The sunset was beautiful. We’d sailed West. Sunglasses on as we pointed Trouper towards the last of the sun. The next half hour was dusk and it was dark when we arrived in Yarmouth. We’d pre-booked a berth in the marina though, in October, at the tail end of the season there was plenty of space. The leading lights made the entrance straightforward, even in the dark. You just have to dodge the ferry that […]
Mylor. The last stop on our Summer Cruise of Devon and Cornwall. Our first challenge, finding the channel to enter the marina. This was marked but depth of tide meant that we could only enter +/- 3hours around high tide due to a shallow area in the channel. We found the entrance due to a larger boat ahead of us. They’d slowed down. Presumably they were waiting for more tide to allow them over the shallow […]
London was pouring with rain, a thunder storm had taken out a signal box on the train line, there were no trains and it was the start of our Summer holiday. Luckily we managed to squeeze our way onto the 6:00pm train to Plymouth and only arrived one hour later than planned. Plymouth was still steaming hot. They were still enjoying the last days of the heat wave that had come crashing to a halt […]
The Southampton Boat show is currently running with the last day tomorrow. I haven’t been for years but, of course, now we have Trouper. This time we had an agenda. We wanted to find out more about: boat electronics, alternative energy sources, scout for a boat bargain and look at the new boats. Boat Electronics We looked at the B&G instruments as that would be compatible with what we already have. They had a […]
Salcombe is a playground for all manner of outdoor activities both on and off the water. I left with the impression that pretty much anything is possible. We restricted ourselves to water-related activities this time but I’ve included here things I’d like to do when I next visit. Beaches There are plenty of beaches and coves to play in both in Salcombe, South Pool and up towards Kingsbridge. We went to South Sands and to the coves […]
There are lots of shops in Salcombe. Jack Wills and Quba hail from this town in addition to the yacht shops of Musto, Henry Lloyd and so on. We were fairly busy swimming and sailing and pottering so we didn’t take much advantage of the shops. If it had rained, well that’s another story. Jack Wills, Quba, White Stuff, Musto, Fat Face, Sea salt… all are here with full racks of clothes and the usual […]
Salcombe has a reputation for good food. I was keen to just get some fresh bread and meat as our last shop had been at a cut-price supermarket in Plymouth. Whilst they had done a good line in fruit and veg I wasn’t so keen on their meat, fish and dairy. Over the course of three nights we visited a fair range of foodie places ranging from coffee shops through to fine dining. Here’s the […]
My first impression was the chop, the waves off the headland knocking the boat around and consequently the boom as I was trying to drop the mainsail. We’d turned North to head for the entrance and the pilot book mentioned that there was a bit of a chop that you have to grit your teeth and just get through. As we got further inshore the chop began to ease off. I looked around me and […]
There are plenty of seaside related things to do at Fowey with the usual water, beach and walking activities. Fowey is also a place for artists. Daphne du Maurier lived here and there’s now an annual literary festival. Trip up river to Leryn The river is navigable up to Lostwithiel and Leryn at high tide. Leryn is famous for being the inspiration for Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows. In my world, it’s also famous for […]
I think I’ve already said Fowey is well supplied with shops. There isn’t the variety that Falmouth offers but what it lacks in quantity it makes up in quality. Alongside the typical high street stores are a range of boutiques, galleries and food shops that makes for an enjoyable experience. The shopping street runs the length of the shore side road. There are no pavements. It’s one lane wide and cars and vans do drive […]
On Land 