Report on the RC Cruise in the West Country
Following ‘champagne sailing’ between Yarmouth and Portland the day before, Aquadisiac arrived in Brixham on Sunday 2nd June to take over the lead from Rascallion’s cruise, Chichester to Brixham. We were greeted by a D Day airshow with a range of WW2 aircraft plus an incredibly noisy Phantom.
An initial pontoon party was enjoyed on a sunny evening alongside Aquadisiac, with Rascallion, First Light, Good Time Girl, Good Day Sunshine, Arcadia, Perfectly Fine, Raven, Uforia, Jasper, Dancing Deva, Seclusion, Crayzee Feeling, Avalon, Canopus and Haraka.
The ever-helpful Richard Serna assisted Nick in attaching a new life raft onto Aquadisiac, our original one having detached and inflated itself in the Solent!
On the next evening everyone gathered at Brixham Yacht Club for a delicious pre-booked dinner at which their Rear Commodore (who appears on Saving Lives at Sea!) welcomed us.
Those sharing the same pontoon as Canopus toasted Jan on her birthday on Tuesday evening. (A few boats had moved on to a pontoon with power and therefore missed out!)
The next day we all arrived in Dartmouth, discerning eyes having passed guillemots nesting in the cliff-face and bobbing on the water. With most of us berthing on the walk-ashore visitors pontoon, some boats struggled with lack of shore power and chose to moor elsewhere. Good Time Girl pulled out at this stage and decided to explore the area on their own.
Our thanks to John and Jane Gosnell for organising a brilliant Safari (roving) Supper which everyone contributed excellently to, whichever course they were designated to host on board their boat with randomly selected guests!
Next stop: River Yealm
Another pontoon party was organised by Anne and Nick on the Yealm, with Anne’s home-made Elderflower Cordial cocktail on offer (thanks Jan for the ice!) plus a silly ‘Famous Nose’ team quiz!
On the middle evening there, we had another group meal, this time at the Yealm Yacht Club where we were well looked after as they had opened that evening specially for us.
Arcadia’s main halyard became unattached on their way into the Yealm, but Richard’s strength and James’ agility to ascend the mast sorted the problem admirably!
Next stop: Plymouth
This was as far as some people got. The weather was about to turn against us so Haraka, Good Day Sunshine, Raven and Seclusion chose not to venture further west. The remainder of the fleet decided to ‘run for Falmouth’ missing out Fowey which had been the next planned stop. This was fortunate in a sense because Mylor marina let us down with 24 hours’ notice saying they could not take the full contingent!
Canopus and Aquadisiac….spot the mistake!
Throughout the cruise John and Jane led various superb walks for those interested.
Overall, we had better weather than back on the south coast with only one day of prolific rain, when Nick and I took our chance to have a quiet pub lunch at The Lemon Arms at Mylor Bridge, about a mile-and-half away, initially walking through the ancient church grounds at Mylor.
On another occasion whilst in Mylor Nick and I took the ferry to St Mawes for the day.
By now the group had started to further disperse to a certain extent, with some wanting to sail more extensively and others enjoying shopping trips in Falmouth. The town was buzzing with activity as there was a Shanty Music Festival that weekend as well as a gathering of classic boats on the water.
The delightful hamlet of Flushing was visited by some of us individually too, easily walkable from Mylor.
Unfortunately nearing the end of the cruise, Nick had a nasty fall injuring his knee on the concrete pontoon whilst taking dogs Finn and Frankie for their last widdle of the night.
On the last scheduled day of the cruise, Sunday 16th June, there were only the hardy few still around in Mylor: Aquadisiac, First Light, Canopus, Avalon and Rascallion (with Uforia berthed at Premier for their convenience). So drinks all round were called for.
Decisions had to be made about how best to safely get Aquadisiac and its injured captain home! An able sailor in the form of Nick’s cousin came to the rescue. At least spirits were lifted on the way back by a pod of dolphins in Lyme Bay and a pod of bottle nose dolphins in Christchurch Bay.
Overall, a fun time was had although not everything had gone quite ‘according to plan’, perhaps to be expected on what was an ambitious cruise with so many boats involved.
Back to tennis and gardening for me now!
Anne Cole
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