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.

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.