Tuesday 20th July – Portland to Dartmouth – Lyme Bay
This was the ‘big crossing’ – around 50+miles – Lyme Bay. Crucial was getting the timing right for Portland Bill and the inner passage. Departure was at 0615 in clear blue skies and zero wind. Motoring out through the outer harbour via the North Ship Channel which marked the start point of the cruising race. However it was clear from the beginning that it was unlikely that the sails would see much action today. With Pat, Linda and Ken leading the way in Dino Volante we were all line astern. Karisma had a longer lie in but caught us up just beyond the Bill. The ’rounding’ was uneventful but avoiding action was required for numerous lobster pots. Having motored in bright sunshine for around 2 hours we suddenly went into a fog bank with visibility down to a 100 meters and tracking reverted to AIS. This did not last that long, and soon it was back to a warm clear day. Breakfast of bacon and egg was served on deck as auto helm took the strain. Compared to the last time we crossed when we saw virtually no-one there was an entire convoy of sailing boats make the trek westward and a few coming the other way. We did try sailing for about 20 mins but this merely resulted in aimless drift in different directions depending on the fickle wind. The calculation of crossing the Bay at the speed of drift was getting beyond 15 hours – definitely a drift too far!
We did have two pieces of excitement. The first was as we were nearing Dartmouth and looked to our Port and noticed a very large container ship, that according to AIS would be a little too close for comfort. With no expectation of a response we did call up One Cyrus and to our surprise received a welcoming voice that was quite happy for us to cross his bow and even gave a long blast of his horn to let us know he was altering course. Very impressed that they took the trouble to let us through.
Within a few minutes we joined by a small school of dolphins – 4. We could see them making their way to the boat and they began to swim off the bow, swapping places with each other to almost rub their backs on the bow itself. I had not seen them so close before and it was a delightful sight – quite magical.
Entry to Dartmouth was straightforward and as on previous occasions impressive as you coming into the Dart Valley. We moored up on DC pontoon which is tantalisingly close to the shore but not connected. The Harbour Master kindly agreed to provide free taxi service ashore as we were due to be on a walk-ashore pontoon. Extensive use was made of this offer. We had left Portland at 0615 and were alongside Dartmouth with boat tidied away by 1500hrs.
Whilst we immediately reached for the wine and some snacks Claribel had already pumped up the SUPs and dinghies, departing for an exploration of the Dart up to Dittisham – paddling there an back together with the dogs. Impressive energy levels that far out-stripped ours.
Wednesday 21st July – Dartmouth – Day Ashore
A latish start for us, hailing the water taxi across to shore. A very hearty breakfast was had at Alf-Fresco just back from the shore front. Highly recommended cafe – quality of food was excellent and the staff very helpful. Not a place to go to if you are a diet of 800 calories a day as all would be used up by the end of the meal! We had decided to fill in the day by taking the steam train to Paignton. Taking the ferry across to Kingswear we landed almost next to the station platform. Two tickets and seats allocated we boarded an immaculately maintained working train. Twenty minutes later we were in Paignton with the intention of spending a lazy afternoon wandering around the English Riviera. It was great to see a seaside town thriving and benefiting from the weather and the inability of people to go abroad. Lots of families on the beach, swimming SUPs in abundance and the mini theme parks full. Fish and chips was doing a roaring trade. There were 3 cruise ships in the Bay but it looked as if all passengers were being ferried to Torquay rather than Paignton. The weather was extraordinarily warm and as a result we revised our plans and adapted to the current situation and caught an earlier train back. In Dartmouth we topped up with supplies from delicatessen, bought a new pair of sandals for myself and then sat by the quay side with an ice-cream cone by the waterside before catching the water taxi back to the boat.
The question arose back on board as to how much fuel and water had been used and did we need to refuel prior to departure to Salcombe. I calculated we were burning 1.5ltrs/hr at 2,500revs. Tanks holds 156ltr and since commencement of trip we had used the engine for 18 hours. So theoretically we were okay. To be on the safe side we did agree to re water and refuel before we left and it was best to do so now as the queue for both water and fuel can be long as both are on mid-river barges. This did mean that we had 3 moorings and 3 departures to do – a significant number for Gillian who was not altogether with me on this plan but recognised the necessity. Fuel went okay but my calculations were way out – rather than 1.5ltr per hour we were getting through 3ltrs. Water was a long, long wait as the pressure in the water pipe was not that great and there were two boats ahead of us, with one annoyingly sneaking in ahead of his turn! But after 45 mins we were alongside and a further 30mins to dump rubbish and re-water. There then followed a little bit of argument as we discovered that the slot on the pontoon we had just left was now taken by a catamaran which meant we had to squeeze in between two boats – it would be fair to say that Gillian was a little upset. We did berth with a degree of ease and with thanks to Colin who lent a hand with taking lines.
The evening we all went ashore as a group to the Royal Dart Yacht Club. It was their mid-week racing night and there was a buzz about the place that made it extremely welcoming. The meal upstairs was extremely good. Fixed menu but made up of local foods. And as we had found elsewhere the welcome from everyone was over-whelming. A slightly more inebriated and noisier group returned by taxi to the boat that evening.
Purrfect Tale 