Herm

The weather forecast last night was for rain but this morning it said sunshine. I’ll take today’s forecast thank you. Jeff, Gerry, Ann and I rushed around and managed to just catch the 10:30 ferry (we are on holiday) to Herm. We could have gone in one of our own boats but:

A) The tides are massive (10M) and somebody would have had to have stayed on board to move the boat as the tide went out.

B) There are many rocks in the water just below the surface and you need to take great care when moving between islands.

We arrived at the very small picturesque harbour and decided to walk around the island. It can be done in two hours but we took a leisurely five hours, including a stop for lunch. The beaches were clean and uncrowded. The sea was crystal clear. It was a delightful way to spend the day before catching the ferry back to Guernsey.

Jeff's Birthday

One of the reasons that we headed to Jersey was to meet up with Jeff & Gerry, with their boat Virginia Lady, also from the Broom Owners Club. Once the water level had risen about 2m above the sill we were able to enter the harbour at St Peter Port and moor alongside Virginia lady, another Broom 38. We then discovered that it was Jeff’s birthday and headed into the town for a meal. Good company, good food and wine – what more could you want after a very tiring day navigating through fog.

Dartmouth to Guernsey

The fridge arrived on Thursday – damaged. The replacement arrived late Friday and I managed to fit it that afternoon. Adjusting the door so that the hinges were on the left took longer than actually fitting the fridge in place. As soon as I was able to confirm that we had cold storage again, Ann visited Sainsbury’s and stocked up.

The weather forecast for Saturday was for fine weather, little wind, some mist and calm seas. We decided to head for Guernsey and left our berth in Dartmouth at 10:30 am. The course was SE for 75 nautical miles. I had deliberately plotted a route that took us near the Channel Light Vessel (CLV). It is reassuring, when all you can see is sea, to be able to view the CLV fixed in the middle of the Channel – just to confirm that you are actually on course. With the radar on we crossed the end of the first section of traffic lanes and several large ships passed us by, through the mist, with visibility at about 2 miles. The CLV appeared through the mist and we began to realise that the mist had turned to fog. We now had to cross the second traffic lane with visibility at about 75 yards. At this point you realise that the money you have spent on expensive radar and a chart plotter was a good investment, because that is what you have to trust your life to under these conditions. We were 30 miles from Guernsey. Ann watched the radar and warned me when any of the very large and fast ships approached from the west. I steered by means of the compass and chart plotter, kept my eyes and ears open for other shipping and my hands on the throttles. All around us was complete whiteness. There was no horizon or anything to steer by. It is amazing how much you miss the sun and clouds which, without thinking about it, reassure you that you are on a steady course.

This situation lasted for a very long hour. After we cleared the traffic lanes we were less likely to be mown down by a ship considerably larger than us. Eventually the mist cleared and we could see land on the radar. Once we spotted the NE corner of Guernsey we were able to relax a bit. Then, after carefully navigating the channel into St. Peter Port harbour, we were able to tie up to a pontoon and have a well earned break to wait for the tide to come in so that we could enter the harbour.

Finch's Foundry & Rosemore

Back down in Dartmouth again, waiting for the new fridge to be delivered (promised today but I am not holding my breath). Weather forecast good today, but poor tomorrow, so go out today and fit fridge tomorrow. Decided to visit Finch’s Foundry (National Trust) this morning and Rosemore Gardens (RHS) this afternoon. Photographically they were both an experience. The water powered drop forge showed how spades and scythes were made in the 19th century. They were having problems with the building falling to bits because of the vibration from the hammer.
We have been to Rosemore gardens before and they are always a pleasure. My feet gave out before Ann’s did but most enjoyable. As we drove back to Dartmouth I received a message saying that the fridge had arrived – so I know what I am doing tomorrow.

Britannia Royal Naval College

High on a hill above Dartmouth, Britannia Royal Naval College has been training Royal Naval officers on this site since 1905. In fact, naval officers' training in Dartmouth goes back to 1863, when the old wooden wall HMS Britannia was first moored in the River Dart. The job has always been the same and is now encapsulated, as you might expect, in a mission statement:

“To deliver courageous leaders with the spirit to fight and win”

The Queen met Prince Phillip here during a visit made by the very young Princes Elizabeth. He was then a dashing young Naval Cadet: Phillip of Greece.

The whole place was steeped in history and obviously still provides excellent training for the cadets that are lucky enough to be able to attend courses here. The view, out to sea past Dartmouth, from the parade ground, was magnificent.

Stoke Gabriel

Today is my birthday. I don’t particularly like getting older but I did get some excellent presents this year – mainly to do with photography. The filters that I received I used to hold back the sky (a graduated filter) on the above shot. While I was setting up the tripod etc., typically, Ann got talking to the people that owned the yacht that is to the left of the picture. Yes, the figure in red is Ann climbing onto the yacht having already been invited on board during the brief period that it took me to set up my camera. I quite like the perspective of the pontoon where all of the dinghies are moored.

Dartmouth

The weather forecast was not good so we decided to move on to Dartmouth where we knew we should be able to get a marina mooring. If it is going to rain then it is better to have electricity and be able to get off the boat without a very wet ride in the tender.
There is always plenty to do in Dartmouth and once the rain stopped then the light was wonderful and I was able to take some great photographs of the view from the boat. We actually moored in Kingswear which is on the other side of the river to Dartmouth. This has advantages because it means that you can look at Dartmouth in the sun in the morning and then enjoy the sun shining on Kingswear in the afternoon.

Salcombe

After a couple of days in Newton Ferrers we decided to progress eastwards to Salcombe. It is only about 20 miles away so we waited until the tide was heading in that direction and for sufficient water to be over the bar at Salcombe to make entrance easy even if there were some waves at the entrance. We followed a fishing boat in and admired the splendid view of the hillside as we made our way into the harbour. Unfortunately, as usual, all of the mooring buoys (there are no marinas) were occupied and we were directed to one of the larger ones in the middle of the bay. This was already occupied by a Broom 42 which sadly decided to run their generator for several hours that evening.
Mooring against other boats is always a bit of an adventure. We have sometimes made new friends but only very occasionally have we had any problems. To be fair, they did switch their generator off when we complained.

Newton Ferrers

We have finally decided to leave Mayflower Marina and Plymouth for pastures new. Our first port of call was Newton Ferrers, which is one of our favourite spots on the whole of the Devon and Cornwall coast. We have been stranded there for days by bad weather and that was not a problem.
If the tide is in, it is possible to take your tender right up to the village and moor at the yacht club or public slip way. However, if you want to spend any time there, it is best to moor your tender at the jetty at Yealm Steps and enjoy the creek side walk down the lower path and admire the pastel painted Devon cottages with their gardens down to the water. There are a few local shops including a Co-op, Chemist and post office. But, if like me, you have a thirst after your walk then The Dolphin Inn is difficult to beat. Recently listed, by a well known yachting magazine, as one of the 40 best sailors’ pubs in the country, it is well worth a visit. There is a good choice of local beers and an impressive restaurant menu with fresh local food listed on the chalk board inside.