SIRENA V

Sunday: Here's a lovely yacht. Got up in time to deliver Lesley to Fowey Parish church in time for a 9am Sunday service.  The vicar Carol was from Lancashire, and it turned out she and Lesley had both been taken on a school visit to a sewage farm. Weird but true. Nic went for a walk and discovered another lovely Fowey garden, the Plantation garden, and a pub we might try next time (!). We had coffee and cheese straws, and a wander, before we took a final watertaxi back to Sirena V. The wind in the Fowey river is fluky as hell. We had to switch direction while putting up the reefed mainsail, as the wind whipped around us. We got out into the Channel and set off on a bumpy downwind ride. And sailed for 6 hours, all the way to Plymouth. Once back on our home berth, there was a mass of stuff including unworn clothes and uneaten food to carry off the boat. We packed it in the car and staggered into the marina restaurant for fish and chips, where the world is still going round and round....

Very slow up after good long sleep; funny how the body adapts to a harder bed over a few days. Mind you, N thinks that day 9 is perhaps the limit for his back and knees, so home tomorrow will be welcome. Porridge and coffee on Pontoon 4, watching comings and goings - though it's very quiet for a Sat in June. Must be the wind and rain. Water Taxi into town, very efficient (and for future it does go to Mixtow). Dived into public toilets for ... then dived into The Galleon Inn for a coffee and out of the rain- they have comfy seats with great view. We stayed there in 2023 when we came to Shrimpers Week by car. Sauntered down Fore Street and hit the one charity shop in town that is open; N got some great Next trousers. Next stop was RNLI and we got a long tour of the 40 yo all-weather lifeboat that is being retired this Aug. Really interesting and rather poignant as Fowey won't get a replacement, but will have two D Class instead. 'Flaming June' it is not! Was still bucketi...

Up at 7, away by 0930, on a reefed main. Lesley attached the jib stick before we left the marina waters, and we set off past St Anthony Head for Fowey in westerly force 4, with gusts of 5. It was a slightly hairy downwind ride for 20 miles, the hairiest bits being the few occasions we had to gybe. More rain along the way, and the wind moderated when we got to Dodman Point. There were still big seas but less wind, never a good mix. So when we finally arrived in Fowey, we were wet and a little tired. We chose a pontoon opposite the RNLI pontoon, which is very rolly. We are close to a large boat which houses a big dog with a deep bark and a tiny dog with a high yap. I hope they have a good sleep tonight. It's a Friday night in June but luckily Fowey is not chock a block with visiting yachts, as yet. We have had large amounts of tea and the rest of today's sandwiches.  We will be stuck here tomorrow as big winds blow through, and hopefully can set off on the 20 mile journey back to...

THURSDAY: Prev night dinner was last root veg, chilli, chicken soup stew. Celebrating our furthest point from home. Gentle morning. Walk. Coffee. Motoring to Mylor. Fuel. Rolly berth. In before rain, again. Re-dressed N's leg. N had two ROS zoom mtgs, 2.5 hrs total, and his back spasmed as he got up. Another thing. Splendid dinner though we didn't need the dessert! Restaurant sold us 2 pints of milk for £1. Back on boat at 2030, N needed to lie flat. Promptly went to sleep.

Wednesday started wet so we waited to decamp until the rain stopped. After a shower, Nic was getting back on to the boat when he stumbled, breaking skin on his shin which bled into his linen trousers. The old first aid box was deployed, with dressings and crepe bandage tied tightly. It didn't stop our plans. We motor- sailed up the Fal for a couple of hours, losing the wind in the process, past pretty places to stop such as the pool next to stately home Trelissick House. It rained very hard indeed for a long while. Sirena V has no sprayhood and we were dripping wet. On we plugged, and well before high water, arrived at Malpas, far up the river, not far from the city of Truro. We had trouble mooring alongside a pontoon with a gusty wind blowing us off, until neighbouring crew took our lines. It had been difficult to get specifics about Malpas online, and there was no working phone; we thought we might have to overnight on a river pontoon, but it turned out Malpas now has (since 2021...

The Forecast predicted strong winds, so we planned a shore day. Rained hard early morning, so we got up v slowly. Didn't want the wet involved in turning on the gas in the cockpit, so had cereal & juice with a promise of coffee later. Got the 1045 ferry to St Mawes, which takes 25 mins across the estuary. V few yachts about. Blustery & cool. In St Mawes we grabbed the first coffee and danish on the pier. The sun came out and with wind protection suddenly it was v warm, esp for walking up their steep lanes. Sat in the lovely little church and remembered Audrey and Mary, whose birthdays were today and yday. Saw the spring that St Mawes himself prayed at. Considered a longer walk, but had a lovely warm baguette sandwich for lunch at the Mr Scorse deli. Then a,walk to St Mawes castle, the best preserved of Henry VIII's coastal protections; admired from outside as no time to go in. With time to spare before the ferry we needed an ice cream, and the Hotel Tresanton said they ...

This morning we were visited by a family of swans - seven fluffy little cygnets.  We decided to go for a day sail to the Helford river and come back to Falmouth Haven to sit out the forecast big winds. Nic eased the boat out of her berth and into a sunny day with hardly any wind. We motored towards Helford and past a giant cruise ship moored outside the harbour. Motoring was on and off as the wind waxed and waned. We had decent spells of sailing and then frustrating periods of engine on. There are always interesting yachts around here, many gaffers. We approached Helford still sailing but once in the river there were terrific gusts and the wind boxed the compass. Motoring at high revs was no kind of fun, so we turned around and headed back to Falmouth, with some lovely broad reach sailing on the way.  As we approached the turn towards the town and marinas, we heard a giant blast of horn. Another cruise ship was about to exit, coming our way. So we chugged slowly in shallower w...

Forecast showed too much wind for sailing, and so we earned a rest day. Leisurely shower, the facilities score a rare 10 out of 10 given to door btw the water and our clothes ... and Radio 3 piped in. Porridge in boat lovely although the washup is a challenge.  Spent the day in Falmouth. Luckily for L, the charity shops open on a Sunday. N did a lot of exploring and boat watching. Only people sailing in the strong wind were the intrepid gaffers - it's thick with them here. There are also quite a few Shrimpers on moorings, even a 21 which is comparatively rare. Had last of ydays sandwiches on the pier, the Pier Cafe for a coffee and scone/cake topup. Bought another phone charging pad because N dropped the first one and it stopped working! Went to Phoenix cinema in the afternoon, to see Salt Path. It was good, but highly selective inevitably. Back to boat for tea and planning the week and our return, based on forecasts which may not be entirely reliable. We will adjust day by day as ...