth. 30 miles. HW Dover 1415.
At 0730 we left the mooring and motored up river to have a look round, before returning to Fowey and going alongside a short-stay pontoon for showers at FGSC, and buying milk and bread for breakfast.
We got under way at 0930, putting the sails up in the river mouth. The wind was force 3 from the South West, so we had our first real beat of the trip. Although the sun was out, it was very cold, so we quickly changed out of shorts into full waterproofs.
A lovely, uneventful sail, where the only real excitement was having to tack to get out of the way of a destroyer as we rounded St Anthony Head on the approach to Falmouth, where we tied up at the Visitor Yacht Haven, right in the town centre, at 1615. We just had time to visit the Bosuns Locker chandlery to try to buy a new oar - the only one they had in stock was not quite right, so we will go back in the morning with the old oar to see whether it was close enough.
Day 14. Falmouth.
Today was "Hunt the Oar Day". The oar in the Bosun's Locker was at least six inches too short, but the staff there were incredibly helpful, ringing round to all the chandleries in the area, to see if they had one in stock. None had, so we were faced with either a wait until Tuesday while they ordered one, or buy an outboard motor - so we have ended up with a 2.3 hp oar! This took most of the morning, so we spent the afternoon in the National Maritime Museum, and intend to spend the evening listening to the International Sea Shanty Festival.