MV Gjoa: May 2014

Thursday 29 May 2014

Crossing the Bar - Salcombe

We are in Salcombe, Devon where, it has been suggested, Tennyson wrote his famous poem ‘Crossing the Bar’ while sitting here on a yacht in 1889. He must have been contemplating the formidable bar at the

Salcombe entrance - looking
seaward

entrance to the harbour which stretches almost entirely from side-to-side. Entry is through a tiny opening, which at low water Springs, wouldn’t support our 2m draught. We did the tidal sums, checked and rechecked and held our breath. In the end, it was an uneventful entry and we picked up a mooring right in front of the yacht club. This is a very pretty town, with a high street like Cowes’, but more upscale, must be very expensive to live here. Unfortunately, this week is half-term, so the town is heaving with tourists and the restaurants and shops are packed.

Salcombe Yacht Club - we're moored right in front

Weather has been totally unexpected. Since we set out, there has been a firmly entrenched low which brings cloudy skies and rain showers, but, unusually very little wind. This stretch of Channel normally has strong SW winds, sometimes not changing for very long periods. We weren’t looking forward to beating into it all the way to Falmouth, but, we’ve had nothing over F5 and sometimes just F2-3 or even less. The motor has been getting a workout. It has been a good shakedown for the rebuilt injectors and injection pump we did over the winter.

We made three passages to get here, a short one from Poole to Portland where we anchored in the harbour (where all the Olympic sailing happened in 2012), from Portland to Brixham and then from Brixham to Salcombe. The first and third passages were entirely

Start Point - seen through the murk

under motor. Luckily, the long one from Portland to Brixham, which rounds the feared Portland Bill and crosses forty-five mile Lyme Bay, had wind for most of the way. We enjoyed a really nice sail in 12 knots of NW wind for about 2/3 of the passage. We got a great push from the tide around Portland Bill. All was going well until the wind died. We soon realized we weren’t going to make Dartmouth, our original destination, before dark, so, decided to change course for Brixham instead where we could easily anchor just outside the harbour. It was an interminable motor at just 3 knots (we had a foul tide as well) to get there, but, we arrived just before dark, slung the magic anchor over the side (set first time again) and enjoyed turning the motor off for a good night’s rest in our

newly-created sleeping quarters. It was a very long, difficult project stripping the entire v-berth back to the stringers and rebuilding into large, comfortable beds with above and below storage, but, we’re very happy with how it turned out and are really enjoying the results.

For those of you not familiar with Tennyson’s poem Crossing the Bar, here it is:

Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar.

-----

Salcombe 29/5/2014 17:30 50°14.0'N 003°46.00'W

Sunday 25 May 2014

On Our Way

Finally, finally, we have left the dock! Only three days later than our planned departure date of May 21, we left Cowes yesterday. Last-minute events seemed to be conspiring against us, we’d said our goodbyes, were feeling the pressure and wondering whether we’d ever get away when, five days before departure, a boat went out of control in the marina. It was a large, heavy boat and as it careered towards our stern-mounted and vulnerable windvane, propelled by the fierce tide that runs through the marina, we had visions of our

Gjoa at East Cowes Marina

departure being delayed significantly while repairs were made. Luckily, with some timely fending-off, we only encountered a glancing blow which rearranged the liferaft and lightly pushed the windvane paddle out of the way. Further testing while underway is necessary, but, we think it’s ok. Three days before departure, our main computer decided to give notice of imminent failure requiring a quick run to the computer store. On the day of departure, it was blowing 40 knots through the marina, accompanied by torrential rain, so, we decided to delay yet another day.

Finally, yesterday, we and the weather were ready. We joined the traffic jam coming out of Cowes. Maybe leaving on a bright, sunny Saturday morning on a Bank Holiday weekend wasn’t such a great idea. We got some sail up amongst the crush of boats and made way for Studland Bay, near Poole, where we’d planned to anchor. Our sailing skills are very rusty after two years ‘on the hard’ and we hadn’t sailed Gjoa before, but, although not sailing very well, at least we were making way in the right direction. The Solent was full of boats, all heading west with the fair tide. One sleek boat after another, with identically-attired crew festooned on the windward rail, streaked by us until we were almost the last boat to arrive at the Needles. Most boats went south, we went west and after a lovely sail, we were snugly anchored with a beautiful view of ‘Old Harry’ and rolling green countryside.

The 'magic' Spade anchor

Before closing, I have to mention our new ‘magic’ anchor. On our previous boat we struggled with getting our old CQRs to set. When tired and just wanting to get the hook down, it was very frustrating dealing with multiple attempts and we found ourselves avoiding anchoring. We bought a new Spade anchor for Gjoa and we just couldn’t believe the difference. Basically, just tossed it over, backed down really hard and we were set first time! The anchorage is known for poor holding, it was rolly overnight, with tide changes, but, we never budged. Now, that’s a result. We are now looking forward to many more nights at anchor.

Our plan now is to move slowly along the south coast, towards Falmouth, where we’ll spend some time provisioning and then make the hop to Ireland.