Voyage La Rochelle

Vessel Name: Midnight Blue
Vessel Make/Model: Hunter Legend 27
Hailing Port: Ramsgate
26 June 2013 | Plymouth, devon
25 June 2013 | Fowey, Devon
24 June 2013 | Salcombe
22 June 2013 | Brixham Marina
22 June 2013 | Dartmouth
20 June 2013 | Dartmouth
18 June 2013 | Dartmouth, Devon
17 June 2013 | Salcombe, Devon
16 June 2013 | Salcombe, Devon
14 June 2013 | Portland Marina
12 June 2013 | Portland Marina
12 June 2013 | Portland Marina
12 June 2013 | Lymington Yacht Haven
12 June 2013 | Chichester Harbour
08 June 2013 | Brighton
08 June 2013 | Hotel Du Vin
07 June 2013 | Brighton - Shore leave!
05 June 2013 | Dover Tidal Marina
26 May 2013 | London
Recent Blog Posts
26 June 2013 | Plymouth, devon

Plymouth Mayflower Marina

Starting the return journey with a stop-over in Plymouth. Massive port with many marina's. I need to find a West Country home for Midnight Blue, and if my efforts to get into Dartmouth fail, this is a good back-up location for a while.

25 June 2013 | Fowey, Devon

4 Degrees West

Great sail into Fowey, although still surprisingly heavy seas and a cold wind. Fowey is a real sailing mecca, with us just grabbing the last free swinging mooring close to the town quay. Decided to celebrate the most westward point with a night in the Fowey Hotel, and a great meal in town.

24 June 2013 | Salcombe

To Cornwall

Mike Gill rejoined the team in Brixham, and we decided to abandon all plans to go to either the channel Islands or France on this trip. A shame, but there will be other times. Instead we have decided that Fowey, and possibly even Falmouth will be our farthest destination - taking us into the heady [...]

22 June 2013 | Brixham Marina

Brixham

Single-handed daysail from Dartmouth around Berry Head to Brixham.

22 June 2013 | Dartmouth

Dartmouth Yacht Club Moorings

Time to move out of Dart Marina and the old people's home / hotel onto the more basic pontoon in front of Dartmouth Yacht Club - reserved for boats under 30'. No power or water, but a great location in town looking out to the Dart Estuary.

20 June 2013 | Dartmouth

Dart Marina

Checked into to The hotel at the swanky Dart Marina complex, where we also moored Midnight Blue Apparently the second most expensive marina in the country. No entirely sure on what basis it can justify this. The hotel is pretty good, but seems to have attracted a niche audience of 70+ year olds. [...]

Plymouth Mayflower Marina

26 June 2013 | Plymouth, devon
Paul F4/5 / Sun / Cloud
Starting the return journey with a stop-over in Plymouth. Massive port with many marina's. I need to find a West Country home for Midnight Blue, and if my efforts to get into Dartmouth fail, this is a good back-up location for a while.

Also the point to bid farewell to Mike, who has been with me for most of the journey. New crew member Tal Adams arrives for the last few days of La Voyage on Monday.

4 Degrees West

25 June 2013 | Fowey, Devon
Paul F4/5 / Sun / Cloud
Great sail into Fowey, although still surprisingly heavy seas and a cold wind. Fowey is a real sailing mecca, with us just grabbing the last free swinging mooring close to the town quay. Decided to celebrate the most westward point with a night in the Fowey Hotel, and a great meal in town.

A beautiful town, in a dramatic setting. Possibly a bit over touristed for my taste though.

To Cornwall

24 June 2013 | Salcombe
Sun / Cloud F4/5
Mike Gill rejoined the team in Brixham, and we decided to abandon all plans to go to either the channel Islands or France on this trip. A shame, but there will be other times. Instead we have decided that Fowey, and possibly even Falmouth will be our farthest destination - taking us into the heady space of 4 Degrees West!

However, after a slow start against the tide we decided to break the journey with another stop-over in Salcombe, and another visit to Dick & Wills restaurant.

Our evening slot at Whitestrands pontoon was available. And after another heart breakfast in Captain Morgan's, along with taking on fuel at the barge, we headed off west.

Brixham

22 June 2013 | Brixham Marina
Paul F4 / Sun / Cloud
Single-handed daysail from Dartmouth around Berry Head to Brixham.

All went well in 15/20 kt winds, until as I got to Torbay, the auto-pilot failed due to low battery. Made fendering up and preparing mooring lines a bit difficult - but at least the engine started. Brixham is a quite attractive and welcoming marina.

Batteries have been a concern (not fully charging) for a few days now, so I'm going to replace them.

Brixham as a place has a sort of rough charm - the fishing fleet here is one of the biggest left in the UK. All the meals I had reflected the quality of the raw materials.

Dartmouth Yacht Club Moorings

22 June 2013 | Dartmouth
Paul F4 / Fog
Time to move out of Dart Marina and the old people's home / hotel onto the more basic pontoon in front of Dartmouth Yacht Club - reserved for boats under 30'. No power or water, but a great location in town looking out to the Dart Estuary.

Had 1/2 a day 'Own Boat Tuition' with local instructor Charley Boreman. Conditions were blustery and visibility very poor - but we did manage to get the cruising chute up. He also did a brilliantly simple and elegant job of mooring Midnight Blue on just two warps. Will do a follow-up with him when next in town.

Dart Marina

20 June 2013 | Dartmouth
Paul Sunny /F4
Checked into to The hotel at the swanky Dart Marina complex, where we also moored Midnight Blue Apparently the second most expensive marina in the country. No entirely sure on what basis it can justify this. The hotel is pretty good, but seems to have attracted a niche audience of 70+ year olds. The most popular time for dinner in the restaurant is 6.00PM.

Mike is off to a wedding in Poland for a few days, so I will either try and arrange some sailing lessons or do some single-handed trips.

About & Links