Frankly, the night anchored off Lundy was miserable. Eowyn rolled in the mild swell all night. It never felt unsafe, just very, very uncomfortable. I woke about every hour. That, of course, meant I struggled to get moving in the morning. The one other boat in the anchorage - also a single hander - was getting ready to go at the same time as me. Her skipper and I exchanged greetings and agreed it had been a miserable night.

Ironically, despite the all-night swell, there wasn't much wind. But there was also no rush - I couldn't get into Padstow until evening, as it's tidally restricted. The wind was dead aft, and once clear of Lundy, I set the sails “goose winged” - main to one side and headsail the other. I also rigged a preventer - a line from the end of the boom to the foredeck, to prevent an accidental gybe. The wind came and went quite a bit, and I gybed intentionally a few times, trying to keep reasonably close the course but also keep the sails full. Eventually I gave up and furled both sails and put the engine on. Then later, when some wind returned, just set the headsail and finished up the passage under sail doing pretty well up to Newland island, just off the north of Padstow Bay. There the wind failed altogether, so I motored the last couple of miles into the bay. At this point there was enough water to cross the Doom Bar (a sand bar, named from the Old English “dunne” meaning sand) and enter the River Camel, but not enough to get into the harbour. So I picked up a likely looking mooring - at the second attempt. The tide was running at over 3kts making it quite a challenge!

When the tide had risen sufficiently, and after a couple of radio exchanges with the berthing master to get my instructions clear, I entered the harbour. No problem finding my assigned berth - just with getting the holiday makers to take in their crabbing lines so I could tie up without getting string wrapped around my prop! Eventually they pulled them in, but no-one would take a line. Fortunately there was no wind or tide, so I got Eowyn into position and was just contemplating climbing the ladder with a couple of lines, when the skipper of a nearby yacht came to my aid and took the lines. Later, as I went about adjusting things a different holidaymaker was quite keen to help, making it considerably easier to get long lines rigged.

Mooring against the harbour wall, outside large piles, meant I had to use one piece of equipment for the first time. The observant among you may have wondered what the plank of wood stored on the bow of the boat is for. It's not a plank for pirate punishments, nor a gang plank, but a fender board. It hangs outside a pair of fenders, against the vertical pile of wood holding the quay wall. It ensures that as the boat moves forward and back, there's always fenders holding her off the quay.

I got everything sorted, and settled in for a few days of relaxation in sunny weather. At the weekend, my friend Nick will join me for a few days, as we head around Land's End and up the channel towards home.

<a href=“https://saillogger.com/log/02148”>Log of this passage</a>