 | 26 th to 27 th of March 2019 - Out of The Bristol Channel |
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| Crew : | Helen Andy and Henry | |
| Destinations : | Bristol Channel and St Mawes. | |
| Distance : | 181 miles |
We had some fantastic weather forecast with a week of high pressure and winds from the east so we decided to make the most of this and leave Penarth slightly earlier than originally planned. We had found a great extra crew member in Henry who had arrived the previous night and familiarised himself with the boat before we left our berth.He proved to be a dab hand in the galley, especially in keeping us all supplied with frequent cups of tea. We locked out through the barrage at 1000am and waved to Penarth as we motored past the pier.
The sun was shining but the easterly winds were gentle so we had to motor for the morning and early afternoon. However by 1630 we had all three sails hoisted and were sailing towards Hartland Point at around 5 knots. We managed to keep sailing for about 10 hours until the wind died completely in the early hours.
At Hartland Point we changed course for Lands End which helped with the wind a little. We started our watches after a supper of lamb Rogan Gost. At which point we followed 2 hour on and 4 hour off watch patterns. This suited us all very well. For Andy and I it was quite luxurious. It was fully dark by around 2000. The sky was amazingly clear and we all saw shooting stars and a few dolphins came out to play. The moon came up for Henry some time before 0200 so we had a clear horizon for most of the night. There was very little shipping and just a few fishing boats.
By 1000 we were all awake having had a full nights sleep. Although Andy had slept in the saloon so probably wasn't quite as rested as Henry and I. We were all in the cockpit as we passed Land's End. The sun continued to shine and every so often the dolphins came to have a look at us.
We entered St Mawes Harbour just inside the Fal entrance. The bay was empty. However, the harbour master responded to our radio call quickly and directed us to a mooring buoy. He didn't come out to collect his money however which was nice for us. It was a beautiful quiet night again.
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