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Will joined us for the trip across The Channel to Guernsey.

Sunrise off Portland Bill 0520.

Visibility about 3 miles when crossing the Traffic Separation Zone (TSZ) north of Alderney. Then punching the tide for a bit before sighting Guernsey, and moving fast down the channel between Guernsey and Sark.

11 June 2023

Staying in Guernsey for a day – Will has to go home this evening.

Coming out of Dartmouth to start our crossing of Lyme Bay was quite windy – and not in the direction forecast! We made a few tacks, and then decided to go right into the bay as far as Torquay to get a better angle. By the afternoon, the predicted drop in the wind and blue sky appeared and we motored the remaining distance across.

Arriving at the Bill of Portland at just the right moment, we followed a local boat (from Paignton we learned later in the evening) round the Bill on the ‘inside track’. The tide on the west side is going south at the same time as the last remains of the ebb further out. This means you get whirled around the Bill to meet the flood going up to Portland on the other side.

A well deserved dinner at the excellent ‘The Kitchen’ restaurant on the harbour.

We decided to have a go at the next leg to Dartmouth as the weather forecast was showing a gradual lowering of the wind speed (from the East) over the day.

All quiet going out of Plymouth. We had 26 knots across the deck at Bolt Head (near Salcombe) and the wind and sea state dropped as promised for the last leg in Start Bay. We had the second reef in all day!

Clare and Mike and Angus are onboard for a few days based in the Mayflower Marina in Plymouth. We are doing a couple of day sails.

28 May 2023

Out to Wembury Bay and back.

29 May 2023

Up the river to the bridges, past Devonport.

30 May 2023

On the ferry (not Molia) across to Mount Edgcumbe house and country park.

Another short leg from Fowey to the Mayflower Marina in Plymouth.

The east wind (no good to man nor beast) continues to blow. So we are staying here for a week!

Newlyn to Mylor.

Jo has done 54 miles from Padstow to Newlyn around Lands End 🙂

We left Oxwich Bay early (0500) so as to be in time for high water at Padstow.

May 21 – In Padstow

A day off in Padstow. We met with Tracy and Darren who live in Boscastle nearby. Tim had to leave us after lunch – many thanks Tim for all your help getting us this far – particularly your anchoring expertise in Oxwich Bay.

In the evening we walked to Stepper Point and looked round the NCI lookout.

The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) was created as a charity after the coastguard was ‘reorganised’ in 1994. It uses volunteers to do the vital work of being the eyes on sea users of all persuasions. We saw the log entry for Molia going into Padstow – as the person on watch was able to identify us using AIS.

May 22 – In Padstow

Still in Padstow today waiting for the wind to settle further south.

As Swansea do not open their lock 24 hours, we needed to anchor so that we had time to get to Padstow in the day, before they open their lock approximately 2 hours before high water. So we chose Oxwich Bay on the Gower. This has a good write-up on Navily for the wind direction forecast (NE).