Helford River – Mylor
E something, about 3, smoothish seas
11NM (1,477 cumulative NM)
In the morning, I woke early, and had to sit on deck and swallow fresh air. I was really miserable, and quite teary. Pete was very frustrated, as he was feeling fine and trying to work out how to help. His plan had been that we go towards St Mawes, and on another anchorage, but this was more than I could bear, so I almost begged him to let us go direct to Mylor. Reluctantly, he agreed.
Padstow – Helford River
E through NE (1-4) and glossy seas, except the Lizard when ROUGH
85NM (1,466 cumulative NM)
The three yachts that were rafted together in Padstow agreed that the weather window was good to go. We just marginally disagreed on the time for departure. Pete reckoned on an 08:30 exit – a full two hours after the outer yachts had determined. This had sent Pete into a spiral of self-doubt over the tidal streams, and he didn’t want to make the long passage any longer for me! Bless! He rechecked them, and held to his timing. Leaving the snug corner that we were in was fine – a kind fisherman from the huge trawler we were next to came to help… we clanked the anchor on the harbour wall, but other than that (and an impressive three-point turn by my skipper) we were on the way.
Photo shows Whinchat wedged in the corner of the quay… Fortunately both our neighbours intend to leave on the same tidal flow heading southwards…
We were always going to spend a day in Padstow… we’d arrived after a long days sailing and the exit to time the tidal gate to Penzance would have been an early start… not what you need!
Dale Bay – Padstow
W4 – WNW4-5 and moderate roly-poly seas. Eurgh!
77NM (1,381 cumulative NM)
03:45 came around all too quickly, but fortunately those six hours of sleep were good ones… For breakfast, we dosed up with stugeron, ‘just in case’, which was a very good move…
Milford Haven Marina – Dale Bay
SW3 and smooth seas. Lovely!
6NM (1,304 cumulative NM)
Pete convinced me that we should move back to Dale Bay overnight. The poor sleep that I had there previously was still very fresh in my mind, but we had a fair passage to make to Padstow, and the tidal restrictions in Milford just added another level of complication.
Monday 8th August 2011
Monday saw the arrival of Tom and Emma, joining us for a few days sailing. Tom is an old hand on the sea, but this would be Emma’s first go at sailing. Tom had joked that as they’d bought Emma a full set of foulies, that this would mean that the weather would mean sunshine… what he really meant that Emma would have no use from them as the weather would be too vile to set sail!
Dale Bay – Milford Haven Marina
SW3 and smooth seas. Lovely!
6NM (1,298 cumulative NM)
Photo shows Milford oil refinery, on the way to the marina…
It was another horrible sleep for me. For some reason (as the pilot book warns) there is a swell in the bay. Pete told me “it’s not that bad”. That’s as may be, but it was hard work for me. After some long hours at sea after a bout of feeling seasick I just think I’m at saturation point for the feeling of constantly moving.
Fishguard – Dale Bay, Milford Haven
W3 veering SW4 – smooth and then slight seas (with some overfalls thrown in)
42NM (1,292 cumulative NM)
I slept for 11 hours, and emerged from my cocoon of sleep like a new woman. All the misery of the day before restored, although I still had some of the ‘scars’ of the rough ride, and was certainly feeling anxious about another longish day – although Pete had promised it would be much shorter!
Holyhead – Fishguard
SW 4-5 initially, then dying off to a breath of wind. Very rough seas initially, through moderate and then slight…
88NM (1,250 cumulative NM)
If Wednesday’s passage was endurance, then today’s, for me, was misery! Mum, just skip to the bottom and know that we got where we were scheduled to..
It was a very early start with an alarm call at 03:45, but I’d woken long before the alarm went off. The wind had shifted in the night (as forecast) through to the north, and was blowing us head on on the pontoon, so that the mooring lines on the bow were snatching and pulling. We were being jolted from side to side. Not a comfortable night, and not an ideal start to a long passage.
Peel – Holyhead, Holy Island (Anglesey)
S or SW 4, slight then moderate then slight seas, fair and then wet and yucky!
60NM (1,162 cumulative NM)
Our passage to Holyhead, for me, was mostly one of endurance. It was frustrating at the outset for me – knowing that we could only leave after several hours of daylight have passed, meaning for certain a night arrival. We had calculated that the passage should take 50 NM, with a cautious estimate of 22:00 arrival in Holyhead. That was without the wind and tides to conspire against us!