Last leg

After having left the boat in Brighton Marina for a week and following some personal  R&R in Wales we all felt able to tackle the last big push in order to try and get home ASAP 

Enriched by a new and enthusiastic crew we set off on a short and uneventful trip to Eastbourne and enjoyed sailing close to Beachy Head,

The crew enjoyed a bus trip around Eastbourne before a short sleep and an early departure this morning to sail to Ramsgate.

Although the journey was long and not very exciting, we all enjoyed an easy arrival at Ramsgate where we were pleased to witness the arrival of ‘Seeker’, the Border Force patrol boat.

We also experienced a visit to the largest Wetherspoons in the country ......!

Tomorrow we will hopefully finish our circumnavigation with an afternoon sail round the North Foreland and back to the welcoming mud of The Swale

Brighton Beckons

After a bright and early start we cleverly caught the tide going out of Portsmouth and were glad to make good time to Selsey Bill

Although it was a bit bumpy the crew stayed calm and we soon made it into East Sussex with Brighton rapidly coming closer

The sun shone and we both suffered as a consequence so were happy to arrive in Brighton by mid afternoon

After a good nights sleep we awoke refreshed but sad that my trusty professional crew mate must return home.

The boat will now take a few more days rest in Brighton before we embark on the last leg of our journey accompanied by a new fresh and eager crew.

A visit to Old Pompey

After a bumpy night in the marina the crew were pleased to see the harbour rubber dinghy arrive early this morning to tow us out of Yarmouth Harbour

The rest of the morning was spent having a pleasant sail along The Solent past Osborne House  and an old castle.

We enjoyed our afternoon in Portsmouth visiting the Spinnaker Tower and walking through the old town with all its Nelson connections

There was a great view of Calismarde from the top, sitting in the massive but very pleasant Haslar Marina.

After supper on an old lightship the crew are looking forward to an early start tomorrow in order to get to Brighton before closing time.

Well ... here we are again

So....

After a week at home the return to Calismarde was a journey of tense anticipation mixed with apprehension at the thought of passing the mighty Portland Sound en route to Poole

Vitalised by a fresh crew and a few beers we set off bright and early from wonderful Torquay to cross Lyme Bay

The passing of Portland Bill proved to be a non event despite the skippers anxieties

However..... the journey was very long but largely uneventful thanks to the influence of my new professional crew mate and despite the traumas of entering Poole harbour at night with ferries bearing down on us

We picked up a mooring for the night just off Brownsea Island and set off this morning on the short journey to Yarmouth Isle of Wight

All went well until we reached the Needles when the skippers lack of preparation was revealed.

The 4.5 knot adverse tide meant that our journey was very slow and thankfully the crew was happy to look at the Needles for a couple of hours as we slowly made our way up the Solent

We were pleased to arrive safely in Yarmouth and the crew thoroughly enjoyed a drink with the rich members of Royal Solent Yacht Club

Tomorrow Portsmouth beckons

A fond farewell.. for now

We arrived in Torquay yesterday after a short sail around Berry Head and across Torbay.

The crew were delighted to arrive at such a swish marina with so many shiny white boats.

Certainly Calismarde looked rather out of place.

 Undeterred, the crew soon made some new friends and we enjoyed making the boat look gleaming prior to today’s departure for home.

We were excited to see some huge jellyfish in the harbour and were relieved not to have fallen in the water as we approached the marina .as they looked rather fierce 

We look forward to restarting our trip next weekend with fresh crew.

Two short sails in a row

The new crew was keen to see as many places as possible in the couple of days that she had set aside to spend on Calismarde

With that in mind we set off early from Plymouth on our trip to Salcombe. Initially the wind was kind and we made valiant attempts at fishing for mackerel, but it soon blew up making for a slightly nerve wracking entry across the sand bar into the harbour. It was only later that we learnt about the horrific lifeboat disaster here in 1914.

A tragedy at Salcombe bar

The crew found Salcombe to be a rather posh place and not really to her taste. However after a tasty pub meal and a good sleep we were both ready for today’s dash to Dartmouth.

With our new mackerel line out (the one from yesterday went overboard) we had an uneventful sail in the sun arriving at Dartmouth by early afternoon.... sadly without mackerel.

This town is more to everyone’s liking and we are looking forward to a mackerel supper caught and cooked by a professional

We were pleased to travel on the Kingswear ferry to Dartmouth town which was built at Conyer in 1978

The ferry built near Faversham

Tomorrow we go to Torquay in order to leave the boat for a week intil the next stage of the adventure

Entry to Dartmouth

Memories of Plymouth

It’s 40 years since I worked in Plymouth for six months after I qualified. It’s changed a lot ...certainly around The Barbican where the very swish Sutton Harbour Marina has been built.

 There are loads of pubs and restaurant and it was even buzzing.... compared to Westbere standards ...on a Tuesday evening.

We had a boring trip from Fowey against  a light wind so engine was the order of the day and we arrived in Plymouth in a heavy rainstorm

The crew were very pleased with the facilities and I like to think that we have had our money’s worth from them.

There are several large boats here including this one from Malta

Today we visited Saltram House ... a large country mansion owned by an 18th century landowner and largely designed by Robert Adam and with beautiful gardens.

Tomorrow sees a change in crew and hopefully a trip to Salcombe.

Escape from the Shanties

Falmouth was completely packed this weekend with people who had come to witness the annual Shanty Festival but also with old salts who were taking part in the Classic Boat Rally based in the town marina.

Shanty Men

Some of the crew got thoroughly stuck into the shanties although thankfully had spare time to share their expertise with the skipper in order to take part in couple of races.Sadly Calismarde did not win a trophy.... we were up against professional looking crews and expensive looking boats that had all the trimmings. Despite a nudge that we were in the running for the prize given to the boat which had travelled the furthest to attend the rally, this did not materialise.

Flags

Having said goodbye to our ace ‘Bristol Channel Veterans’ I was pleased to welcome a new crew mate for the journey to Plymouth.

We left Falmouth with mixed feelings and enjoyed a quick and uneventful trip to Fowey.

This is a pleasant if not slightly DFL town, with a lovely waterfront and some nice pubs. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the local museum. We are looking forward to a quiet time on a mooring tonight and another gentle sail tomorrow to Plymouth.

Oops forgot the photos

A Dutch boat called Sparkle

Porpoises riding the bow wave

Lands End

Sunset in the Bristol Channel

Calm before the storm

Well, after a great day visiting the Milford Haven Museum, Pembroke Castle and The Lord Nelson pub , we decided to embark on our marathon trip to Falmouth on Sunday morning

We left with our new Dutch friend and were pleased to leave him quickly in our wake thanks to excellent steering from the Calismarde crew.

The wind was light , the sun was bright and the crew all felt in good spirits as we sailed into the night and the middle of the Bristol Channel accompanied by a constant presence of porpoises 

By morning the wind had completely died and the motor and automatic steering gadget came into its own.

Unfortunately our mood was further dented by the knowledge that our Dutch friend had overtaken us in the night and was now several hours in front . My friend Steve says it was because he has a bigger engine and that my definite failings on navigation were not responsible.... how loyal is that!

Anyway because we were slightly late to arrive at Lands End we faced an adverse tide all the way to Falmouth thankfully passing the Lizard just before the really strong adverse tide kicked in.

Our frustration was further compromised by us having to face high winds just before we arrived at our destination

We were all pleased to arrive at the marina by 11.30 and enjoyed a couple of strong whiskies before entering the land of nod

Today has been a rest day.

Welsh Weather

So far, this trip has been dominated by the idiosyncrasies of Welsh weather

After waiting a couple of days for a break in the weather earlier in the week, we left Aberystwyth yesterday morning to face showers and light winds en route to Fishguard

We saw dolphins on the way and were pleased that the weather cleared in time for us to get a good look at the Pembrokeshire coast.

Fishguard

Arrival at Fishguard was tempered by anxiety about today’s forecast ... we anchored in Lower Fishguard and had a pleasant drink in the sailing club there then the skipper spent the night fretting about the gale warnings that were issued for today.

Dolphins

After much contemplation , it was decided to leave early and try and get to Milford Haven before the weather arrived....we couldn’t stay in Fishguard as it would be too risky

After a good start,the weather became horrible as we approached Milford so we all got soaked and are still reeling after the roller coaster ride that many would pay dearly to experience at Alton Towers

Tonight has been spent chatting to a nice Dutchman, Stuart who is sailing around Britain on his own

The good news is that Milford Haven was developed by Sir William Hamilton and Charles Greville in the 18th century so one member of the crew in particular is looking forward to visiting the museum and The Lord Nelson pub to further acquaint herself with all things ‘Lady Hamilton’

The bad news is that this unsettled weather is set to continue for the time being ...but on the bright side we’re still all talking to each other

A wet boat

Early start then back to sleep

So, the weather worked out worse than expected and we all woke at 5am to seeing huge waves in the marina

This confirmed our plan to have a lie in and forgo sailing today

Instead we spent a day driving around some beautiful places in North Wales culminating in a trip to Aberdovey

Tomorrow looks more promising so let’s see

This is the Aberdovey estuary in all its glory

Yesterday’s photos today

These are the photos I should have sent yesterday

Another year.. another trip

So, after a year in Aber, the time has come to set sail again on our trip round Britain

The intrepid crew have assembled and are eager to leave soon in order to get to Falmouth in time for the Classic Boat Rally which starts a week next Friday

My friend Steve says that he really likes the comfortable double bed at Y Clwyd but is excited to think that he’ll be sleeping in the foc’sle of Calismarde  for the next week and has already stocked up on beer mats to soak up the drips.

Who knows what the weather will be like tomorrow? .. the met office certainly don’t seem to!

Anyway it may be Fishguard or the mountains tomorrow. Who knows