23/05/2018
Saro's Gyda
Derrick Thorrington
Sat 9 Jun 2018 19:03
Off to
France
A relaxed start was
followed by the "need for a bit of exercise" so the OS map was scrutinised and a
run devised on the opposite side to Salcombe. A nice little circular route
taking in East Portlesham. It was actually lovely except for the bit where the
map showed heavily bunched contours. This represented a very long and very steep
hill, upwards of course. We both managed to puff our way up and the reward was
that the rest of the run was gently downhill.
The day was hot and
sunny and Salcombe was pleasantly quiet. We enjoyed a potter in the town, a few
little jobs (D) and a little swim (A). Lovely!
We set off mid
afternoon as planned, to time our arrival at the Chenal du Four for the right
state of tide and enjoyed a rather slow but very relaxing sail in the sunshine,
watching the coast gradually disappear. After dinner the wind died so we had
to resort to motoring.
Constructive use of
time
Mine was the
first watch. The sea was smooth, it was pleasantly warm and as the sun went
down, we were accompanied for more than 2 hours, by pods of dolphins, zooming in
from both sides and playing alongside and at the bow. The wind gradually filled
in just right for D's watch. We hoisted the sails, poled out the genoa and set
our new wind pilot, Hydra, to steer for us. The night passed uneventfully
despite the large numbers of ships and fishing boats around
us.
Dawn on the French
Side