6th July – Wednesday
We sorted ourselves out first thing Wednesday morning ready to catch the 10:00 bridge opening. Chris calculated that we needed to be at the tip of Portland Bill at 13:00. If we got this wrong we could be caught in the race which could be very dangerous. We had some time to kill, so we had to potter around outside Weymouth before we could make our way. However, it was not long until we were joined by about 12 other yachts heading the same way. This made Chris very happy as he knew then that his calculations were right.
We hugged the coast up to the Bill, keeping no more than 100 metres from the shore. There is a saying that you should be as far away from the Bill as a boy can throw a stone. As we turned past the Bill the tide swept us through onward to Brixham. The sun was shining but the wind had dropped to about 3 knots. Unfortunately we had to motor all the way through Lyme Bay to Brixham. After some 7 hours we were outside Brixham. Carole radioed in to Brixham Marina to sort out our berth for the night. We were allocated H 09. We found the pontoon but had difficulty in finding the number, because of the layout. We eventually found our place and tied up for the evening.
While Chris went off to the Marina office to pay for our night’s stay and get gate codes, etc, Carole got cracking in the galley and baked off some rolls and cooked some sausages for our not so healthy, but tasty supper. After thoroughly enjoying our meal, Carole cleared away while Chris plotted our course for Thursday’s trip to Dittisham on the river Dart. We then relaxed with our books until bedtime. We noticed here that the sea birds were very active and noisy until well after midnight, but thankfully they didn’t disturb us early next morning as expected.
Next morning we woke just before 8 am and after our usual cuppa and biscuit, we headed off for a shower. After breakfast and a quick tidy up, we walked into Brixham with our shopping list. We needed the latest chart pack, which would take us to Land’s End if we made it that far, some fresh fish or seafood, bread and salad.
We had a map giving directions to the nearest chandlers, which we discovered was at the top of the hill overlooking Brixham harbour. Boy were we glad when we reached the top. At least the return journey to buy our provisions was all downhill! The only annoying thing was, we couldn’t find anywhere to buy our fresh fish/seafood. Obviously Brixham’s normal visitors only want to buy their fish already cooked with chips. On walking back to the boat, we saw several groups of children learning to use paddle boards. They all looked as though they were having fun in the sun.