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| Dawn light at Newlyn |
Finally the day had arrived when we could get back on the boats and continue on our way. We moved into a B&B in Newlyn last night overlooking the harbour so that we could have an early start and just walk down to the boats at 6.30am.
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| ConTTentment leaving Newlyn with St Michael's Mount just visible in the background |
All was calm as the morning light spread over the harbour, and I was encouraged to see the fishing boats making there way out in a steady stream. Will McCarthy, Si's brother-in-law, arrived to join him as crew. I have to admit to feeling quite apprehensive about rounding Land's End, especially as we had seen the state of the sea of the North Coast in the preceding days. As we rounded the point out off Newlyn and headed towards Long Ship's lighthouse, the sea state became progressively more unreliable, and once off Land's End itself, it was sadly very little improved from what we had seen from the comfort of the land! Conditions were terrible, lumpy an unpredictable. We had decided to take the inner route the landward side of Long Ships, navigating between the rocks, but these were now hardly discernable from the boiling sea surrounding them. To make matters worse, just at the crucial moment and when I thought things couldn't really get any worse, the sky turned an ominous steel grey and the rain came down, reducing the already limited visibility still further. Anthony and Si did an admirable job at the helms fighting to keep control over the boats in the turbulent seas. I must admit for the first time on this trip, I felt completely overwhelmed. The only comparison would be sitting on the worst imaginable funfair ride, without the consoling thought that it was only a ride, ie., therefore safe!, and with no knowledge of when and how it might end. Once through the worst of it, we bumped our way round to St Ives and crept into the welcome sanctuary of the harbour for a much needed regroup and cup of tea!
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| Shell shocked in St Ives |
We had a huge day ahead of us, so ploughed on, with a short respite with the sea on the beam, before being hit once again with choppy seas on the bow as we approached Padstow. It seemed interminable, but relief came in the very unexpected form of a visit by a pod of dolphin when we slowed the boats right down for Si to top of his tanks with fuel. It gave me a much needed lift, and made me realise that mixed in with the truly awful were moments of complete magic.
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| Lundy Island - a welcome sight in the distance |
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| Teal exploring under the cliffs at Lundy |
From Padstow we cut across towards Lundy Island, and picked up a buoy in the protection of the bay for a bite of lunch. This was the biggest day on the boats we had all experienced, and we were all starting to feel rather jaded, with another 2-3 hours ahead of us to Milford Haven. The crossing from Lundy to Milford Haven was again unrelenting and choppy, with the boats barely making 14 knots, until the last 30 minutes or so towards home, where we were met with a very welcome calmer sea and skipped along at a good 22 knots, all longing to reach our destination after a good 12 hours on board without touching land.
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| Teal creeps towards the Cresswell Arms in very little water after 12 hours at sea |
We were staying at a B&B near the Cresswell Arms right at the very top of the river and had a magical and gentle run up the river creeping up the narrow channel, surrounded by tree lined banks and reed beds busy with the evening activity of a huge variety of birds. Just when we thought we could go no further, with depth barely 1 metre, Si led us around a corner to the quay at the Cresswell Arms, heaving with people and clearly hosting a Classic Car Rally with every type of classic car and motorbike proudly lined up quayside in the evening sun. I am sure one or two people must have looked at two RIBs nosing up to the quay and thought we had clearly read our invitations incorrectly!
Distance travelled: 152 nautical miles
Time travelling: 10hours 13 minutes
Average speed: 14.9 knts
Fuel Consumption: 202 litres fuel
Total trip to date: 412 nautical miles
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