A Clockwise Circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland in Gaudeo (Bowman 40)
Tomorrow, we’d be sailing to Torquay to pick up Ben, Mary’s cousin, and a great sailor. From there, we’d be sailing on into the river Dart. Until now, the boat felt pretty spacious, but now we had crew sleeping in the saloon. I’d been used to this on Shearwater Sailing School’s Shanti II (a Hallberg-Rassy 352). However, their boat had great storage behind the saloon benches, which made this far more manageable. I think that if there was plenty of storage space in the saloon for their gear during the day, this wouldn’t be an issue, but unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. On reflection, I need to manage this better in the future. Instead, the roll-out berth became a bed-robe, and the saloon space became limited.
| 15:45 Sunday 9th April 2023 |
| Brixham to Torquay (a backwards half step) |
| OVERCAST | F4-3 SOUTH BACKING SOUTHEAST | MODERATE | 1012mBar |
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It was a short sail to Torquay to pick up Ben. When we met up we went out for an Italian, it started to rain. Unfortunately this was just the start. As is always necessary when sailing we kept a close eye on the weather. Using multiple platforms, from the Windy app (a chart based visualisation of the wind forecast using coloured arrows, alongside other functions), yacht weather apps such as Boatie (which tabulates data), alongside tuning into the coastguards VHF broadcasts of the shipping forecast and the MET offices ‘Inshore Waters’ forecast (which are both available online using a very specific and familiar dialogue). The longer range forecasts all warned of a pending storm, named ‘Antoni’.
| 06:10 Easter Monday 10th April 2023 |
| Torquay to Kingswear / Dartmouth |
| SHOWERS AND RAIN | F2-5 SOUTHWEST BACKING SOUTH | SLIGHT BECOMING ROUGH – SMOOTH IN THE DART | 1005mBar |
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We had a powerful sail to the Dart; it was fast and furious until we rounded the headland and F7, which was on our beam, ended up close to our nose. We were pinching and crashing into the swell. We did see another pod of dolphins, but the weather was lousy, making it challenging to enjoy even that; the rain was driving in from our destination. The swell was a further reminder of the pending storm we’d been tracking. To take cover, we sailed inshore as close as possible. We inched past the Mewstone and then the West Rock south cardinal buoy marking Shag Stone. Eventually, we reached the river’s mouth, virtually coming to a standstill with each wave. The entrance was impossible to see, but I trusted the charts. As we rounded Castle Ledge, and the river was revealed, it was like we’d entered another place entirely. The wind dropped, the rain disappeared, and the sun came out for a minute. We arrived in Kingswear, and it was slack water.
I was eager to get here as it was the location planned for a crew change. Mary, Michelle, and Mark would be leaving the boat to return to their jobs, and John would be arriving to join the crew. I was sad to wave Mary, Mark, and Michelle off. I would miss Mary enormously. John is an extremely experienced sailor, who has owned and worked on boats for years. He’s a great character, raconteur and an amazing addition to the crew.
Considering the storm we had been tracking, it seemed likely that for the next few days, we’d be trapped, wind-locked somewhere. I believed the Dart would be a safe haven.
Unfortunately, we had soon exhausted everything Dartmouth and Kingswear had to offer. We asked the locals for suggestions, and their only recommendation was to go to the pub. However, we took the Harry Potter-style steam train to Paignton, where we watched a film (‘Allelujah’, Hobson’s choice). We played pool there, went back to Kingswear, took the ferry across the river to Dartmouth, played pool there, and had a nice meal at The Bistro at Browns.
I went for a run, and then we went to the pub! We refuelled from the river barge, although on reflection, we should have gone to Noss Point to use their supermarket-style (unmanned) facility, which I believe would have been cheaper.
| 12:10 Easter Monday 13th April 2023 |
| Kingswear to Plymouth |
| FAIR | F2-4-1 WEST BACKING SOUTHWEST VEERING WEST | SLIGHT BECOMING MODERATE – SMOOTH IN THE TOR ESTUARY | 1001mBar STEADY |
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When storm Noa finally blew through, we set off for Plymouth. A friend of John’s had recommended the Mayflower marina, so we made for it. The sail was cold yet bathed in sunlight, and the wind remained a fresh breeze. It was on our beam and rear quarter, a great point of sail, and Gaudeo sailed smoothly. Ping… and suddenly the topping lift was flaying around; the soft shackle had worn through on the boom. I went up to the mast, let the topping lift off, and caught the line. I reattached it (temporarily) directly using a D-shackle. I would replace it with a Dyneema ‘soft’ shackle in Plymouth.
Somewhere off Bigburry Bay John started to wince, he was clearly in some discomfort. Many years ago he’d suffered a motorcycle accident and had reoccurring back pain. The pain built and it became increasingly obvious that he would need to see a doctor.
John managed to contact his friend in Plymouth, and we encouraged him to take the opportunity to spend the night there in order to see a doctor as soon as possible. Unfortunately, John wasn’t able to re-join the sail, and he continues to recover gradually. He last told me that he still hoped to come sailing again one day – get well soon John.
The staff at Mayflower Marina in Plymouth were extremely helpful, and the shower/bath facilities (assuming you used those for the annual berth holder’s) were wonderful. Living in Suffolk near to where the Mayflower is believed to have been built in Harwich, out of the many marinas in Plymouth this one was sure to catch my eye. Plymouth is reported as being the Mayflower’s last port in the old world before reaching the new. The Mayflower’s legendary voyage (departing 16th September 1620, arrived in what became New England on 19th November) taking the Dutch pilgrims to Cape Cod was fraught with delays, repairs, and health issues.
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Jamie Limond 