Rest Day

The wind is from the east and it is very difficult to ignore that fact. Having arrived at Dartmouth tired and ready for bed, we woke early to enjour wonderful sunshine and calm across the river and town. We enjoyed poached duck eggs for breakfast and filled up with diesel and water. We decided that the east wind could not be left to its own devices and so we set out for a compromise rest day consisting of only 5 hours of sailing to get to the lovely haven of Salcombe.

This 'little' trip round Start Point became the most exciting sailing we have had so far. Great big rolling waves and a bit of wind over tide chaos combined to make running down the wind a surfing experience. Start Point is so named because sailors when passing towards the west noticed the end of the channel 'chop' and the start of the Atlantic rollers. we did not dare to take the inside track on this headland and went out to sea but perhaps not far enough to avoid the race. Eventually we reached more reasonable conditions and enjoyed a fast sail towards the sand bar that guards Salcombe. It is May 30th 2021.

We dropped the sails before the bar and motored into Salcombe where the friendly harbour patrol guided us to a shared visitor mooring. We quickly pumped up the dinghy and sped into town. The Fortescue pub restaurant provided beer, a plug to charge the laptop, crab cakes, chowder, and perfectly cooked rump steaks followed by excellent Afogatos. Our rest day arrived at last.






Comments

  1. You're taking if far too easy ,what happened to gruel and scurvy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Feeding the Rat

Unfinished Business Sailing North

Dream of White Horses