Trip back from Plymouth

Perfect morning for a sail, took off from Queen Anne's Battery with Karen, luckily missing the tanker in the tender. North-westerly 2/3 - we were able to sail out of the sound. Could not decide weather to drop in to Salcombe or try to make Dartmouth. The forecast was not very nice for tuesday - wet and windy, so tried to make Dartmouth. A lot of downwind sailing most of the day- some interesting sailing past Start Point with the wind on the beam and bit of speed. Got to Dartmouth before we expected. Headed for Parsons Mud - opposite Greenways - home of Agatha Cristy.

Woke up to some wind on the river - forecast 4/6 poss. 6 W - after breakfast put in two reefs - easier to shake out than to reef on the hoof. Came out of the Dart to a gentle breeze and more running. Didn't make the Exe in time to get the tide with the wind finally coming in from the NW - anchored until the tide turned. Diva back - although we ran aground 10 metres from the mooring.

Plymouth Trip

Left the Exe with a half reasonable breeze at the same time as the Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club left for a trip to Bridport - possibly the second most dangerous harbour in the UK - open to negotiation. Dave crewed at short notice. We managed to get as far as Berry Head with a building thunder storm inland but no wind. So, unfortunately, we had to motor most of the way to Salcombe, visibility becoming bad, Start Point disappearing. Found a good place to anchor in Salcombe - Mill Bay - a lovely sandy bay opposite Salcombe town. A near miss with anchor - I think due to some sort of back eddy in the bay - oops!

The leg to Plymouth started with a fairly stiff northerly breeze - one reef- which lasted until late morning before easing. Dave needed to catch the bus/train back to Exeter when we arrived in Plymouth, so after picking up a mooring just off Mountbattern, dropped him off at the Mayflower Y C slipway - a useful landing place. Called Karen and had a very pleasant kip before she arrived. Just about to leave the boat when I was informed by a local that I was on his mooring. Changed mooring whilst Karen waited to take me home and shower.

Diva's Cooker is Rebuilt

On our trip to Lyme Regis the other day, the cooker decided

to be a bit troublesome and needing some loving, control valves leaking and finally a broken cleaning needle. So, as a temporary measure I have in bolted two standard "primus" stoves. But now thanks to spares from Basecamp.co.uk. its all back working, soon to be put back.

Karen and I have a day out on "Darkmoor" and walk as far as the eye can see.

Karen didn't really know the the east side of Dartmoor - so we did a trip around the head waters of the River Teign starting from Scorhill near Gidleigh - as Amy used to call it the "Cirque de Scorhill" the route goes along a ridge in the distance as you come up from Scorhill, therefore you walk as far as the eye can see. This must have been a fairly popular place in the past as there are numerous stone circles (Scorhill Circle - the biggest on the Moor) and hut remains. At the end of the walk, I "made" Karen go through the Tolmen Stone, so she would be cured of any rhuematic disorders and generally be purified - Very Druidical.... And here is a picture that was tooken earlier.

Bit of Furniture Design for Ramon.

Ramon, Karen's Ex being involved in alternative therapies, needed a small folding or dismantlable table in his consulting room. Karen wanted to get one for his birthday but was having no luck - so clever me says "I'll make him one" and half a sheet of plywood later....

First over the line - Second on Handicap - drat!

This was the third time of entering the "Drew Trophy" The first, my first sail in Diva with Dave as crew. Due to few problems on the day we managed to get to the start line half an hour late and the rest of the fleet were mere dots in the distance. The wind was in the east and we were flying the big genoa that came with the boat and that certainly did the business Force 3 and we were doing 8/9 knots passing most of the fleet by the Ore Stone and finished first.Didn't stay over night as Dave needed to get back. This was where the trouble started, getting back to the Exe - that "lovely" genoa only allowed us a tacking angle of about 150 degrees - we were embayed in Torbay! Second time Karen crewed - we got off to a cracking start until we were becalmed off the Marychurch - wind went round on to the nose and that "lovely" genoa did what it did best - beam reaches at 8 knots and on a dying evening breeze we crawled into Brixham an hour after the last boat. Third time lucky with Nishok as crew - a novice at big boats but full of enthusiasm, we managed a half decent start. This time I had a different genoa, this time we were able to point like the other boats and go faster. The race ended with the commodore chasing us across Torbay a nerve racking time wondering if we would lay Brixham breakwater. Picture - Diva at rest (blue and white) - with Starcaser the other club Telstar.