30th May
We did not have to leave too early today as we had to wait for the tide so we could get over the bar and out of Salcombe, so we left the town quay pontoon at 08:00 and eventually picked up another mooring buoy (Carole’s co-ordination with the hook deserted her today). We then had a leisurely breakfast afloat. The forecast was for light westerly winds with fog patches. Once offshore, we had the company of another yacht displaying a Swiss flag. We put up the sails and to our surprise we had a steady breeze and so tacked out south giving a good angle on the wind for the next tack. The Swiss yacht was following but tacked earlier, that gave us an advantage as we had a better angle on the wind. It was not a race (if there are two or more yachts out it is a race) but we gradually crept ahead on a starboard tack for the next 20 miles to Plymouth.
We called Mayflower Marina for a berth for the night (we had a 50% discount voucher for the first night given to us at the Southampton Boat Show, so didn’t want to waste it). We were allocated a berth and told that one of the team would be there to take our lines. However, getting on to the pontoon was not one of my best! Fortunately, apart from a few black marks and the skipper’s dented pride, no real damage was done.
We took a bus into Plymouth city centre for a walk and supper and enjoyed a good night’s sleep.
Note: this marina is the first to have a bath in its amenities block, also a proper laundry and utility room with sinks, spin drier and iron and ironing board. Carole was impressed even if Chris wasn’t!
31st May
Carole took advantage of the availability of a bath first thing (instead of a shower!) then following a leisurely breakfast, we headed in to Plymouth on the bus. We walked uphill to the Hoe and enjoyed the panoramic view of Plymouth Harbour. The day was quite clear so we were able to follow our previous day’s route into port.
After a quick bite to eat, we returned to the Hoe and went up in the Big Wheel located there. It wasn’t as good as the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, but it did give us a good all-round view of Plymouth (and we went round four times quite slowly). We then climbed the restored Smeaton’s Lighthouse which once stood on the Eddystone Rocks 17 miles south-west of Plymouth and were amazed that three men lived and worked in such a small space for up to three months at a time. We really don’t know how lucky we are these days!
Before we caught our return bus back to the marina, we paid a quick visit to Tesco’s to stock up our fresh