We finally left Fowey after staying one day longer than planned due to the gales blowing both outside and inside the harbour. It was not comfortable sleeping aboard BB during the gale.
We departed Fowey at 1100hrs on July 7th bound for Salcombe. We had the toughest conditions that day with very disturbed seas across the entrance to Plymouth as a squall blew up. Sea conditions were rough and a lot of strain was put on the rudder stock - which manifested themselves later. ( I have some ideas for the Crabbers in this respect.)We recorded the fastest time thus far on the trip of 7.9knots on the log. Again the winds were favourable being N/NW 4/5 occasional 6. In fact our mother ship Resolution recorded a steady 20-25 knots all day so we fair blew along! We arrived at Salcombe at 1830 hrs after what was a hard days sailing. We moored in the Bag in blissful comfort well out of the wind. I examined the rudder and found that the metal bracket into which the rudder stock is held had worn loose and the stock itself was too loose in the bracket. The simple screw arrangement is simply not strong enough in the conditions in which we found ourselves. We made a couple of temporary modifications with the aid of matchsticks and evostick! This helped to a degree.
The next day we left our mooring at 0345 and motored to the Bar which we crossed at 0400 and set sail for Portland Bill and Portland Marina. This day I had Philip Currie crewing and his wise counsel was much appreciated! Another day of 4/5 winds gusting 6. This day was to prove a very long and hard day's sail. With roughish seas there was little time for food - two kitcats and two cups of teas and some water kept me going but we had had a good meal in Salcombe the previous evening. The rudder continued to give me concern and screw tightening was made during the voyage - not easy leanin gover the stern with the boat pitching and tossing. It all held together until Portland.
We had planned this leg of the journey on an average speed of 4kts but in fact we averaged nearer 6 and thus arrived earlier at Portland Bill than we should have. We used up our waiting time by sailing inshore to later join the quieter inner route around the Bill which we went by at 1700 hours in perfect tidal conditions. Having rounded Portland Bill we hardened up sail and had a good beat up to the new Marina where we arrived at 1900hrs. A total journey time of 15 hours! By this time our log reading was 212 miles. We slept soundly after a pub supper and good shower.
July 9th saw us leave Portland at 0945hrs bound for Yarmouth IoW. We began by motorsailing as the winds immediately outside Portland were light however they were to chnage quite quickly and we had more of the same winds that we had enjoyed most of the week. We decided to detour to Lulworth Cove and were very nearly there when I saw a power boat approaching us at great speed! She came alongside and asked our intentions. We replied that we were bound for Lulworth and then were going to sail along the coast eventually bound for Yarmouth. We were then advise that the MoD were carrying out live firing in the area and that we had to change course immediately and head South for 5 miles or so. ( OK - we didn't check if firing was scheduled so it was our fault but it did mess up our plans!). This detour did delay our timing somewhat and later on we did find ourselves in a bit of pickle as we passed St Alban's ledge where the tides run very strong. We got caught up in the tides but not the race at At Albans. The worst we had was a speed throught the water of about 5kts and speed over the ground of less than a knot! Not a comfortable position to be in. However with the help of the engine and strong winds we broke free and made for Anvil Point and on to Bridge Bouy and the Needles Channel. We timed our arrival at Hurst narrows well and had a terrific spring tide to take us through. We recorded 10.5 knots over the ground!! ( A Shrimper record??). We arrived at Yarmouth at 2015 so another long day's sailing. An excellent dinner ashore followed by whisky aboard Resolution saw us collapse asleep around midnight.
July 10th Resolution and BB go their separate ways. Resolution sailed home to the Hamble while BB motored across the Solent to Lymington where she is now for a couple of layover days. There is no doubt that having Resolution as a " mother ship" has been an advantage in this cruise, and I am extremely grateful to Peter Innes-Ker in particular who liked the idea I had last winter and decided he'd like to join in. It has been a huge experience and terrific fun.
Next week will see BB joining in with the Chichester and Solent Shrimper area Cruise week before closing on her final destination of Bosham next Saturday.
This has been a terrific week's sailing - the weather has been broadly kind, wind direction perfect - just a few miles to go before the Creep is over!
Two photos are attached ( there will be lots more in due course ). These were taken yesterday between Portland and Anvil Point. Until the next posting............... BB
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