PRACTICE JOURNEY NO 5 - "TEAL" - PENZANCE TO BRYHER, ISLES OF SCILLY

In need of some sea miles for the family and the boat, nothing could be better than a few days on the Scillies. There was a forecast weather window with winds below 10 knots so ideal for a crossing. We managed to get a B&B booked on Bryher which we were very lucky and so with 2 days notice the trip was planned. The night before departure I worked though the route on my computer, to transfer it via a SD card to the chartplotter. Quite what I was thinking about when I copied the files I am not too sure, as I managed to wipe all the charts of the UK from the card, then spend the next few hours to no avail trying to restore it. At 2am I gave up to get some sleep and use the trip as an exercise as if the chartplotter had broken.

We drove with the boat and trailer to Penzance where there is a good slipway, parked up the car and got away at about 11am, conditions looked fantastic, somewhat different to my last crossing where I had a force 6-7 on the nose and 30ft seas, and managed the crossing in 9 hours. The skies were clear, there was a modest swell as we hugged the coast heading for Lands Ends there n turned more SW for Wolf Rock and the open sea.  There was very little shipping to be seen except for an oil rig under tow, which I had mistaken for the seven sisters rocks. Paddy & Meg helmed almost the whole way across, we did think about pausing for a cup of tea, but Meg said she felt a bit queezy rolling in the swell so better to keep going at 22 knots. With land in sight the sea flattened and we followed our route carefully into the Scillies passing crow bar and St Marys Sound. Without charts showing on the chartplotter I felt a bit exposed as the Scillies are full of hazards, but the route had been carefully chosen and if accurately followed we would be fine.

The Scillies looked wonderful in the bright sunshine, miles of tropical looking beaches, I knew the route past Samson and New Grimsby Sound fairly well, but still followed one of the local ferries in, then spotted our some friends the Hockings from Downderry in their yacht moored up, so we joined them for lunch.

We had three nights at a B&B on Bryher, and spent the days swimming, quay jumping, prawning, and exploring on Tresco Samson & Bryher, Sarah even managed to spend an afternoon looking round Tresco gardens something we have tried to do but failed over the last 2 years.  Teal didn’t go move round much and we got a mooring from Bryher Boatyard, just a short paddle from the quay. A sick bug spread round our friends and caught Paddy on Sunday, and left the rest of us feeling a bit odd on Monday morning.

The forecast was for a very calm Monday, then things picking up for the rest of the week, so we decided Monday was the right day to go home, packed the boat, and headed for a final stopover at St Marys. The new refuelling is very efficient, the tank was filled up in 2 minutes (it used to take hours with jerry cans), Sarah & Meg had a bit of shopping to do, while Paddy & I prepared the boat. Just after 11am we headed out for our return trip to Penzance, hoping to catch up with the Hockings who had left a few hours before. 

The seas were even smoother, we were going with the swell, so it made for a lovely fast trip. We spoke to the Hocking at a range of about 10 miles so that checks out the VHF ok now, and whizzed over the 40 miles getting into Penzance at 1am

VERDICT:
Bryher:  We were very lucky getting our B&B and having great weather. We all love it there.

Crew:  This was the first long sea crossing we had all done as a family, it has helped build a lot of confidence for everyone, Paddy and Meg do really well at the helm, although Meg struggles to see over the screen if there is someone sitting on the front seat. Sarah really enjoyed it, and it has been useful so we all know what suitable clothing we want for the main trip.

 Navigation: We did well, even without the charts on the Garmin, not something I want to repeat, but with paper charts, my iphone as back up sat nav we were fine. I will try and take a back up card for the Garmin, and remember not to work on the charts when I am too tired!

Boat: Teal is going really well, I have no real changes to make to her, just sort out some better mooring lines, and test out the new fuel tanks which we didn’t take. I would also like to take her out in some rougher seas, over the next couple of weeks, to see if anything shakes loose.