WEEK 3

Monday 21st July

We raised the anchor at 08:00 and motored from Dittisham through Dartmouth and out into Start Bay. I always thought Start Bay was named after a historic race. But apparently the seaward end, Start Point, comes from steort, an Old English word meaning “pointed end”, referring to the shape of the headland. Learn something new every day.

We had a great sail, as close hauled as EIVIVA can manage, in 14 to 20 knots of wind from just north of west. Our track took us close to Start Point, then we continued offshore on the same tack for three quarters of an hour before turning inshore to Salcombe.

Captain Maz took one Stugeron two hours before we left and was up on deck enjoying the sail. One Stugeron seems to work perfectly with no seasickness and fully alert. Two has proved sleep inducing in the past.

We anchored near Salt Stone, past Salcombe town on the way to Kingsbridge. I like it here. It’s where my brother and I learnt to sail in 1975 at the Blue Water Sailing School.

In the evening we visited Salcombe for a pizza. On the way back I was told off by the harbour patrol for speeding and creating too much wash. I tried to argue that the tender makes far less wash at planning speed, but he wasn’t having any of it. I shall stick to the speed limit and create more wake in future.

Heading up towards Salcombe.

Tuesday 22nd July

Captain Maz was hard at work this morning on a long conference call with her team. Starlink is working beautifully, letting us work remotely without relying on the whims of land based networks. I’ll read this in 20 years and marvel at how primitive we were in 2025. To my future self, Starlink is excellent tech right now.

Maz’s mum is stuck in hospital and desperate to come home, so Maz is leaving EIVIVA today to go and help. Once the tide was high enough, we took the tender up to Kingsbridge at the head of the estuary. Carol spotted a carousel and had to wait 10 minutes before the lady that ran it decided that she was only going to get one punter. I think they are called carousel as they were created for Carol use, the letters just got mixed up over time.

Kingsbridge is another nice historic town, with a high street that climbs steeply from the water and is lined with interesting and largely unspoilt period buildings. We had lunch in a small restaurant opposite the church, then Maz caught the bus and had a nightmare journey home, arriving at 22:00. Via Bristol, somehow.

I returned to EIVIVA with supplies for the next few days. The forecast looks promising for heading west tomorrow. How far I get will depend largely on the wind direction.

Wednesday 23rd July

Up at 06:30, quick pot of coffee, and away out of Salcombe by 07:00. Very little wind. Even once we cleared Bolt Head and were out from the cliffs, it was only blowing 3 knots. Time to run the new engine for 8 hours or so. During its running in period I’m not allowed to go below 2300 rpm, so we were cruising at 7 to 8 knots.

There was the option to stop in at Cawsand Bay outside Plymouth, but I continued past Eddystone Lighthouse and on to the Helford River. Towards the end, the tide turned against, but by then the wind had picked up to 14 knots from about 70 degrees and EIVIVA was making 7.5 knots SOG under sail.

The only notable event today happened below decks. While AIS and radar were running, two naval warships passed either side of me within a couple of nautical miles. Neither showed up on AIS, which I understand, they can switch that off. But neither showed up on radar either, which I don’t understand. Stealth warships? Is that even possible?

Dinner was chicken in mushroom sauce. Unfortunately, I opened a bag of microwave rice without looking. Turned out to be fragrant pilau. I ate it, but it wasn’t a wonderful combination.

Stormy day at the Eddystone Lighthouse

Early morning Helford River

Thursday 24th July

Just as I was starting to enjoy EIVIVA’s sailing performance, I had a day like today. The forecast 10 to 14 knots on the beam turned out to be 4 to 6 knots on the nose. The lightweight boats around me could tack into it and make some progress. I put the engine on.

The wind eventually did what was promised during the last couple of hours and we romped along. But it was too little too late to lift my mood.

The Isles of Scilly don’t offer much protection from a northerly wind. The few spots that do are always crowded. I knew this from past visits, so I headed back to an anchorage off the southern end of St Martin’s, just east of English Island. I remembered from last year that it’s a bit rolly, and today was no exception. Not enough to keep me awake, but enough to cap off a fairly rubbish day’s sailing.

It looks like it’s northerlies for the next two weeks.

I was alone on the anchorage until a Moody 35 anchored right next to me. He’s close enough that I’m a bit worried we’ll bump if we swing with the tide. Last one on anchor pays the bill I guess.

I started to watch a movie, but the boat was rolling so much that Starlink lost its connection just before the exciting bit.

What a day.

She is going 20kts we are going 8kts……just keep going should be OK

Never doubted it.

Friday 25th July

The rolling stopped overnight and I woke to a calm and sunny morning. I don’t like this anchorage. It just doesn’t feel right. Like trying to find the perfect picnic spot, some places feel good and others don’t. I decided to move to another anchorage that I remember from last year, still near St Martin’s but on the west side.

This meant going out to sea, around the rocky north coast, and up a narrow inlet littered with rocks. I’d never attempt it without Navionics. I’m reasonably confident with traditional navigation, but this place would need local knowledge to attempt safely. Even with Navionics it is sort of scary.

The anchorage was empty, so I dropped anchor in a strong tide and waited to see how well protected it was from the northwest wind. Looking into the wind I could see white caps at the mouth of the inlet, but the swell didn’t make it to the boat. I stayed aboard to see how the anchor behaved when the tide turned. It’s always worth checking if it resets the first time.

At 16:00 I went for a run along the north coast path. It was a variation on a route I did last year. The climbs from bay to bay were just as memorable. One of the benefits of the low cholesterol diet I’ve kept since New Year is that I’m not carrying an extra five kilos of padding. Makes the hills slightly less brutal.

It’s Friday, so I went to the Seven Stars and had a few pints while chatting to Lucy in Glasgow. These days it’s acceptable to sit alone in a corner and talk to your self. A few years ago people would have assumed you were mad.

Then back to the boat and a Spam dinner. Spam is a very underrated culinary delight. Cut into chunks and browned with onions before adding tomato sauce, served with wholemeal pasta. Remarkably delicious. Especially after a few pints of ale.

Lovely Spam. Wonderful Spam….Spam Spam Spam Spam

Saturday 26th July

Woke early to find the fridge had turned into a freezer. Milk and everything else frozen solid. Luckily I had some long life milk, so caffeine withdrawal was avoided. The loaf of bread was still in separate slices, so toast and Kerry’s marmalade got the day going.

I spent the morning designing the conversion of our garage into an office and granny annex. Somewhere to return to during the planned round the world sailing trip when the house is let out.

When the tide allowed enough depth I took the tender three NM over to Hugh Town. Once I was away from the shore the waves were spiky and two foot high from behind. That meant I was surfing slightly faster than the waves, which was amusing at times. I had the tiller in one hand and was navigating with my phone in the other, so holding on to the boat wasn’t an option.

The return trip was worse. The tender slammed into the oncoming waves. By the time I got back I felt like I’d been spanked for half an hour. At least I assume that’s what it would feel like.

The wind has dropped and the anchorage is calm, so it’s time for some thinking. The wind is set to stay north westerly for the next two weeks. This might confound my efforts to get to Ireland. I’m now considering the north coast of Brittany. I’ve never visited and my friends Matthew and Kerry (of marmalade fame) say it’s worth it. I’ll think on it in the morning.

Everyone else has left the anchorage. What have I missed?

I’m always amazed at how tame the birds are on St Martin’s.

Sunday 27th July

I did some boat jobs in the morning, then took the tender over to Tean, a small uninhabited island near the anchorage. I’ve never visited it before. It’s a bird sanctuary and looked difficult to access, but it turned out to have excellent deserted beaches on the sheltered side and a rugged north shore facing the Atlantic.

In the centre of the island there is a 33 metre hill with a granite outcrop at the top, giving an excellent view over the anchorage and beyond.

Later I made a dash for the St Martin’s Store before it closed. It’s at the other end of the island. I took the tender, weaved through the rocks and shallows, then jogged up the hill to Higher Town. It was closed. Sunday. I passed the church on the way back but couldn’t hear anyone singing.

Left over madras curry from last night for dinner. Then a couple of hours putting this (B)log together.

View from the top of Tean island. EIVIVA is the yacht on the right of the two in the centre of the photo.