After two months sailing unknown seas, this chapter sees us back on a familiar playground. Cornwall witnessed our very first cruise with Saltimbanque and was the landing point after our famous Atlantic loop.
More pictures, decidedly summery, on our page
Photos
16th-17th July : Kilmore Quay - the Isles of Scilly (143M)
For the first time since we left, the low pressure which was creeping in from the Atlantic gets blocked by the Azores high. Clear sign that summer is finally here, or that we sailed South enough … anyways, the strong wind forecast for Wednesday will end up far in the West of us, leaving a beautiful window wide open to cross the Celtic Sea from Ireland.
We leave at sunrise, with the turn of the tide. Or at least that was the intention. Once out of the harbour, it’s very clear that the tide has already turned and the wind-against-stream creates a choppy nasty swell. 2 reefs in the main and the genoa largely furled: the first hour, required to escape the strong currents at the tip of Ireland, is uncomfortable but fast.
Leaving Kilmore at dawn...
100NM at almost 6 knots, all canvas out, abeam under the sun, yes, it is actually possible!
As we pass the Coningbeg buoy, the sea flattens, the wind eases a little and – bliss! – the sky clears. Cute little puffins come to wish us a good trip! We can take up our long passages routine: the boat is sailing itself, straight South, home-bound. This is already the Breton sailors’ backyard: Coningbeg is the mark which the mini-transat candidates on their “mini 6.50” must veer to qualify their 1000 miles of sailing. As a matter of fact, we pass by one of these tiny sea racers, next to which Saltimbanque even seems big!
The wind, after dropping for a while, settles at a nice force 4 from the side, and the boat glides under the sun. So nice! Still a little unsure of this new environment, we peel off the oilies and don our hats and sunglasses. So it’s true, we can both be sailing and be dry! OK, we still have 4 layers on, but this doesn’t matter, it’s just wonderful…
Then, the jumping cherry on this happy cake: dolphins!!! The first pod appears as soon as we lose sight of the Irish coastline. We will see them again and again throughout the trip. The long Atlantic swell rolls gently, the boat is gliding at 6 knots, we are warm and dry, a little piece of paradise… for sure the best conditions since the start.
The dolphins come to celebrate our return to the Celtic Sea!
Let the night begin! Will it be as perfect as the day ?
The night falls for real here. Stars appear, shining brightly in the cloudless sky… regular splashes now and then let us know that the dolphins are still there, welcoming Saltimbanque back to the Celtic Sea.
At dawn we see them, and even recognize them on the horizon: the Scilly!!!! We stopped there already in 2012, also back from Ireland, and we are thrilled to be back in this amazing archipelago… nearly there!
The isles of Scilly! It's just here, we know the place :o)
Entering the acrhipelago through the "old grisby sound", straight ahead!
But the wind dies and heads to the South during the morning, as expected. We had anticipated and stayed well in the West, but the with flow, sailing into the archipelago turns into a long, painful business of tacking against the stream. We give in and turn on the engine, preferring 3 miles motoring against the wind through the Old Grisby Sound, rather than 6 more hours of slow tacking. We decide that using the engine, at lower speed and helped by the sails, for this kind of strategic passages can also be called “elegant”, and that’s it!
The passage between Tresco and Bryher is beautiful… flying over a few meters of turquoise water, Saltimbanque carves a way to the main anchorage in Hugh Town by St Mary’s. We are back to knowns territories,… and surrounded by French boats! Half of the visiting yachts here seem to be countrymen! And they are many of them, many more than during our first visit in 2012. We find a mooring however, floating on the wonderfully transparent water.
The isles of Scillys are famous for their turquoise waters and white sandy beaches...
The isles of Scillys keep delivering...
Walking ashore is equally pleasant, beautiful landscapes of turquoise waters and white sand beaches, and flowers everywhere. We find our first cowry “lucky shells” of the trip. Maybe the weather will continue to be good?
Now that we are back to summer, we can even have our “Saltimbanque shower” (dip in the sea / rinse in the cockpit), first time in a while… beautiful sun and sea at 18 degrees, we couldn’t really say no!
The water is so clear that it seems lit under the boat !
Now that we are here, there is no doubt that we will make it home on time. We are also back to known territory, with less to discover. We consider the last miles as holidays to enjoy, after two months of trying sailing in the cold, wet and windy!
The Isles of Scilly are a sailing paradise… so long as the weather is nice. Today is still sunny, but the weather will deteriorate tomorrow and the wind increase from the north-west. We decide to spend a last beautiful day at the anchorage, then leave with the tide and sail overnight to the English mainland.
To get to the anchorage, we are literally sailing on a lagoon...
For now, it’s warm and sunny, with a nice little southerly breeze. The trip to the Watermill Cove anchorage on the North-West of St Mary’s is short but beautiful, under sails on crystal-clear waters… the anchorage is both sheltered from the South and can be left by night.
Once the anchor is down, a lazy day starts: swimming around, siesta in the sun, resting ahead of the night sail… Doing nothing is not our strongest suit, so it’s best to train at it every now and then ;o)
Laure is swimming to check the anchor... like in the good old times...
Back onto the waiting buoy ahead of Penzance, like 12 years and 17 days ago...
Sailing by night is eventless, the wind rather light. The current helps us passed Lands End, the Southwestern tip of England – still with the regular visit of dolphins. .
We reach “Mount Bay” in the morning, within sight of Penzance. Just like last time, when we landed here from the Azores, the tide is too low to enter into the dock, and we take one of the waiting moorings outside in front of the jetty. The weather is much nicer than 12 years ago however, and Laure jumps in the sea at 19 degrees to swim again! Will that turn into a habit (again)?
The rain does come however, in the afternoon as we enter the dock. Penzance is a simple harbour, we raft alongside other boats, along stone quays. We like the simple atmosphere of this fishing harbour with basic infrastructure and a true soul. Tariffs are also more affordable.
Saltimbanque is back to the wet dock of Penzance
By coincidence, former English-Norwegians colleagues holidaying in Cornwall are out in Penzance the same day! It is the opportunity of friendly chat and drinks onboard, speaking about this distant country in the North, and about a topic even more distant and foreign: work… what’s that again??
20th July: Penzance (ashore)
Tropical gardens in Penzance
The weather is not getting any better, showers followed the rain… but it’s warm and we walk in oilies and shorts, like we would do under the tropics. Perfect to get into the spirit of visiting the tropical gardens in this city, made possible by the local microclimate created by the Gulf Stream.
We also treat ourselves to a dinner in one of the oldest pubs in town, the “Admiral Benbow”, to celebrate (like we did 12 years ago) our trip almost finalized and our return to known waters. The decoration in pure “pirate ship” style is rather full-on, and playing to the claim that Stevenson modelled his “Treasure Island” pub on this establishment…(Laure is reading this story actually, in honour of the Stevenson lighthouses dynasty previously mentioned … it’s all connected!)
Congratulations my dear...
... many thanks, and same to you !
21st July: Penzance – Helford river (32M)
The south-westerly wind is not yet optimal to cross the Channel, and we have not yet seen the Helford River, located just South of Falmouth. It happens to be the last piece of South England which Saltimbanque hasn’t cruised… high time to repair this omission!
This trip starts by “Saint Michael Mount” , the English version, with the asymmetrical spinnaker up. It’s been a while since we’ve used the big downwind sails! Then the wind picks up, veering to the West and South West, and pushes us gently around Lizard Point. The sun is shining, we have only 2 layers on today and only 1 pair of trousers! The beautiful cliffs and attached lighthouse appear much nicer in these conditions! Rather by luck, we catch a stream along the coast running in the right direction one hour earlier than the tide change and we overtake, from the inside lane, the boats who passed us earlier in the day… always a pleasure!
The famous Lizard cape, that was missing to our collection!
In between the fields starts the Helford river
Close to the last cardinal buoy before entering the river, dolphins come and offer a show of acrobatic jumps. Welcome back to the Channel, Saltimbanque! Well done for having sailed the whole length of Southern England, from Land’s End to Lowestoft!
Motoring upriver against the wind is always tedious, but at least the flow is helping. There are lots of boats here. Most are locals on their regular moorings, but there are many visitors too. All the visitors moorings are taken, and other yachts are even rafted in two’s for each mooring. It seems to be the custom here, so we do the same, and choose a welcoming Halberg Rassy 34 (since we can choose) to raft alongside. Not the easiest manoeuvre, since the target broadside Is moving around, swinging on its mooring as we approach. But we end up rafting without breaking anything.
We can then lift up our eyes and look around. The Helford River is a beautiful Cornish “ria” (=flooded riverbed surrounded by forest), lined by farmed hills, and boasts (very important), at least 3 pubs accessible by dinghy – as explained with great length of details by the harbour master in his dinghy.
The Helford river seems to be very famous by British sailing-holiday makers, but we didn't see many foreign boats.
22nd July : Helford River (ashore)
Beautiful houses with tide walls just by the yacht club
Thanks for the tip, but it’s Monday and we prefer to go stretch our legs… First stop: the yacht club. We expected only a pontoon to moor the dinghy on, but this was underestimating the refinement of the English yacht clubs culture! This club (reminded us of Lerwick’s) is open to all visiting yachts (who sign the guest book of course) and contains modern and clean showers, and a big room which doubles up with a pub at night: river sight and decorated with sailing flags. So British!
Our steps take us on the coastal path along the river and to the sea. It looks exactly like a ria in South Brittany, one of our home rias! Gillan Cove creek is particularly charming. As we did in the Scilly, we start looking around for good drying places to beach upon, who knows, maybe it will come handy in the not-so-distant future ;o)
The very end of Gillan Cove, looking just very much like a Breton ria!
Superb cottages around "Frenchman's creek"
On to the next point, where we see the last seal of the trip. Then we u-turn and head back, as the climate becomes increasingly “vivifying”, with an ever more present drizzle! Last stop is the charming settlement in “Frenchman’s Creek”, with its small white houses all wonderfully maintained. The hamlets around here are very old, as the river was an important exploration and trading post for tin already in the Phoenicians time!
When we come back to the boat, it is truly raining. As we are wet anyways, we quickly dip in the river for our “shower”, then huddle inside close to the heater! Tomorrow the westerly will veer to the North, perfect to cross the Channel and sail back to Brittany!!!
mum - 09/08/2024 16:06:52 Saltimbanque rajeunit de miles en miles ,il revient chez lui! le rafinement anglais transparait dans vos photos et descriptions Kirstie & Neil S/Y L’Escale - 06/08/2024 23:54:33 Isn’t it great to sometimes sail more familiar waters amongst the new discoveries?! And how good that there were still new places to explore amongst those you’d seen before ;-)
