Tuesday 2 August 2011 - Tresco, Isles of Scilly to Penzance

A perfect morning with blue skies, light winds and warm.

We slipped our mooring just after 09:30 and headed out of New Grimsby Sound. There was only a light wind and we motor sailed for the first couple of hours, then the wind increased and we were able to sail until we were off Lands End.



The tide off Lands End was at 3 knots against us, a good half a knot higher then predicted.

With a dropping wind, we were forced to start up the engine or we may have finished up in St Ives!



We arrived at Penzance just before 18:00 and the very helpful harbor staff told us to berth next to another yacht which put us 5 boats out from the quay!



We asked if we could have a berth a little closer and they said we could move in the morning along another yacht which would put us just 1 boat out.



After another long day we had evening meal and went to bed.



Wednesday 3 August 2011 - Penzance Harbor.

Penzance is a real harbor and today being Wednesday they load a cargo ship bound for the Isles of Scilly. The cargo ship was not far away from us and the work started at about 6-o-clock am, don't we know it! Then at 06:30 the yacht we were alongside decided he wanted to go, so we were up moving round.



Then at 8-o-clock the yachts in front of us departed, so we moved again into the spot the harbor master said we could have, which makes it a little easier to get ashore.



The weather looked good but the forecast did not and at 10:45 we caught the number 2 bus and headed off to the world famous Saint Michaels Mount.



We arrived just as the causeway linking the mount to the mainland was walkable. We walked over the causeway and up the uneven path and then round the monument which nowadays is ran by the National Trust.



After we stopped at the Godolphin hotel for a late lunch/dinner before returning to Sea Dream.



Throughout the day the dark clouds had moved in along with mist followed by rain.

This bad weather is due to stay until late tomorrow morning, so tomorrow we will stay here in Penzance.

Monday 25 July - Fowey to Falmouth
Up early for the 20 or some mile passage to Falmouth.
As we departed Fowey it was grey there and no wind.
At on point I thought I could see the bottom of the sea, Claire pointed out that there was 35 metres of water under us. It was that calm I could see the grey clouds reflecting off the sea.

Once round Dodman Point we found some wind, but it did not last so back on with the engine.
In the distance we saw some dolphins going in the opposite direction.

We arrived in Falmouth at 12:30 and taking we have done a lot of motoring this trip stopped off at the fuel pontoon and filled up with 35 litres of diesel, that is the amount of fuel we have used since leaving Gosport.

Once clear of the fuel pontoon we found a place in the Yacht Haven and rafted up along side another yacht.

We had a leisurely afternoon looking round Falmouth and ate evening meal onboard.

Tuesday 26 July - Falmouth Yacht Haven
A nice warm sunny day with lots of blue sky although the wind did pick up in the afternoon.
Time for domestic chores and Claire did the laundry and we caught up with some office work.

The boat on the inside of said that he wanted to leave at midday so we have to move to let him out. This meant that we were now alongside the pontoon which makes it easier for Irene to get on and off Sea Dream.

In the evening we ate fish and chips onboard Sea Dream from the local chippy.

Wednesday 27 July - Falmouth Yacht Haven
We have been living onboard for 2 weeks so needed to do some re-provisioning and Claire arranged a shopping trip to the local supermarket.
While Claire was shopping a large catamaran came in and asked if we could move Sea Dream up so he could go behind us. With a little help from yachts around we moved Sea Dream up the pontoon a couple of metres and the catamaran and their friends berthed behind us.

The weather was very similar to Tuesday and we had another relaxing afternoon, watching boats come and go.

In the evening we had been invited round to Keith's (a friend we know in who has a property in Falmouth) for a meal.
We had not seen Keith for about 18 months and spend most of the evening catching up with each other news and what we have all been up to. The biggest surprise for us was when he said that he had sold his 47ft Oyster and was now boatless, but is in negotiation in buying another new one.

Thursday 28 July - Falmouth
The weather looks settled for the next few days, so we have made plans to move on to the Isles of Scilly. After lunch we departed the Yacht Haven and a picked up a mooring buoy. This will make for an easier departure in the morning as we plan to depart Falmouth at 06:00 and with a bit of luck and a good wind we should arrive in the Isles of Scilly around 17:00.

Saturday 23 July - Fowey

Today was RNLI day in Fowey. It was a nice day, with lots of warm sunshine and a few summer clouds.



After blowing up the dinghy, Bob and Claire went for Fowey, leaving Irene onboard Sea Dream.

There was lots of RNLI fund raising activities and it was well supported by locals and holiday makers. At mid-day there was a lifeboat display which involved both the inshore and offshore lifeboats and a RAF helicopter. It all had a serious point to it as well as being entertaining.



In the afternoon we sat on deck watching more and more boat of all sizes arrive, by tea-time Fowey was full with boat rafting up 2 or 3 abreast. We had a Bavaria 36 on the outside of us.



The evening was warm and pleasant, there was a very light breeze and a gentle swell in the harbor and with clear skies a fine sunset.



Sunday 24 July - Fowey

A warm and pleasant day making 23C in the afternoon, but there was a little bit more cloud than yesterday.



Irene went by water taxi to Fowey Quay which cost £4 return, while we went by dinghy for a desert spoon full of petrol!



We meet up at the town quay and had a walk round the shops before having a good Sunday Roast dinner in the 'The King of Prussia'. It was a good roast dinner with all the trimmings.



Afterwards we found a sat on the town quay and watched the world go by while eating an ice cream, well it is Sunday after all!



We eventually returned to Sea Dream for a rest and a nice cup of tea.



Most of the boats had gone, although a large power boat was now behind us.



We were that full from our roast dinner we did not have eat until much later and then only a light tea with sandwiches.

Wednesday 20 July - Salcombe
We woke to find it was a damp overcast day and misty, so we all rolled over and went back to sleep!

We did eventually get up and had somewhat a lazy morning. We had a early lunch before sleeping our mooring and heading off towards Plymouth.

As we departed our mooring the visibility was very poor, but once clear of Salcombe we found a fresh Northeasterly wind and we sailed under the jib all the way to Plymouth.
We arrived in Plymouth Hoe and called up Sutton Marina on the radio and was given a berth A22.
To get into Sutton Marina you have to go through a lock and we just made the inbound lock before the gates closed.

We safely berthed and it was a very pleasant evening, we ate onboard before going for a walk around the Barbican.

Thursday 21 July - Plymouth
What a difference a day makes, we awoke to blue sky, sunshine and it was warm.
But today was a work day as one of our work suppliers is based just outside Plymouth, so we went and visited them for a few hours and returned just after lunch.

Irene had being suffering from deafness, so in the afternoon I took her to a local doctors surgery and they sorted out her ears, while Claire did some domestic chores.

In the evening we ate at The Village Restaurant at the Barbican, which is a Greek style Restaurant which we have eaten in before. The food was very good and the Greek tzatiki for starters and the Moussaka was what you would expect from a first class Greek restaurant.

Friday 22 July - Plymouth to Fowey
Awoken by a small rain shower, not such a nice morning.
We did some shopping and then went for a walk around Plymouth Hoe before returning to Sea Dream.

We prepared Sea Dream for sea and just after mid-day was passing through Sutton Lock and on through Plymouth Sound. There was a power boat going in the opposite direction with something behind it. As we got closer we discovered that they were dolphins jumping out of the water across the power boats wake.

Once clear of Plymouth there was a nice southwesterly wind so we started sailing. Then it started raining and the wind dropped so on with the engine and in with the jib.
It rained for a good couple of hours. The rain stopped and the wind increased from the Northwest and we were able to sail for the last few miles towards Fowey.

There are several visitor pontoons in Fowey and they all had spaces. As we got closer to our chosen pontoon we recognized one of the yachts already moored along side it. It was Eternite (another Bavaria) with Geoff and Janet, they kindly took our lines as we came along side the pontoon.

We had not seen Geoff and Janet (used to sail with us on Bavaria Owner Rallies) for quite a time, so later we met up on Eternite for drinks and a long chat to catch up with their news.

Currently on a very peaceful mooring buoy at the Bag, Salcombe.

Monday 18 July 2011
The weather was still very unsettled and no boats left the marina although 2 French boats arrived.

We spent the morning doing chores like a weeks worth of washing and work, all rather boring.

After lunch we had a walk along side the steam railway line to the higher car ferry where we crossed the river to the Dartmouth side.

We had a look round the shops before stopping for afternoon cream tea at 'The Singing Kettle' all very nice.

We retuned back to Sea Dream via the low car ferry.

In the evening we ate onboard.

Tuesday 19 July 2011
A brighter day and by the time we got up several of our neighbouring yachts had departed and the visitors area look very empty.

Claire went over on the car ferry to Dartmouth for food supplies.
While on the ferry there was a accident. A car at the front of the ferry (right beside Claire)had not put it's hand brake on, moved forward and pined a female foot passenger against the gate. The staff were very helpful. One chap helped the lady off as well as asking the car to pull over to one side. One of the passengers phoned for an ambulance on his mobile. It looked like her leg was caught by the front bumper of the car.

Claire did her shopping and returned a little shaken up from her experience.

After lunch we departed for Salcombe. The wind was northwesterly at 15 knots and we sailed along just under the jib.

After Start Point the wind went round the West and with only the jib we could not make the course we needed to get into Salcombe. When we were only 3 miles to windward from the entrance to Salcombe we put the engine on and motored the rest of the way.

On arrival in Salcombe the Harbour Master met us and allocated up a mooring buoy which is a little bit out of the way and does not have very good TV or mobile phone coverage which makes all for a very peaceful and quiet location.

It was that quiet we all slept until 08:30 Wednesday morning.

Due to bad weather we are still safely secured up in Dart Haven Marina.

Saturday 16 July 2011
A wet and windy day, in the morning we did some admin. Just before lunch a racing yacht tied up along side of us. The crew look wet and shattered as they had raced from Cowes to Dartmouth in a Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) race.

In the afternoon we took the ferry across to Dartmouth and had a good look round and did some provisioning. When we got back to the marina there were several other competitors in the RORC race had arrived.

Just before our evening meal the racing yacht at the side of us departed, heading back towards the Solent. The weather forecast did not look good with strong Westerly winds blowing force 7 to 8 all night and waves 2 metres. We wished them the best of luck.

Sunday 17 July 2011

Sunday was windy with lots of rain showers.

Claire come up with a day trip on a ferry to Greenway House which is opposite Dittisham further up the river.

Greenway House was the holiday home of the writer Agatha Christie and is nowadays ran by the National Trust. The Christie family were avid collectors of books, wooden boxes, porcelain china to name but a few. It also has extensive grounds and walled gardens. The house was given over to the NT by Christie's daughter and grandson but to keep exactly as it was. The NT have spent alot of money refurbishing it and putting everything back as it was. We had a good look round and lunch before returning by ferry to Dartmouth.

In the evening we had homemade pizza onboard Sea Dream and watched the last in the current series of 'The Apprentice'. The right person won!