mini cruise

We had our first cruise with Sarah G at her home port last weekend. We deliberately didn't plan anything ambitious and only went as far as the Yealm but it was a good weekend and we had an excellent meal ashore in the Dolphin at Newton Ferrers.

We also managed a nice gentle sail down the river, out through the Bridge and on to the Yealm. Once past the breakwater we had a go at setting the cruising 'chute for the first time but the wind suddenly changed direction to the south west and freshened just past our predetermined threshold for setting such a big bit of nylon, particularly for the first time. Still, we carried on under normal canvas and dropped sail in Wembury bay and motored up. There were a couple of moments when we were a bit feeling our way as we had contrived to arrive at the Yealm bar at pretty much dead low water and there was not a lot of water under our keel.


All, was well and we savoured being back in one of the most beautiful rivers in the West Country.

The meal was all we wanted and we slept well through the night.

Sunday dawned with a leisurly start but a rather gray sky though not too much wind was forecast. We cast off at 1030 and motored down with the new ebb. Out of the river, I started to get sail up only to find that we had contrived to wrap the main halyard round the radar reflector and no way of coaxing it back round. In huge embarrassment, we motored to Cawsand and anchored there while I had a go with light lines to throw it over the spreaders and then to untangle the wrapped halyard. All to no avail and I was resigning myself to coming down the following weekend with a bosuns chair.

We therefore, motored back to Torpoint after lunch where I had a bit of inspiration. I had clipped the halyard to the end of the boom as we usually do and it occurred to me that if we pulled a messenger up the halyard over the spreader, it might then be possible to untangle the main halyard. The wind was blowing hard which both helped in throwing my light line over the spreaders but made it more difficult to retrieve the end. Eventually, though, I did and pulled one of our spinnaker sheets which has a nice big snap shackle on it up and over. Clipped to the main halyard which I slackened off as much as possible, I jiggled it round and suddenly we were free!


All in all a very nice weekend.