Up at Dawn

I frequently read photographic magazines and they talk about the wonderful light at dawn. Unfortunately, my body clock was not very happy when I get up at 5:00 am to try this idea out for myself. Anyway, I managed to get up on the Hoe very early. There were still some people around who had obviously not gone to bed on Saturday evening and were still up and around making a noise. I took several photographs on the Hoe and then some more down near the Barbican. I hope that you like the results.

Back in Plymouth

Returned to Plymouth last night and decided to go for a walk locally this afternoon. Not very much to see but we did manage to find a lovely little harbour and slipway. It looked as though it had not changed for centuries and probably hadn't – although the boats had. It was great to see people messing about in boats in the sunshine after such a lot of rain lately.

Waiting for a Truck to Plymouth

Jomima is at present out of the water so that I can do some jobs on her hull. So far, she is anti-fouled and the hull is polished. I have also replaced the anodes and cleaned the propellers and rudders - she has two of each. She is scheduled to be moved by truck to Plymouth, Devon on 6 April 2009. If the weather is suitable then I may start the long job of polishing her top sides before she goes. Otherwise that will have to wait until she is in the water.

Once she is in the water I will service the engines. This is quite a big job because they are big engines. I have 25 liters of oil ready along with various impellers and filters. Let's hope that the sun shines this summer and we can enjoy our cruising in 2009.

A Family Visit

It is always a pleasure to be visited by friends and family. Usually these things have to be arranged well in advance and the weather is not always very kind. However today the sun shone and the wind stayed away – which is the way that we like it. My sister and her family have not been to sea on Jomima before. As we discovered they have not actually been to sea on a boat of this size before so time was spent, at an early stage, choosing life jackets! Fortunately, we were able to find a sheltered spot in Cawsands Bay where we were able to drop the hook for lunch. This proved a slight challenge for queasy stomachs when water skiers rocked our boat, occasionally, but the family got used to the conditions and appeared to enjoy the experience. This was followed by a trip up the River Tamar where the navy had laid on a good show of submarines, an aircraft carrier, and some escort vessels. It is good to see that we still have some naval hardware left despite the general comments in the press.

Plymouth

Early morning in Fowey a pair of swans and five cygnets greeted us! I am not sure how many youngsters a pair of swans manage to raise each year but this is certainly the most that I have ever seen together. After a leisurely breakfast, we decided that the weather and tides were OK for us to motor to Plymouth. We normally cruise at 10 – 12 knots because it is relaxing and we save fuel. At that speed, we achieve about 2 mpg, which compares with only1 mpg when we cruise at 20 knots – which is about 80% of maximum speed. The entrance to Plymouth harbour gets relatively narrow when you enter from the west particularly when faced by a very large naval ship that has decided to speed up and leave. It is at those moments that I am grateful for Jomima’s ability to accelerate quickly to 23 knots to get out the way.

Leaving Brixham

When we go on holiday in Jomima, we do actually plan where we want to go. However, firstly, the most important thing is safety and secondly we want to enjoy the journey. As a result we rarely actually manage to get to all of the places we plan to visit. This week we plan to travel to the Scilly Isles, from Brixham, in three steps. So far this week we have sat in Brixham waiting for suitable weather and tides. We do not do winds of force four or above and try to avoid white horses. By that, I mean waves that are breaking rather than the four-legged kind although, in my case, I avoid those as well! Today we actually made it, as planned, to the river Yealm East of Plymouth that is straddled by Newton Ferrers & Noss Mayo. We also managed to round Start Point without any excitement. It is a particularly unfriendly piece of rock, which sticks out into the English Channel between Dartmouth and Salcombe. Our worst memory of the sea happened here - before we learnt that the wind blowing against a strong tide leads to the contents of the galley being strewn all over the inside of the boat by the violent motion of the sea. In addition, the pilot and crew tend to look a little ashen on arrival.