We depart
QAB on the falling tide, using the north slip with the permission of the marina
yardies. Arwen is packed. All the front cockpit is filled with three waterproof
expedition bags; one with sleeping gear and spare clothing; one with food and
cooking equipment; the last with tent materials. The clouds are an ominous
grey, low, and very wet looking. But my foulies are on, including waterproof
trousers and we are ready for anything.
This is my
75th trip in Arwen, our three hundredth hour will be clocked up on his voyage.
The calm before the storm?
Out into
Jennycliffe Bay we motor and sails are raised. It becomes clear it will be
breezy, some violent gusts but Arwen and I potter about getting a feel for the
conditions. We are under mizzen and main only. The sprit boom has been raised
to a new position to see if we can eliminate the ‘dreaded crease’. The luff of
the sail has been pulled in closer to the mast by using some rope.
More of Kevin Stares videos can be found on his YouTube channel at
We run
through some basics, coming into the wind, where Arwen, with her mizzen sheeted
in hard sits facing the wind. She never deviates, sails flap along the
centreline. She behaves impeccably. With jib out we carry out some heaving too
and again she behaves as she should. And
then we potter off to see the submarine anchored in the lee of the breakwater.
But getting too close is clearly not being allowed and so our thoughts turn to
the expedition.
Under main
and mizzen, we head up north west into the mouth of the Tamar, via the bridges
at the western end of Drakes Island. The wind is astern and the gusts have us
surfing on occasions. It feels both exhilarating and terrifying at the same
time; a sort of mildly out of control!
I think this is 'Double de Ginn', a postboat based at QAB
It's going
well. We make around four knots shooting the narrows between Cremyll Battery
and Devils Point. Up past King Billy and number one shed of the old dockyards,
the aft wind drives us forward towards Torpoint and then suddenly the winds
shift, northerly straight down the channel. Caught in an eddy we claw
helplessly westwards towards the mudflats. Huge gusts ferociously fill the
sail; no time for heave too; no time to reef. Out comes the jib. We tack just
in time and head south back down the channel putting distance between us and
the accursed mudflats. Many a fine ship has ended her days on Millbrook Lake
mudflats but not us. Not this day! With a gunnel and rubbing strake leaning in
the water we career down the Hamoze to open water and we tack around once more.
The jib is furled, the mizzen eased further and the mainsail eased out. We've
achieve a beam reach which takes us through the Torpoint ferries path and past
the moored tanker. The mouth of the Lynher beckons.
Being overtaken by a rowing boat...ah the pain and humiliation
sailing past 'King billy' and the number one yard shed
and up past the dockyards
And we safely negotiate the three Torpoint ferries whilst under sail power!
We sail as
far as the bridges. After that the wind drops and the channel narrows
considerably. The tide hasn’t started to push up river yet and with the wind
shifting to NNE it’s going to be hard work trying to tack up a narrow channel
which runs north. We are pinching way to close to the wind to make progress.
The sails come down and now it’s by motor. Up to Cargreen following the
starboard and port buoys carefully. The left hand mudflats extend outwards some
distance from the shore. Whilst the tide is rising, it still wouldn’t be fun to
get stuck on them. For our first trip up the Tamar, caution is the watch word.
Next time we will sail as far as we can, because then we will have ‘knowledge’
of the channel and its vagaries.
Past Weir
Quay boat yard, you enter the first of the meanders. This one is massive. The
river almost bends back on itself. The pilotage notes are really clear. Hug the
outside channel where the deep water is!
Weir Quay Boatyard
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