Going up to St. Germans Quay

Going up to St. Germans will happen next week. I am scheduled for either a Friday or Saturday departure. The tides are coming up to springs and in the morning will be falling to low tide around midday ish and an incoming tide during the afternoon.  I will try and sail up on part of the outgoing tide so that I arrive under the viaduct an hour or two before high tide so that I can see the resting ground on which Arwen will settle.

(The above photograph is a very old one of Arwen and I on the Cattedown. This was when she was rigged slightly differently and I had yet to master how to get rid of the dreaded crease. This is one of only two images of Arwen actually sailing out on the water, taken from a distance by someone else, that I know of)

I did some internet research and found a few places which other camp cruisers have used. One is right up by some lime kilns just under the viaduct.  Another site I like the look of is on a triangle of land that is on the inside of the last big river bend. If I could anchor off the beach in such a way that my primary anchor is in deeper water and I use a kedge anchor over the stern that could pull Arwen back inshore to the beach, then I could camp on this land overnight. That would be real wilderness stuff and it does appeal to me I must say.  I could light a small fire from driftwood and toast marshmallows ........yup.......that definitely appeals.

I want to keep things simple on this trip....travel lighter than I did when we went up the Tamar a few weeks ago. I also want to sail as much of it as I possibly can.

I will update blog over weekend with further specifics. Our spell of stunningly hot sunny weather seems over though!

I finish with another very old photograph.......

(This photo is also very old and one of only three occasions when my son has joined me on Arwen. He dislikes boats intensely. Again, I was getting to grips with a new rig.....that dreaded crease and saggy jib. Thank heavens they are now virtually things of the past!!!)

Steve