Thu 25 Jun
Departure
Bryher
Arrival / Anchorage
Bryher
Distance NM
Max wind / Sea state
F5/ Slight
Shipping forecast
(Lyme Regis to Lands End including the Isles of Scilly)
Strong winds are forecast
WIND
East or northeast becoming cyclonic, 4 to 6, occasionally 7 for a time, becoming west or southwest 3 to 5 later.
SEA STATE
Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth at first in east.
WEATHER
Fair then thundery showers, fog patches later.
VISIBILITY
Moderate or good, occasionally very poor later.
Sailing conditions
A strong wind blew straight through the bay. Every yacht tugged on its mooring buoy, the water’s surface choppy with whitecaps visible just outside the harbor entrance. Setting off into this chop in the dinghy meant accepting a rather wet splash in the face every so often.
Once safely ashore, a quick stop at the only shop on the island preceded lunch at Fraggle Rock.
On the wall, a signed photograph of a very young Gary Lineker caught the eye. “Is there anyone else famous?” prompted a shrug of the shoulders from the seasoned barman. “Kate Winslet was in the garden area,” came the indifferent reply.
Daytime yarn / experience
This anchorage attracts many sailors from the UK and continental Europe—the Netherlands, Germany, and France, for example, are all represented here.
There are also some true showstoppers in the harbour. A three-masted lugger, Grayhound, arrived late last night.
Nearby, we had a conversation with the owner of Altricia, a stunning 42-foot (13-meter) classic wooden cruiser-racer yacht constructed from African mahogany, once the star attraction at the London International Boat Show.
Finally, the vessel Rely is a historic 10-meter sailing vessel originally built in 1911 as a traditional Scottish “Zulu” pilot vessel, currently circumnavigating the UK.
The harbour scene is completed by a plethora of smaller craft passing by—canoes, dinghies, RIBs, and gigs.
There is even a unique, purpose-built RIB with wheels, driving straight from the water onto the sand.
Links below open in a new page
Children’s section
Knot quiz
Helloooo, poppets! Put on your thinking caps, because it’s time to reveal the answer to yesterday’s knotty competition!
The grand answer is… the tight, tough, and tiny constrictor hitch!
Oh, it has the most wonderful name, darlings, because it acts just like a friendly little boa constrictor snake! It looks a wee bit like a standard clove hitch, but it has an extra-clever twist hidden inside. Once you wrap it around something and pull it tight, it hugs it so incredibly hard that it simply refuses to ever let go. In fact, it holds on so tightly that it’s almost completely impossible to untie once it gets a good grip—sometimes you even have to use scissors to cut it off!
Sailors use it when they need a knot that absolutely, positively will never slip.
Did any of you guess this super-strong mystery hitch?
You are absolute clever-clogs!
Lessons learned
Draft text
Household chores
Shopping list
Quote
Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.
Robert Henri
Previous page << Homepage >> Next page