Day 12 - Sunday and a leisurely start to the day waiting for the harbour gate to open before waving our farewells to David on Dizzy who was sailing back to Cardiff. Then a wonderful hot shower before heading into town for a coffee. Suitably refreshed we hired bicycles and cycled the Camel Trail to Wadebridge for a cup of tea. On the way we stopped for a sandwich lunch and I was able to enjoy my £11 Rick Stein crab Sandwich.  Annie thought I was feigning mock horror when told the price at the checkout - I wasn’t. It was a very good sandwich.

As we have seen, there are more beautiful estuaries in the world than the Camel Estuary. Not many, but there are some. However, home is where the heart is and the estuaries of south west England were my childhood experience and they will always remain dear to me. Seas without tides are like climates without seasons - monotonous even if consistently warm. The ebb and flow of the tide add timeless variety and interest - particularly in the chill of winter when there are few people around and the sights and sounds come into particular focus.

In the evening we had an anniversary supper courtesy of Rick and his café. It was a crab sandwich experience - pricey but very good. I have only ever eaten lobster once before, possibly twice, and not been impressed but this was exquisite; firm, tender, the flavour enhanced by the mild curry sauce. Annie had a similar experience with Goan cod curry (Indian and Thai flavours dominate the menu). Thank you Rick. 

It’s getting a bit foodie this blog. Time for some sailing.

Day 13 - no recurrence of the indigestion and we were able to sleep well. We needed to as it usually takes a few decent nights sleep to catch up after a long passage. We were in good humour this morning and it occurred to us that we may have underestimated the sailing potential of the Bristol Channel. The South Wales coast offers some lovely anchorages and Pembrokeshire is a beautiful stepping stone to Ireland. Even Annie was thinking there might be some good day sail cruising. So, as soon as the gate was lowered we cast off and left the harbour, looking forward to the overnight run up to Bristol. This particularly after we realised that we had been passage planning from St Ives and not Padstow, the difference being that instead of a struggle to get up to Portishead to catch the tide on Wednesday we may actually have to slow down to ensure we aren’t too early! Our euphoria was tempered slightly when we passed an inbound yacht with the crew dressed in foul weather gear and life jackets. We haven’t seen or experienced that for years! And then out in the estuary a strong, chilly wind was blowing with a big swell coming in. We are now on a genoa run with the wind from behind, rolling a lot with grey skies and misty drizzle. Still, as I have mentioned, you don’t want wall to wall warm sunshine every day (?!) and our progress north is good. Tonight I may have to Don the salopettes but not my upmarket Dubarry sailing boots - the soles have completely disintegrated while stored in a locker!

No major mechanical or equipment issues to report. I did discover that there was no washer on the bottom of the pin holding the boom into the gooseneck so that it was the split pin alone preventing the boom retaining pin from lifting. The split pin was also too thin and being bent by the upward pull of the boom retaining pin. Fortunately I had the right washer and a thicker split pin.

So, we look forward to a cold, rolly night off the north Devon coast before reaching Portishead at around 1430 on Day 14 (Wednesday).