..on a slipway search.......

I was out and about this afternoon looking at various launching ramps around Plymouth. The one at Elphinstone Quay on the edge of the Barbican is easily accessible. All you pay for is the car park and the trailer is stored to one side.

It's a long way down with a right angled bend at the end

Plenty of ramp even at low water

Absolutely nowhere to tie up a boat - useless!

It is a nasty ramp though...that right hand bend looks awkward. Apart from that when you’ve pushed the boat off the trailer – there is nothing to tie it up to – not a sausage – no rings in concrete – nothing! Perhaps it’s me – but does this seem stupid? I mean – whilst I’m driving back up the ramp to park car and trailer – the boat drifts off into the Cattedown! No wonder this slip doesn’t seem well used except by Jet Ski enthusiasts.

this is a size 10 footprint

The story goes that this guy sailed up to this ramp for the first time...jumped out and immediately landed in wet concrete which the council had just put down as part of a temporary repair

Now I wonder who that could have been...........................

The ramp next door seems even trickier – it’s so steep – I’m not confident the car would pull a fully loaded Arwen back up that ramp!

I took a little stroll around the Barbican as well. There is a huge amount of old history in this place. I love it.

Lots of new developments but it gives the area character

This is one of the old Sutton Harbour walls. Back in the 1800's fishing luggers used to tie up at these walls and dry out on the mud below

You can see the old blocked up archway at the foot of the steps

Long before the lock gates were put in....the boats would dry out on the mud and then the fish would be off loaded onto carts. these would then go through tunnels under the wharves up into the town centre

The old railway lines from the 1940's are still laid down in the cobbles

There has been plenty of 'gentrification' in this area

No more fishing luggers - just these beasties

This used to be an old marine chandlers - it was a real little warren of cubby holes - piled high with chandlery. Now it is a restaurant but they have done the conversion in keeping with the area

One of the old quayside cranes preserved

A Cornish shrimper off for a day sail?

Then  I shot across to the little used slip at Mayflower. Now this one seems a little better although it’s very short on car parking space....and turning space to think about it. There is a nice beach on which to rest Arwen whilst parking – also there are rings in concrete – so some fenders out and she could be moored against the ramp wall for a few minutes. This is a useful slip as it gets you inside the Tamar area. It would save about 30 minutes motoring from QAB through Devil Point narrows. A good one to launch and return to if I was heading up the Lynher.

The pontoons below to the Mayflower Marina and that's the river Tamar in the background

At least this one has rings and a wall you can tie up to whilst you park the trailer and car

There is another one over at Oreston but parking is a big issue and it dries out at low water – pretty village though.

Enjoying the spring sunshine

The lovely village of Oreston right down on the banks of the Cattedown

A lovely ramp with tie up rings and wall but at low tide - a bit of a drop off the ramp!

Whilst over this side of the Plym across from Oreston, I came across this. I think she is an old RAF launch – a hospital or search and rescue boat.

RAF 'search and rescue launch'?

an old tug tied up at the breakers yard - shame

A quick Internet search found that the RAF launch was at one time based at RAF Gan.....and for those wanting to know more...here is a site showing her in her former glory RAF 2748

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1035987718035970728RuKqWB

Here is more about her from the historic ships record.
http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/ships_register.php?action=ship&id=2404......

RAF Gan was apparently in the Maldives and here is a site full of history about this former RAF station. http://www.gan.philliptsmall.me.uk/
Must have been an interesting posting out in the Indian Ocean.

Steve