The new wind generator was installed and once the wind actually began to blow for a change it produced zero amps.........ummm time for a rethink, I now suspect a break in the wiring somewere between the generator mast and the switch panel, after a lot of looking around we sourced some 8 mm cable to replace the runs from the wind generator however it will have to wait because we need to get going.
The forecast looked good for a trip around Lands end to Penzance, it's a long way , a day and a night for us, about 120 miles.
The trip was enlivened considerably by numerous visits from pods of Dolphin, these enchanting creatures spent a long time playing ariund the boat and sometimes leaping completely clear of the water.
We approached Lands End and the Longships light as dawn approached, the wind had been a fairly constant 4-5 all night, sometimes we were doing over 7 knots careering through the darkness Lynne isn't a fan of this, however with the dawn light the wind died and in order to " get round the corner" we resorted to the engine. The plan had been to push on to Falmouth but now it made more sense to enter Mounts bay and seek shelter in Penzance.
Lands End.
Lynne radioed the harbourmaster to enquire about the visitors moorings outside the south wall of the harbour only to be told they hadn't been laid yet but we were welcome to anchor there if we wished. We did! We dropped anchor and tried for a fitful sleep which wouldn't come, sometimes it's best to just keep going and get an early night. So we went shore to explore.
The weather was beautiful and much warmer than it had been in Wales, Lynne was finally able to wear a summer frock.
Later we were joined by our friends on Hocus Pocus, Dave and Carol who arrived from the Scillies, we had a pleasant evening ashore in the ' Admiral Benbow'
The following day we carried on towards the Helford river, within a couple of hours of setting off for the Lizard we were enveloped in thick fog.
However the upside was it brought some wind so the sailing was good, the sea state was also a lot kinder than either the Irish Sea or Bristol Channel. We approached the Lizard and the horn on a buoy made a mournful companion as we rounded this notorious headland. We never saw it in fact the first bit of land we did see was Black Head, which is about five miles from Falmouth entrance.
As we approached the Manacles buoy marking the seaward end of yet another notorious set of rocks the wind increased and along with several other boats all converging on the buoy rule number 1 came into play,
Rule no1: any two boats under sail in close proximity are in fact racing.
We rounded the buoy in the lead and doing 9 knots!
We quickly took in sail for the few miles to the entrance to the Helford river jogging along nicely under mainsail alone. As we approached Nare Point we phoned David Chidell ( our dinghy minder ) who we knew would be on duty as a coast watcher in the lookout. He came outside and enthusiastically waved us in. We were also accompanied yet again by Dolphins playing under the bow, by now we were getting quite blasé about it.
As the light began to fade we entered the Helford and looked for a likely spot to drop our anchor.
We decided on polgwidden cove which was nicely sheltered from the westerly winds.
It was a fabulous days sailing that really did have a bit of everything.
This is our AIS track as we were passing the Manacles.
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