The GPS Blog| Activity | Activity date | Activity description |
|---|---|---|
| Salcombe back to the Exe | 2024-08-14 | And, finally, back to the Exe from Salcombe. The forecast wasn't too promising with northerly winds so we expected a lot of tacking. It was slow for quite a while after we rounded Start Point - from there to Berry Head seemed to take an age. We idled away the time crossing Torbay watching three large ships in a row come into the bay to take on pilots. As we passed the Ore Stone the wind freed up and we had a lovely sail straight up to the Exe SWM. We arrived an hour before low water but as it was so neapy we progressed up channel to just past the floating cafe where we picked up a spare mooring for an hour waiting for enough tide rise to make it onto Triskelle's mooring
Tags:
Brittany-2024
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| Salcombe to Roscoff | 2024-07-16 | A sail across from Salcombe to Roscoff in Brittany on David K's trimaran Triskelle.
We had been planning to leave to 4am but at 3am Prawle Point NCI were recording F7 winds. We waited an hour and the winds started to drop as forecast so we set off at 5am.
We were double reefed to start with with F5 / F6 winds for a while. They soon came down to the forecast F4 / F5 and we had a splendid beam reach. About two thirds the way across the wind dropped to about F3 / F4 (again as forecast).
So, all in all, a good fast sail across and we made Roscoff about 2 hours ahead of planned.
Many of the accompanying photos are of Roscoff and taken the next day.
Tags:
Brittany-2024
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| Roscoff to L'Aber Wrac'h | 2024-07-19 | As we left Roscoff the fog came down pretty hard putting the kibosh on our plans to go through the Chenal De Batz. Shame. So up round the north of the Ile De Batz and on to L'Aber Wrac'h.
The sail into L'Aber Wrac'h was less daunting than it appeared on the charts but was very rocky (in a good way).
Tags:
Brittany-2024
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| L'Aber Wrac'h to Camaret | 2024-07-23 | We had to wait in L'Aber Wrac'h for four days until we got a weather window where there wouldn't be wind against tide in the Chenal Du Four.
With the tide turning earlier in the St Mathieu narrows than higher up by L'Aber Wrac'h, that meant "punching" the tide for the first hour and a half. Going down the Chenal Du Four was fine as we had light mostly westerly winds. Even though it was (an average) Springs, the speed of the current wasn't greater than, say, the Exe ebb.
We encountered a few hundred metres of turbulent water just south of St Mathieu narrows.
Then on to the rather lovely Camaret Sur Mer.
Tags:
Brittany-2024
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| Camaret to Brest | 2024-07-25 | Across from Camaret to Brest. The weatehr was mizzly and murky with visibility of about a mile.
As it was light winds and only about 8 miles, we motored across the south side of the Goulet De Brest.
Brest is still a naval port and we caught glimpses of Napoleonic fortifications as well as U Boat pens (still in use by the French navy I believe).
Moored up in the Port Du Chateau marina which is huge.
Tags:
Brittany-2024
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| Exe to Salcombe | 2024-07-14 | A lovely sail down from the Exe to Salcombe on David K's trimaran Triskelle ahead of sailing across to Roscoff in Brittany.
Spent the next day on a mooring buoy off Salcombe Yacht Club making a few preparations ahead of the cross channel sail (mainly around setting up the AIS aerial and receiver).
Tags:
Brittany-2024
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| Brest to L'aber Wrac'h | 2024-08-10 | The wind was invited but failed to show. The tides were calculated to arrive but we didn't see much more than a knots worth in the Chenal Du Four. Once out of the lee of Ushant we got a tiny bit of Atlantic swell to speed us along. The dolphins weren't invited but turned up anyway. Ended up on mooring buoy at L'aber W'rach and the first leg of the homeward journey completed.
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Brittany-2024
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| L'aber Wrac'h to Roscoff | 2024-08-12 | Up early to catch the east going tide. Enough wind to sail for the first dozen miles and then motoring sailed on to Roscoff. Too misty to go through the Chenal De Batz and we hadn't quite made the tide. A few more dolphins came out to play but didn't give me enough forewarning!
Tags:
Brittany-2024
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| Roscoff to Salcombe | 2024-08-13 | The long trip back from Roscoff to Salcombe. Bit of everything really.
I'm not mad keen on dead runs and suspect trimarans aren't either. But the first 40 miles were goose winged (with the first 15 or so having a little motor assist). Triskelle isn't one of those multihulls who bamboozle normal folk by tacking downwind.
After some adjustments while crossing the ships coming out of the shipping lanes, the wind had shifted back a little more south westerly. And grown. I saw a 10.3 knots as we surfed down the side of a 3m wave. Lots of fun but I was hoping they wouldn't get any bigger. They didn't!
Then rain and drizzle for the last 20 miles meant that the poor visibility getting into Salcombe was more stressful than planned. And we didn't hold out much hope for getting a mooring as it was Salcombe Regatta week. But strangely that helped as we called up "Salcombe Harbour" on the VHF at 22:30 and they replied! And then they gave us the lifeboats mooring (who we'd seen haring out as we came in).
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Brittany-2024
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| St Quay to Ile De Brehat | 2017-06-02 | Up from St Quay-Portreaux to Ile de Brehat. The Ile de Brehat is a small island on a rocky shore. Somewhat similar to Sark (no cars and a very small population like Sark but no cliffs).
Tags:
Brittany
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| St Helier to St Quay Portrieux | 2017-05-31 | After a light wind start, a lovely sail down from St Helier, Jersey to St Quay Portrieux on the Brittany coast. Sailed under cruising chute for most of the way. St Quay has the huge advantage of being an "all tide" port (i.e. no need to wait for there to be enough water over a marina cill).
Tags:
Brittany
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| Ile de Brehat to St Peter Port | 2017-06-03 | After getting up an hour too early (confusing French and English first light times!!!), we sailed from Ile de Brehat for St Peter Port on Guernsey. The sail around the north east corner of the Ile de Brehat was notable for two things. First, we hit some fairly strong overfalls. It was neaps and a middling wind so we weren't expecting much. Given how lumpy it was, this is one to avoid at Springs. Secondly, Peter S caught a bunch of weed and plastic around his prop while going through the overfalls. Peter was able to sail on OK and got enough motor back to be able to motor into St Peter Port later. The rest of the sail was lovely - under cruising chute for a large part of the journey.
Tags:
Brittany
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| Port Quin to Port Issac | 2024-09-19 | So the walking guide said there would be sections of the walk from Port Quin to Port Issac that would be unfenced vertical drops. I was hoping that they'd be towards the end where it would be too much effort to turn around. But they were right from the start. I like my coast paths to have a wall or a field or preferably both between me and instant death. Not about one foot and then oblivion. So we turned round and tried an alternate root. But that didn't work out either so we retraced our steps and took the inland root.
Port Issac nice enough in an "overrun by tourists with a Doc Martin fetish" sort of way.
No complaints about the pasty or ice cream though.
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| St Teath | 2024-09-18 | Dinner at The White Hart in St Teath. Nice enough pub with decent food.
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| Coffee at Sennen | 2024-09-18 | Coffee at Sennen Cove. Very odd without the hound.
Called in at the lifeboat station to see if there was news of what happened to the yacht that hit the Runnel Stone yesterday. There wasn't!
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| Treen to Lamorna | 2024-09-17 | A quite tough coast path walk from Treen via Penberth Cove and Tater Du lighthouse to Lamorna Cove.
Lots of up and downy bits, some muddy bits, some very muddy bits and some scary as fxxk edge of cliff bits. So something for everyone really unless you want easy field walking.
But the drama was watching a racing yacht running under full sails downwind a couple of hundred metres inside the Runnel Stone south cardinal at low tide and towards the breaking water. Looked again 2 minutes later and he was dropping all sails and clearly on the rocks. Rang the coastguard who, as expected, had already been informed (probably by Gwenapp Head Coast Watch).
The coastguard said that Sennen RNLI had been tasked so we watched them arrive. Their offshore boat couldn't get too close because of the rocks so the launched their rib. We think they may have taken the sole (?) sailor off and then they waited until the yacht floated off the rocks after high tide. Not too sure what happened to the yacht after that!
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| Porthcurno, Porthwarra and Gwenapp Head | 2024-09-16 | Slight variations on an old walk. The cafe at Porthgwarra is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays - damn!
Gwenapp Head is so much more inspiring than Lands End. Spotted some Cornish Choughs eating cow shit. Back through fields of sweetcorn higher than either of us.
And then down to Porthcurno Beach with an ice cream. Felt very odd / disloyal without Scooby Hound.
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| Porthleven to Rinsey Head | 2024-09-15 | A fairly strenuous walk from Porthleven to Rinsey Head and back inland.
The coast path from Porthleven to Rinsey Head had lots of up and downy bits. We fancied making it a circular walk rather than an "out and back" one so we used the Ordnance Survey 1:25000 maps to find footpaths inland for the way back. Some not well marked, some through fields with cows and some that looked a little too much like adder territory.
Still - a good walk and some exercise!
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| The Lizard | 2024-09-14 | A lovely walk round the end of the Lizard peninsula. We'd done a similar walk before on a dreek day and been disappointed. Today in the sun and breeze it was a completely different walk. A highlight was visiting the rather stunning RNLI station on the east side if the Lizard at Church Cove.
Roskilly's ice cream at Lizard Point and then a rather good pasty back at the village.
Then on to the campsite at Porthleven.
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| Helford to Gweek paddle | 2024-09-13 | Launched the Sea Eagle inflatable kayak at Helford and paddled up past the Seal Sanctuary to Gweek Boatyard. Which was a surprise as I didn't think, at the start, that either of us fancied paddling that much.
Lunch at Tremayne Quay as usual.
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Summer Holiday 2024
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| Mylor and Flushing | 2024-09-12 | An old favourite. From Tregunwith Farm to Mylor Bridge, on to Mylor Harbour and then along the estuary to Flushing. Some sun, some rain and an icecream.
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Summer Holiday 2024
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| Trellisick Gardens | 2024-09-11 | Scooby Hound died at 05:00 in the morning at St Columb Major. We got to Trellisick shortly after the sun came up and did one of his favourite walks to pass the time until our next campsite opened.
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Summer Holiday 2024
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| Pandorra Inn | 2024-09-11 | Our silver wedding anniversary meal at the Pandorra Inn on Restronguet Creek.
In fact, it was a very sad day as we'd lost Scooby Hound at 05:00 that morning.
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| Gorran Haven | 2024-09-09 | A quick beach walk for Scooby Hound.
He loved it. Lots of hole digging in the sand and trotting along the beach.
Sadly, it was to be his very last beach visit but he looks so happy and bouncy in the photos! Within 36 hours Scooby would be gone....
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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| Polruan and Fowey | 2024-09-08 | A second rather soggy day at Polruan Holidays campsite in the campervan.
Rain (mostly) stopped long enough for us to get across to Fowey for a pastie, an ice cream and a moan about the crowds.
Tags:
Summer Holiday 2024
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