I returned to Plymouth on Sunday 10 June, having left Moondog securely tied up in Plymouth Yacht Haven to ride out a couple of days gales, and it was good to see that everything was still intact. The pictures of floods and general mayhem in the SW on the news had certainly confirmed the wisdom of shortening the previous week's sailing and finding a secure and sheltered berth.

 

Avis and Nigel were joining as new crew, together with Knut from Norway, and all safely arrived by the end of the afternoon. A good evening catching up on news and using up some of Moondog's copious supplies of food and drink...then some rest before a few days sailing.

 

Monday morning, and sun....a most unusual sight so far this trip ! Not much wind, but frankly it was better to have some sun and no wind for a while, rather than the reverse, after days of grey and rain. This was a fairly simple trip out of Plymouth, along the coast past Salcombe and then round Start Point and North into Dartmouth. We left at 9.45 and timed it such that the tide pushed us along a bit, and we had no problems rounding Start Point, which can be an unpleasant place in strong winds and tides. This was very much a motoring trip in smooth seas and very light airs, but a good gentle first day and pleasant coastal scenery.

 

We had expected a greyer day from the forecast, and this did not catch up with us until we were approaching Dartmouth, and even then the rain held off. An easy approach into Dartmouth, despite having to dodge a large number of J80 racing boats engaged in their international annual championships, and we were tied up in Darthaven Marina by 4pm ....32 miles in 6 hours. This Marina is in Kingswear, on the opposite side of the river to Dartmouth itself, by the historic rail line which claims to be often used in Agatha Christie TV programmes. So it was off on the ferry to cross over to Dartmouth for an explore, and the discovery that few people in Dartmouth ate on Monday evenings, but we finally found an excellent pub with good food and beer, which brought the day to an excellent close.

 

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