Leg 5 Dartmouth to Salcombe 17.05.11

Date:- 17.05.11 Name: Morgen Crew: RD (Richard Dempster), Freddie From: Dartmouth To: Salcombe Comments: Easy start rough finish

Wind Strength / direction: Westerly F5 Sea State: Moderate Distance:21.7 nautical miles Time Taken:5hrs 26

Start point



The start of leg 5 was calm and nice. Weather was very good and sea state was slight. At first as we left the river Dart all was fine I thought to myself that it was going to be a cruising shute day. But as we left the river mouth there was no wind and I re-thought that it wasn’t even worth putting the cruising shute up. The wind indicator showed between 4 and 7 knots of Apparent wind. But as we motored out further in to the English channel the wind increased, I put up the main sail first and then shortly after this I pulled out the Jib. We were flying along reaching 7.7knots with no reefs in the sail. Perfect. But definitely not a cruising chute day. As I came amid ships of ‘Start Point’ This is a very prominent headland with a white tower on it which can be seen for many miles out to sea, the sea state suddenly changed from a slight sea to a very choppy moderate sea. Moderate sea is between 9ft and 15ft waves.

I was very tempted to drop the main sail as I had when crossing from poole Harbour to Weymouth but the boat was handling the conditions really well and we were keeping up a good six to six and a half knots up or down the waves or even in the troughs. I had worked out my passage time from a rough 4 knots per mile at this rate I could probably knock about an hour and half to two hours off my passage time. Although this would prove to be a problem as in the entrance to Salcombe there is a bar (sand bank) and if I arrived to early there would not be enough water for me to get into the harbour! But I would consider this later.

My faith in Morgen just grows from strength to strength. Even though we were battling against the prevailing westerly wind almost head on she just kept on ploughing through everything that was thrown at her. What a great little boat. The wind and the sea made for exciting sailing for me, however Freddie felt differently about it! He couldn’t work out how to get comfortable with the boat heeled so far over and when he did get comfortable by wedging himself in to the corner of the cockpit he threw up. The first time he has been sea sick. Great. He seemed ok straight away so I found the bucket which was hidden away in the rear lazerette which has a rope attached to it, threw it over the side filling it up with clean sea water. I then went about washing the deck where he had been sick. This took quite a while to clear as the chunks of dog food wedged itself in any little nook or cranny. Job done settle back to sailing. The wind picked up and we were hammering along. Freddie was sick again. However this time I couldn’t clean it up as the sea state had become to rough. Freddie moved himself in to the cockpit floor at the doorway well away from where he had been sick and left me to stand in it for the next two hours until we were able to moor up at a vivistors pontoon. Nice !

Just before Freddie was sick. Yuk.

I had left the AICR banner tied to the forward port guard rail and at about 12.30 to 13.00 hrs it started to untie itself. I didn’t want to lose the banner over the side of the boat so there was only one thing I could do, and I needed to do it fast. I walked and crawled up on to the port deck which is no problem in itself but when the sea is lapping over the toe rail and the boat is heeled over so far, one slip and the next stop is the drink. Also the water seems to pass by the hull very very fast and all of these sensations come very prominently to the foreground of your mind. As I untie the banner it starts flapping wildly in the wind and I am hugely aware that I must not slip but I untie the banner one knot at a time. I crawl back to the cockpit and try to carry it down the cabin steps where I immediately slip and crash down the gangway yet again. I have pins and plates in my left leg from a motor vehicle accident about seven years ago and of course I land on this leg which instantly gives way and I go sprawling in to the cabin. ‘o bother’ I say to myself and the air turns blue.

After some very high westerly winds we finally reach the entrance to salcombe. I have to keep as far to the west as I dare on the entrance to the harbour. There are some daunting cliffs and I need to judge it just right as the depth gauge is showing me that the water is becoming shallower all the time. I was about an hour earlier than I had planned and as it turned out I had enough water underneath me to make it across the bar, Phew. Salcombe as you can see from the pictures is another beautiful harbour and very well protected. As you sail in you can see golden sandy beaches on both sides in little coves that make you want to get off and explore. Just then the mobile phone goes and I come back to reality and as I answer it the Harbour master comes out to direct me to a visitors pontoon. I feel like a naughty school kid caught with his mobile phone in lessons. Tut tut.

Once moored up safely around the corner from Salcombe in a place called the bag I get Freddie off the boat and take him walking and running so as to burn some energy from him. We end up going up a very steep hill which gives us great views of the estuary. A really lovely place. Salcombe however is a place for the more affluent amongst us as it is quite expensive with designer shops along its main street. But I have to say quintessentially a lovely little English sea side village. But very hilly when you have to walk a german shepherd. And very tiring.

Freddie makes friends on the Visitors Pontoon