Editor’s note
Website construction on a sailing boat has many challenges. Week #1 page is perhaps too large for building purposes and navigation. Let’s make a change and build new pages daily
Monday 5 July
Malpas here we come…
Shore party to the nearby village of Malpas started with a nautical mile NM dingy trip. On arrival there was a change on the quayside – a new cafe and deli had just opened TODAY. Staff explained it was part of the Heron Inn and the opportunity to sit and relax could not be missed. So we strolled back and forth through the village admiring the fine properties and gardens before returning to the cafe.
As lunchtime was approaching, the idea of staying ashore for lunch at the pub began to develop. Say no more… an hour later and the order had been placed using online booking from the sanitised table outside. And ‘hey presto’ from nowhere the food arrived :-
13:30 Time to return before the rain and high winds forecast for the afternoon arrived.
Preparation for heavy weather
The low pressure system over the Irish Sea will track eastwards and the occluded front will pass overhead about midnight. Force 5 winds will blow from the southeast and then veer suddenly to the northwest about 01:00. Rain and gusts will follow. We were in the most protected anchorage possible tucked up on the River Fal / Truro with steep sided riverbanks. The GPS positioning equipment was switched on.
09:30 – 23:30 Anchor fails to hold
The wind was howling through the shrouds and the rain continued to fall. The yacht behind seemed to be getting closer and the GPS position seemed to be showing some movement. As darkness fell, the yacht behind was definitely much closer. We swayed back and forth and twisted from side to side.
Our anchor was raised and with rain blasting through the valley, we moved further into deeper water. The anchor dug into the soft mud.
23:30 – 04:00 Anchor holds
Sleep did not come easily. The wind eventually eased and everything went quiet again. Not for long because the wind had change direction and now blew from NW and built up to force 6 for a second time.
04:00 – 07:00 Anchor watch
Again the anchor failed to hold and we were slowly moving down river. This time however there were no obstructions so we took turns to ‘anchor watch’ – sitting and watching until the anchor stopped dragging. Transit points on land were agreed and we stopped in one place – eventually.
Experience Sailing 