Via Salcombe to Plymouth

 

Salcombe on a damp morning 

Dartmouth to Salcombe is a relatively short hop, just 16 miles or so. Unfortunately as we left at Saturday lunchtime the air was so wet you could have squeezed it out like a mop and everything was damp and rather unpleasant with very light winds. Still, with a fair amount of tide under us we did manage an hour or so of actual sailing and some stunning views of Devon cliffs and hills.

In Salcombe we were on a visitors' pontoon along with 10 or so other WOA Westerlys. We were told it was "in the Bag" but not knowing exactly where that was we took a wrong turn and very nearly went aground in a side channel. All was well though, and back in the main channel we saw the rest of the fleet and rafted up to Morning Mist. We couldn't have got Sam ashore anyway so rafting up was no problem. The views were gorgeous, only slightly disturbed by dozens and dozens of dinghies and ribs buzzing up and down to the town. That's one major disadvantage of a mooring area over a marina. Gill and Dave from Morning Mist went off to explore Salcombe and came back not very much later to report that it was jam-packed with tourists and not much fun.

We'd planned to go into the Yealm on Sunday, but working out a fair tide to get there combined with enough water over the bar was proving a bit of a challenge. Then Gill mentioned that it was due to rain from lunchtime Sunday until Monday morning. Discretion proved the better part of valour and we decided to head for Plymouth Mayflower a day early, which also meant that Mark could be sure of watching some kind of football match (England vs Italy in the final of the UEFA Euro 2020).

Sunday was indeed damp, with a bumpy sea and modest southerlies. We could have sailed but I opted to motorsail with just the jib for the comfort of Sam, who is a bit under the weather – not ill exactly, but not coping very well. Lucilla and Mark got a chance to try out their 20-year-plus-old oilies when it bucketed with rain. Mark's were ok but smelled of very old cheese, while Lucilla's leaked. My beloved Musto trousers also leaked a bit, so I'd better start saving for a new set.

Finally after wiggling through Plymouth we ended up at what we hoped was the correct marina, and here we are on a nice safe berth, hiding from the rain. Let's hope for drier weather to come.