Search Results

ActivityActivity dateActivity description
Lympstone and back 2017-03-12 Round to Lympstone with Liz. Watched the channel to Lympstone being deepened. The port hand channel mark at the Turf shouldn't be relied upon by mariners - given that it sits on a mud back - see the photos. Windy from the north.
Work cycle ride 2017-09-01 Into work and back
Exeter and back 2016-11-19 Another 20 mile ride into Exeter and back. First ever average of 13 mph on a twenty mile ride. Storm Angus had left the flood prevention overflows in full spate in Exeter.
Up river cruise to Goat Walk 2012-05-19 An up river dinghy cruise from SYC to the Goat Walk. Light winds on the way back. About 15 boats out.
Monday evening sail 2012-05-21 A suprisingly breezy Monday evening sail.
Channel Islands - Exe to Brixham 2012-06-01 A sail down from Starcross Yacht Club on the Exe to Brixham ready for an 0200 departure from Brixham to Guernsey. Average speed an estimate as GPS time data lost.
Down river paddle 2022-07-15 And just a little bit out to sea. Lovely day - hot but with a cooling sea breeze. Retrieved a kite surfers board after he had some minor difficulties.
Work cycle ride 2017-08-07 Got rained on
Down river paddle 2023-08-09 Next to no wind and very little tide, so a quick down river paddle against the little incoming tide. A few photos of the boat that sank at the weekend and was raised yesterday - as well as a few of the posher yachts on the estuary.
Monday evening sail 2012-07-30 A Monday evening sail to the Goat Walk - quite gusty.
Down river dinghy cruise 2012-08-18 To the beach cafe and back. Sunny weather and F2 to F3.
Scoobys second canoe trip 2012-09-08 Sccobys second canoe trip. To the Bull Sand and then down to the Warren. First trip out of his depth.
Dart to Dawlish Warren 2022-07-29 Down to Dawlish Warren with Nigel H on his Dart 18. Lovely gentle wind.
Orcombe Point Paddling 2023-10-26 Around a low tide and out to (pretty much) Orcombe Point. Lovely late October day with little wind and a fairly big tide. The recent easterly storm has made quite dramatic changes to Bull Hill Bank.
First Fulmar Outing 2017-04-01 Some fettling on Derek H's boat (re-attaching reefing lines etc) and then a quick outing along the Topsham part of the River Exe. Upwind under main and downwind under genoa. Lovely boat.
Tags: Exe
Xmas eve ride 2016-12-24 Into Exeter and back. First solo ride for a couple of week and the slightly higher speeds made it hard work!
Another twenty miler 2016-11-20 Well almost a twenty miler. The 2 inch rain fall in Exeter meant that the last part of the cycle path ride was under water. Hard work cycling in to the head wind that was the remnants of Storm Angus. Disappointing that the winds dropped away for the homeward leg - as shown by the drifting boats when stopping briefly at SYC.
March safety boat 2013-03-24 Safety boat at SYC. A cold march day - two degrees centrigrade. The windchill factor made it feel like minus four. GPS data anomalies account for the three or four short peaks in speed.
First dinghy cruise of 2013 2013-04-20 On safety boat duty for the first SYC dinghy cruise event of 2013. Lovely weather and a good wind but not much water on the neap tide. Upriver to the Goat Walk at Topsham.
Car buying bike ride - part 1 2013-04-21 Bike ride into town to look for a new old car given that our Citroen has just dies with only 77k on the clock.
Out to sea dinghy cruise 2021-06-12 About 16 boats sailed down from SYC to the Pole Sands and Beach Cafe. Then a little way out to sea (up and down around the safe water mark). A little bouncy for about 100 yards in the swashway as the last of the ebbing tide meet the sea breeze. Comparatively little screaming heard from the crew.
Work cycle ride 2017-07-28 Very windy (WindGuru said 25mph gusting 40) on the way back and wet. Wind was maybe 30 to 45 degrees off being dead on the nose so slightly easier than it might have been.
Beach cafe sail 2023-08-16 In Malcolm B's Vision down to the Beach Cafe for a choccie ice cream. Saw Colin and Avril Y in their inflatable kayak.
Lympstone and back 2016-12-19 Round to Lympstone for a very nice and rather spicy tomato soup in the Swan Inn. This ride takes me just over 500 miles since I started this regular cycling stuff back in mid October.
New Years Eve bike ride 2016-12-31 Exeter and back
Walking the hound to the Turf 2013-05-26 A hound walk to to the Turf Pub with Scooby Lizzie and Julian
Brixham to Exe 2013-06-02 A light wind sail from Brixham to SYC on the Exe Estuary. Light winds but that was better than the forecast of next to no winds.
Exe to Dartmouth 2013-06-08 An SYC cruiser race from the Exe Safe Water Mark to the entrance of the Dart at Dartmouth. Then up to Dittisham for the night moored up on a visitors buoy. I think I need a new GPS with a bit more memory as the start of this GPS track seems to have been lost as the available memory was overwritten by the next days sail down to Plymouth.
Tags: Exe
Countess Wear paddle 2021-04-20 From SYC up to the Countess Wear bridge on the Exe. A sea breeze filled in more than expected for mid April and the tides were only neaps so a fair old workout on the way back.
Tags: Exe
Work cycle ride 2017-07-25 Work and back
Exeter and back 2017-03-04 A gentle wide into Exeter and back with Liz.
Exeter and back 2016-12-18 Foggy ride into Exeter and back
Exeter and back 2017-04-24 A fairly gentle ride into Exeter and back. Had the Marin loaded up with a pannier and computer bag as though I was going to cycle into work. After a bit of adjustment it all seemed to work ok.
Sunny summers evening sail 2013-07-10 A lovely summer evenings sail. Just enough wind to go down estuary against the incoming tide.
A sail, paddle and drift to the safe water mark 2013-07-13 More wind in the Estuary than out of it on this sail to the safe water mark at the mouth of the Exe
Monday afternoon on the Pole Sands 2013-07-15 A canoe trip from Cockwood Harbour to the Pole Sands off Exmouth. Scooby loved it.
Exe paddling 2023-03-27 Down to the wreck of the South Coaster. First paddle after fitting new rudder to kayak. Worked just as well as hoped for - the weathercocking is vastly diminished - especially for wind on the aft quarter which used to make the kayak tiring to keep steady. Pleased because it was quite windy.
Tags: Exe
Round to Exmouth 2017-08-14 Round to Maer Rocks at Exmouth. Started raining just as I got to Exmouth. The last seven miles straight into the wind and the rain were hard work.
Exeter and back 2017-02-27 A gentle ride into Exeter and back. A mixture of sunshine and showers but at least the wind was from the side. Most impressively, Liz managed to come off her bike but still remain standing at the end of the manoeuvre!
Exeter and back 2016-12-29 Into Exeter and back. Moving average a little disappointing given how hard I pedaled!
Down river paddle 2023-05-24 Down river but I was short of time. So that meant paddling back against the last hour of the outgoing tide. A sea breeze helped though. Lovely day - good exercise!
The not-Topsham sail 2013-08-18 Thought the westerly wind would be ideal for a sail up to Topsham. However, it turned out to be too gusty and with large wind shifts to make that a good idea.
Exe Estuary sea breezes 2013-08-26 A lovely gentle sail in light sea breezes to and from the Beach Cafe at Exmouth
Autumn beach cafe sail 2013-10-05 An autumn sail down to the beach cafe. The sun put in an appearance and there was occasionally a bit of wind to use in the big springs tide
Down river safety boat 2019-08-17 Safety boat for the Jim Vallis Memorial dinghy cruise. Down to beach cafe. Wind between about F1 and F4.
Pole Sands paddling 2024-02-27 Down to the Pole Sands for lunch. Going to have to be renamed The Pole Pebbles - it is much more pebbley this year.
Exeter and back 2017-04-17 In to Exeter on the Marin bike. Stopped at SYC on the way back to watch Liz and Nigel on the safety boat. About the same strength and direction wind as yesterday so it seems that the posh bike makes me about 1.5 mph faster.
Another twenty miles 2016-10-26 Out with Liz for another cycle ride into Exeter and back. Trying to "power" up the bridge at Powderham, I broke 3 spokes on the rear wheel. So the last 2.5 miles are Liz alone as she went home to get the car to rescue me and the broken bike. That means the "reserve" bike tomorrow - the almost unridden Ridgeback Genesis Day Two.
Swing bridge and back again 2014-03-08 A lovely cycle ride to the Swing Bridges. Bit of a sod on the way back straight into the southerly force 5 all the way. Aidans first time back on the bike for a couple of months.
First sail of the year 2014-03-09 A lovely breeze and some sun for the first dinghy sail of the year in the Wayfarer. Pottered round the club for a while to see if anything would break after the winter period without any sails. All fine - so headed up river. Bang! The port hand shroud parted company with the boat! A quick tack and then Liz repaired the problem (the circlip had come away from the pin holding the stay to the boat - luckily the pin was still hanging there). Lovely sail then back to the club.
Up river to Topsham Quay and back 2014-04-19 Second sail of the season up the Exe as far as Topsham Quay (where the winds got a little too light and fickle to go much further). A high tide sail so straight over "Greenland" on the way up.
SYC Dinghy Cruise 2019-08-03 SYC dinghy cruise down to the beach cafe. Slightly stronger winds than forecast - about F4 much of the time - and a big 4.4 metre tide resulted in a top speed of 9.4 knots. Not bad for a 40 year old Wayfarer but we still haven't broken the 10 knots barrier yet! Unfortunately the battery in the GPS ran out half way back.
Work cycle ride 2017-06-20 Hot. Very hot.
First Wayfarer sail of 2017 2017-04-02 First time out in the Wayfarer this year. A very gentle sail and then a drift back down with the tide as the wind died away as forecast. Some noisy scroat was scaring up the birds in a hovercraft between the Clyst and the Goat Walk.
Exeter and back 2018-01-28 First time on the bike after the gears were mended. All good.
Round to Exmouth and back 2016-10-25 I missed out on yesterday's cycle ride due to the incessant rain and being a wuss. To make up, today's ride was round to Exmouth and the start of the Jurassic Coast. On the way out I told myself that I'd catch the ferry back. When I was there I thought "that wasn't so" bad so I rode back. It's a long way for someone like me!
Newport Trophy yacht race - Exe to Dartmouth 2014-06-14 A very light winds yacht race (or timed rally) from the Exe to the Dart. Such light winds, in fact, that the race ended early on a line from the Ore Stone to Hope's Nose. Interesting "inshore passage" for some of the route between Berry Head and Dartmouth. Overnight stay on a mooring in Dittisham.
Tags: Exe
Beach cafe sail 2014-06-16 A sail down to the beach cafe in our Wayfarer with Bob and Andy in the Wanderer. Big tides and some lovely winds. Top sailing.
Sail on Nigel's Dart 2014-07-14 Beach cafe and just a bit beyond on Nigel's Dart 18. A day of lulls and gusts. A max speed of 14.6 knots is just a bit faster than I'm used to with my Wayfarer
Little Russell - Exe Estuary 2023-04-04 A kayak trip down the Exe to look at the channel near buoy 13 and the Little Russel buoy. It is much narrower than previous years. A summary note with photos and notes at https://aidanwhiteley.com/docs/lower-exe-and-little-russel-v1.pdf
June sea breezes 2017-06-17 A splendid sail in the Wayfarer on the Exe Estuary. Drifted about for half an hour waiting for the sea breeze to kick in. When it did it was a splendid steady F4 to F4. Combined with neap tides, it made for a splendid sail. Liz helmed and we went to rescue a pair on a Topper that capsized and seemed to be filling with water. Luckily a passing rib helped as after we had a couple of goes we still hadn't found a spot on the Bull Sands where Liz could stand up in the water! Then went and had a look at the B14 event and got slightly in the way of one of the crews (oops - apologized later!).
Lympstone and back 2017-11-05 Strong winds from the north (force 6 maybe gusting a little more) made this quite a slow ride with Liz.
Lympstone and back 2016-12-04 Round the Exe Estuary trail to Lympstone and back.
Hundred miles this week 2016-10-22 The fifth 20 miler of the week. I'd expected this to be a gentle cycle ride with Liz but she was all gung ho! Way faster than I was expecting and I wasn't allowed my usual stopping places to have a breather. This was the fifth day out in a row doing 20 miles meaning that the target of doing 100 miles in a week was reached with 2 days to spare.Day off tomorrow!
Estuary sailing in the Wayfarer 2015-04-10 A near enough perfect spring breeze made for an ideal morning's sailing on the Exe Estuary. Maybe 12 to 14 knots of steady south to south easterly wind made for a great morning's sailing in the Wayfarer with Liz's brother Julian. Chose the right day to take off work for once! The average speed isn't too bad but reduced a little by having to sail back up the estuary against the tides.
Breezy day's sail 2015-04-13 A decent wind. Started mostly about F5 ending up more like a F4. One reef in and a great sail. Anne Knight joined us for the second half of the sail. With 3 on board, we took out the reef in the genoa. Quite a good average speed for an old Wayfarer and no tidal assistance.
First beach cafe sail of 2015 2015-04-19 A down river sail from SYC to the Exmouth beach cafe. Strange winds - a bit of everything. Off Cockwood the NE wind met a sea breeze and shifted 180 degrees! It did this on both the way down and the way back. Coming back to the Club the wind got a bit lively for the last 5 minutes of the sail.
Portland to SYC on the Exe 2019-05-25

From Portland Harbour, round Portland Bill to Starcross Yacht Club on the Exe.

As ever, a rounding of Portland Bill by the inshore passage required careful planning. In our case, this meant that to get safe and helpful tides we had to be off the end of Portland Bill at 16:30 - a late start given the long sail to the Exe after the Bill.

As we left the excellent Portland Harbour there were fleets of Oppies and Toppers training. We then closed the Bill near Grove Point and the tide helped us speed down the 5 metre contour line to round the Bill. Again, we had the obelisk at the end of the Bill lined up with the red band on the lighthouse (meaning we'd be far enough off the rocks but - usually - not too far off to be in the race).

The biggest challenge - once again - was to avoid the swarms of tiny appallingly marked lobster pot buoys that appeared to be laid out like some minefield grid!

After passing Pulpit Rock on the west side, we started heading off towards the Exe. With the late start, this meant that we'd be going up the Exe in the dark. However, it also meant that we decided to sail in the light winds after it got too dark to see the lobster pots also scattered in Lyme Bay.

The trip up the Exe was OKish. The lights in the fairway are better than when I last did it in the dark - maybe three years ago - but there are still two unlit buoys (numbers 14 and 21 IIRC) in the Exe itself. Additionally there are a few large metal mooring buoys that encroach too far into the marked channel meaning a risk of a serious "ding" to a boat's gel coat without local knowledge and/or someone with a decent light on the front of the boat to spot them. Back on the mooring at SYC at 01:30.

Tags: Exe
Beach cafe sail 2023-09-29 Down to the Exmouth Beach Cafe with Malcolm B in his RS Vision. Gusts not as strong as forecasted but the wind was very shifty. Gorgeous chocolate ice cream at the Beach Cafe (sorry Scooby).
Starcross Steamer 2017 2017-02-05 Down to Starcross Yacht Club for the annual Starcross Steamer dinghy pursuit race. One hundred boats on the water.
Exeter and back 2016-12-03 A windy ride into Exeter and back, Liz still in post lurgie mode.
Exeter and back 2018-01-29 Into Exeter and back with Liz to do a bit of shopping. Bit windy and had to walk past the people putting up a new fence along the railway along the estuary. There was a new cruise boat - The Spirit Of Loch Ness - in the Turf Lock. Not seen her before.
SYC trip to the beach cafe - by bike 2015-09-05 A first SYC organised cycle ride. From SYC on the west back round to the beach cafe at Exmouth on the east bank. Ten participants.
Wednesday evening safety boat duty 2015-09-09 A Wednesday evening on the Exe Estuary crewing for Bob J on safety boat
Ore Stone and back - Chaos 2015-09-26 Trial SYC "race" from Exe safe water mark, round the Teignmouth outfall buoy, round the Ore Stone and back to the Exe SWM. A really great day's sailing. Relaxed and sunny on the downwind leg to the Ore Stone and really good sailing on the upwind leg back to the Exe SWM. The wind moved round a little to the east on the way back making (for us) a straight line sail; pretty much all the way back. The "Chaos" in the title refers the the race's putative title - "CHase Around the Ore Stone"
Tags: Exe SWM
Exe to Weymouth 2019-05-15

A sail from Starcross Yacht Club on the Exe via the inshore passage at Portland Bill and on to Weymouth.

Because Portland Bill sticks out into the English Channel and has a shallow underwater ledge that "squeezes" the currents, it has a somewhat fearsome reputation (see here for a Youtube video of when it was "angry" at the end of a storm). Therefore, we needed to be off the end of the Bill at the right time for mostly slack water and a "lift" up the eastern edge. That meant setting off at the hideously early time of 04:30 to allow some contingency for being off the end of the Bill at 14:00. Given that we had to sail and motor (against the easterly wind) over 35 nautical miles, we were pleased to be off the Bill at about 14:15.

Going round the Bill was happily uneventful but the large number of appallingly marked lobster pot buoys still means that great care is needed. The photos show us rounding the end of the Bill with the front obelisk aligned in the nearly in the middle of the red band of the lighthouse (as recommended). On the eastern side of the Bill, the 5 metre depth contour is typically a good guide to avoiding the race / overfalls.

Tags: Exe
Work cycle ride 2017-05-12 Into and Exeter and back to work.
Lympstone and back 2017-01-28 Round to Lympstone and back with Liz. Got rained on at Countess Wear.
Lutzys cafe 2017-11-11 A cycle ride into Exeter and back with Liz. Stopped at Lutzy's Cafe for the rather nice custard tarts and some coffee.
Beach cafe sail 2016-05-07 Wind forecast was for a F4 gusting F5 and, after a slow start, that's what we got. Stopped half way down to put in one reef. Top choccie ice cream at the Beach Cafe. With the wind well behind us on the way back, put two reefs in the main and had full headsail on the way back. Still went quite fast on the way back. The top speed of 9.8 knots - in a Wayfarer - is a clue to the size of the tides.
St Peter Port to SYC 2016-06-04 Up at the hideously early hour of 03:00 to catch the first of the tidal flow up the Little Russel at 04:00. A lovely clear night at 4am with all the navigation lights clearly visible. After Platte Fougere we "turned left a bit" to allow for the strong Spring tides. For much of the time the weather forecast was correct and what little wind there was was on the nose. However, the visibility was good making crossing the shipping lanes a lot easier than on the way out. The photos of the Channel Light Vessel show an absolutely flat sea. The wind did pick up for a bit after this which made for a lovely sail with flat seas. A while north of the shipping lanes we were joined by about 6 to 8 dolphins for about 20 minutes. An hour or so later a much smaller porpoise made an appearance. Amelie's engine held up well and we were back on the mooring at SYC by about 19:30.
SYC to Topsham SC 2016-06-11 A paddle up the Exe from SYC to Topsham Sailing Club and back. First paddle of the year - a poor do indeed!
Beach Cafe dinghy cruise 2023-05-20 A downriver dinghy cruise. All sorts of wind - from absolutely nothing in the 4 knot tide past the Warren with the Tudor Rose approaching to a good F4 for the 2nd half of the trip back.
Exeter and back 2017-05-08 Cycle ride into Exeter and back with a stop at SYC on the way back. Not a bad average for me as I was on the Marin hybrid loaded up with a pannier, locks and a book.
Lympstone and back 2017-01-22 Round to Lympstone on a lovely winters afternoon. Enough wind for the sailors at Starcross Yacht Club but not so much as to make the cycling unpleasant. Photos are from Lympstone looking at SYC and from SYC looking at Lymptstone.
Work cycle ride 2017-08-29 Work and back
Bike ride to the Double Locks 2016-07-17 A bike ride along the Exe Estuary and canal to meet up with Rose and Midge for the first time in ages. Wobbled back along the cycle path and stopped at SYC for a quick view of the 2nd day of the Exe Regatta.
Mackerel for tea 2016-07-18 A glorious summer sail on a Dart 18 with Nigel H. Caught some mackerel for the first time ever - a few hundred yards off the safe water mark. Blisteringly hot and light winds - ideal for a summer sail / drift
Exeter and back 2018-04-23 Into Exeter and back with Liz. Stopped for a coffee at Lutzy's. Watched the dredger deepening the channel out from the Turf Locks.
Second Wayfarer sail of the year 2017-04-14 A short sail in the Wayfarer. Sail somewhat shortened as replacing the forestay with a new one took longer than expected - the mousing line was shorter than the mast so we ended up with no stay or mousing line in the mast! Light winds so we practiced some on water reefing.
Brixham to Exe 2017-04-23 A lovely day sail on Derek H's Fulmar. First a quick trip with Liz on board round Berry Head. Mostly motor sailing and watching the wildlife. Then, after dropping Liz off back in Brixham, a sail back up to SYC on the Exe. Light winds - but enough to sail most of the way. A chance to "play" with some of setup on Thalmia including the cruising chute and a think about how a preventer might be rigged.
Salcombe to the Exe 2018-04-22 A great sail back from Salcombe to the Exe. Left the mooring in Salcombe and said goodbye to Simon T and Andy B leaving them to their Round Britain sail. Out over Salcombe Bar in thick fog. Experimented a bit further with the now fully working radar in Derek H's Fulmar and then headed off for the inshore passage around Start Point. Like the day before, wind was with tide so Start Point was fine and the fog mostly lifted as we reached Start Point. Then along past Berry head and into Torbay for some "man overboard" practise.Think I proved that I'd be able to get back to pick Derek up if he went overboard but without the practise I'd have probably run him over! Then up to the Exe waiting for the tide to change to allow a safe return to the mooring. Excellent weekend all round.
Tags: Exe
First cycle ride in months 2016-10-10 First bike ride in a very long time. Only as far as the Countess Wear swing bridges over the Exeter Canal. Work is about half way through the 14 month schedule of work on the swing bridge / roads. As per the pictures, one of the bridges was open because of the work. The swing bridges are being retained but re-aligned during the work. The bridges have history - there's a plaque on them that reads "In May 1944, these bridges played an important part in the preparations for D-Day. They were used over a period of three days and nights, for rehearsals of the famous and crucial glider borne attack on the bridge over the Canal de Caen (Pegasus Bridge) and the River Orne (Horsa Bridge), by the Second Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, on the night 5/6 June 1944"
Bike ride to Exeter 2016-10-18 Start of a possible attempt to maybe get a little fitter. A twenty mile round trip ride into Exeter (Mill on the Exe area) and back again. The final climb back up Cockwood Hill nearly killed me.
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