6th July Salcombe 50:15.34N 003:47.27W

Whisper
Noel Dilly
Sat 6 Jul 2013 18:48
"Sun and Shorts in Salcombe - 6th July"
 
Yesterday, we enjoyed walking around Fowey, it is a delightful town with white painted houses and grey slate roofs and narrow streets, only spoilt by the traffic negotiating its way on the one way system, one had frequently to stand in doorways to avoid having our toes run over.  The shops provided many opportunities to sample a Cream Tea or Cornish Pasty, whilst antique and craft shops, their windows full of colourful and interesting items made for interesting 'window shopping'.  At lunch time we conveniently found ourselves outside the Royal Fowey Yacht Club where we signed ourselves in and enjoyed lunch overlooking the busy natural harbour, while we enjoyed our favourite local beverages of Rattlers Cider and Doombar Beer.  Cream teas were enjoyed back on Whisper with our freshly purchased fruit scones and Cornish clotted cream, we already had strawberry jam on board from our last indulgence at Falmouth!  We need to move on away from the West Country and its enticing traditional fare. 
 
We left Fowey this morning in sunshine with a forecast of NE winds force 2-3 occasionally 4 later and fog patches.  The only bit of the forecast which was correct was the fog patches!  The wind was from the south and was not sufficient to sail by until after lunch when it filled in sufficiently for us to make 4.5kts for an hour before it dropped away again.  Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day, the coast is so very pretty when visible, the sea was flat and at times just like glass, without a single ripple.  We saw many gannets fishing, always a joy to see as they drop like stones from the sky to catch their prey. 
 
We finally arrived at Salcombe at the top of the tide, the beaches dotted with holiday makers and yachts anchored off them.  We motored on up the river and were given a buoy opposite the Island Club floating clubhouse, surrounded by rolling hills and green fields and small woods.  We very much enjoyed sitting in the cockpit in the warm sunshine enjoying our G&T's in the tranquillity of the English countryside and for the first time since we arrived back - feeling that it is summer time!
 
A great day, we may well stay on here tomorrow, as we need to do some maintenance on the engine which is reluctant to start easily these days.