A quick roundup of the last few days, getting ready in St Germans and on to Plymouth for some rig checks.
Q. What’s the first thing you do when you get on board a boat you’ve just bought?
A. Get your mate Will to cut some massive holes in it…
Day 1 – frantic boat prep and a gentle drift down the river
Amongst a few key things to sort before we set off was putting in a pair of new hatches for the cockpit lockers. Will, a pro carpenter did it brilliantly. And they got a good old sluicing in the choppy seas on day 2 so I’m glad we did it!
I’ll be honest and say it’s been pretty frenetic getting everything ready, even with massive support from Matt who was selling the boat, and Will, my stellar first crew/carpenter/chef/cheerer upper extraordinaire.
Tuesday and Wednesday were a funny mix of a massive push to get everything loaded and key things fixed, while soaking up the lovely weather and generous hospitality (which extended to home-made Cornish pasties). Matt and his family generously put us up, and have been receiving heaps of nautical gear over the last few weeks.
On Wednesday afternoon we finally got sailing – with a hired life raft arriving with 5 mins to spare 😅 and we had a nice gentle cruise down the Lynnher and Tamar. Entering Plymouth got a bit spicier as we gave nuclear subs and the pair of chain ferries a wide berth.
We were glad to get moored up in the marina, with some last minute drama as the engine conked out on final approach.
Day 2 – a bumpy ride to Salcombe
We woke up early on Thursday, straight into more jobs – Will was tracking down some screws and sealant to finish the new hatch covers, and I headed to a chandler’s for a few last items. It was strange being the smallest boat in a large marina full of massive blue water cruising yachts.
The team at All Spars gave our mast and rigging a quick MOT, spotting and fixing a few minor issues. A quick lunch in the marina and then off to Salcombe.
It was a short and fairly speedy passage to Salcombe (we averaged 5kts) but seas were big as solid south west winds pushed big waves into the shallower water. No one was seasick but it was a close run thing for Will. We didn’t get many photos in the wilder bits as we were either hanging on or trying to keep the boat pointing the right way in 2m waves.
It was great to turn into the calmer waters of Salcombe Harbour, especially after a jammed furler added a bit of spice as we crossed the bar. After the bouncy bar crossing, I got my wires crossed and radioed the harbour channel asking for ‘Falmouth harbour’ – we could hear them chuckling as they replied.
We picked up a nice visitor’s buoy in the harbour, then waited quite a while for a water taxi ashore. So late in fact, that nowhere was serving food! Salcombe is a funny place with massive amounts of well-to-do boat borne tourists.
You could tell the pub staff had been busy! So back to the boat for a late night cookup, and a much-needed sleep.
things that might have been otherwise 