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.
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.
Sail with Liz and Julian 2012-04-14 No wind but some thunderstorms. Not the ideal sail on the estuary for Lizs brother.
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.
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.
Into Exeter and back 2017-08-05 Too windy for sailing so we went cycling. Quite a big bit windy said Liz after her first time on the bike for quite a while.
Exeter and back 2017-04-16 Into Exeter and back. A fair old head wind on the way out but speedy on the way back. Not a bad average for me given that I'm still not fully over the lurgie I've had for the last couple of weeks.
A very gusty sail 2012-07-29 A very short sail as Liz wasnt too keen on the gusty conditions. It was windy as the top speed of 8.2 knots was actually against the tide. It felt fast for an old Wayfarer with a lot of the front of the boat out of the water as we planed down wind.
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.
Exe Estuary paddle 2022-07-06 Across to Exmouth for a paddle up the east side of the estuary. Just past Lympstone the wind picked up to a F4 and paddling became hard work. Pleased and surprised to see I was still doing about 2mph against a F4. Stopped at SYC on the way back for lunch.
Work cycle ride 2017-08-07 Got rained on
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
Exeter and back 2018-01-20 Into Exeter and back with Liz. Picked up some free tide timetables from the very nice people at Bridger Marine on the Quay.
Weymouth to Topsham 2016-11-14 From Weymouth round Portland Bill to Topsham at the top of the Exe. Stage three in bringing Derek H's new Fulmar back to the Exe. With very big Spring tides, we took the offshore route around the East Shambles buoy and a few miles off Portland Bill. With the wind pretty much on the nose after we turned west, we motored most of the way back from Portland Bill. With the wind varying between 12 and 20 knots against us and 1 or 2 knots of tide with us, the first half of the journey back to the Exe (after Portland Bill) was a little bouncy at times. We reached the Exe just as it got dark - the trip back up the Exe in the dark and with big tides was interesting! With the Exe's mix of lit and unlit buoys and moorings encroaching on the channel, I really wouldn't recommend going up the Exe at night without local knowledge!
Tags: Exe
Safety boat at SYC 2013-02-17 Too windy for us to go out sailing as we havent been out for a couple of months. So ended up doing safety boat. Good fun - a little bouncy. Suspect the occasional max speed peaks are GPS data anomalies.
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.
Thalmia to her winter quarters 2022-10-12 Up to Trouts at Topsham ready for Thalmia to be craned out tomorrow. Watched Roy S nervously watching his Sadler 26 being lifted out.
Tags: Exe
Up river safety boat 2024-05-04 A lovely sunny May day with a F3 wind and little tide. Up to about the Goat Walk.
Exeter cycle ride 2017-10-22 Into Exeter with Liz. Strong headwinds on the way out - faster on the way back. Saw a Bentley with a bike rack on the back at the Swan's Next park.
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.
Exe paddling 2023-07-25 Up to Topsham Sailing Club and back via Hannaford's Quay. Out into a weak breeze and then back into a strong breeze!
First beach cafe sail of the year 2013-05-25 From SYC down to the beach cafe and back. The forecast said next to no wind but a lovely sea breeze kicked in. Top sail.
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.
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
Beach cafe paddle 2024-11-01 Too little wind to go sailing so Malcolm B and I headed down river in the Sea Eagle kayak
Exeter and back 2016-12-18 Foggy ride into Exeter and back
New Years Eve bike ride 2016-12-31 Exeter and back
Canoe trip from SYC to Turf Pub 2013-07-08 A canoe trip from SYC to the Turf Pub on the Exe Estuary. Set out near low tide. Journey follows the just greater than paddle depth contour on the way out and later, with the higher tide, on the way back.
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
Exe Estuary and the Clyst 2020-09-12 No wind so we decided on a paddle. We wanted to go up the Clyst but high water at neaps doesn't give enough water for even our canoe to make much progress.
Tags: Exe
Lympstone and back 2017-07-23 Round to Lympstone and back with Liz. Liz's first time back on a bike for about a month.
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!
Work cycle ride 2017-08-29 Work and back
Bike ride to Exmouth and back 2013-08-11 Bike ride round the Exe Estuary from Cockwood to Exmouth and back.
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
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
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).
Exeter and back 2017-02-21 Another "fast for me" ride into Exeter and back. Fast - as in more than 14mph average. There was a sod of a headwind on the way out so made up time on the way back (although I could swear that the wind changed direction just as a I started back from Exeter).
Exeter and back 2016-12-29 Into Exeter and back. Moving average a little disappointing given how hard I pedaled!
Exe to Salcombe 2018-04-21 A great sail from the Exe down to Salcombe. Sailed past Simon T and Andy B on Nelly Nui as they prepared for their Round Britain sail. Met up with them again off Dartmouth and we sailed on together towards Start Point. We took the inside passage around Start Point and encountered a really heavy rain shower including some very loud and rather too close for comfort thunder and lightening. After that it was a beautiful evening sailing across Salcombe Bar and onto a mooring followed by a fine dinner ashore.
Tags: Exe
Lizzie bike ride 2014-03-07 First time back on the bike after a couple of very wet months. To the Swing Bridges and back again.
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.
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.
Paddle down to Starcross 2024-06-17 First time out this year in the Sea Eagle 486 inflatable kayak. Wind was a bit stronger than we'd hoped (low end of a F4) so we changed out plans and paddled out against the wind and tide. Which meant an easy trip back when we ran out of puff.
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: Exe
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.
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!
Evening up river dinghy cruise 2014-06-12 A lovely evening's sail up to the Goat Walk at Topsham. Sun and a decent wind (which only died as the last couple of boats arrived back). We had a brief detour a little way down the Clyst taking advantage of the high tide.
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.
Brixham to the Exe 2019-07-21 Back from Brixham after the Drew Trophy. Another day of ideal winds and we decided to scoot back to the Exe to get in on the falling tide. Some lovely downwind sailing with the cruising chute up much of the way after the Ore Stone. As it was heading towards Springs, there was the usual Exe estuary tides against us on the way in. Back on the mooring with time to spare - time used figuring out how to release the tender from the mooring chain - after it had managed to solidly wrap itself around the chain.
Tags: Exe
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.
Exeter and back 2018-01-28 First time on the bike after the gears were mended. All good.
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!
Starcross Steamer 2015 2015-03-15 First cycle ride in ages. To SYC and back again for a brief watch of the Starcross Steamer pursuit dinghy race.
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.
Up river paddle 2023-05-11 Lunch on the beach at Hannaford's Quay
Work cycle ride 2017-06-16 Into work and back
Lympstone and back 2017-01-28 Round to Lympstone and back with Liz. Got rained on at Countess Wear.
Exeter and back 2016-12-03 A windy ride into Exeter and back, Liz still in post lurgie mode.
And another twenty miles 2016-10-21 To the Mill On The Exe and back again. This one was very slightly easier than yesterday but that's probably because it was such a still day. Average of 12mph!!! I don't think I've ever averaged that before. Cheating slightly by stopping to read a chapter of a book at the Exe Quay (safe water mark) and at the Turf Locks - as it was such a nice day.
Paddle to the Pole Sands 2015-08-17 A paddle from Starcross to the Pole Sands making the most of the sunny almost windless weather. Scooby ran miles on the sands.
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
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
Lympstone and back 2017-08-27 Round to Lympstone and back with Liz. Lovely hot summer's day.
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.
Down river sail 2024-07-31 A down river sail in Malcolm B's RS Vision. Against the fairly weak tide and down to the floating cafe. Tried helming the Vision on the way back. After all these years, it's the first time I'd used a centre sheeted main sheet. Very odd!
First beach cafe sail of 2016 2016-04-23 First SYC sail to the Exmouth beach cafe in 2016. The forecast was north easterly F4 to F5. However, on the way back from the beach cafe it was really quite gusty and I'd guess that the gusts might just have been F6. Combined with a fairly large tide and the NE wind being against the tide, it made for an interesting sail back.
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.
Ice cream at Lympstone 2018-08-18 As the wind was so light to start with, we sailed across to Lympstone for a chocolate and orange ice cream - but they were out of stock! A creamy strawberry was almost as nice. Then a few bits of decent wind as we sailed back and forth across the estuary in the Wayfarer.
Tags: Exe
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: Exe
Exeter and back 2017-01-21 Cold days cycle ride into Exeter and back. Just above freezing. Very gentle ride with Liz - reflected in the somewhat slower than usual average speed.
Exeter and back 2016-11-28 A windy ride into Exeter and back. Luckily the wind (F5 to F7 on Met Office forecast) was mostly on the side,
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.
Exe Regatta Committee boat 2016-07-16 On a rather nice Westerly acting as the Committee Boat for the catamaran racing of the 2016 Exe Regatta. Knowing nothing about dinghy racing, we were pulling up and down various flags at the request of the endlessly patient PK. No real idea what most of the flags meant and I suspect a very goodly proportion of the competitors don't (I think they just listen for the alternate sound signals). Still a very pleasant way to while away a Saturday afternoon on the Exe.
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.
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.
Exe to Stoke Gabriel 2023-09-22 On David K's trimaran Triskelle. From SYC on the Exe up to Stoke Gabriel up the Dart. Interesting nosing up the Dart past Dittisham at low water. The sail down was fun - F4 gusting F6 as forecast with maybe only one squall being a bit higher than that.
Tags: Exe
Work cycle ride 2017-05-02 Cycle ride to work and back. Not that windy but the wind was against on the way to work and against on the way home!
Topper Open At SYC 2016-10-09 Junior Topper Open event at Starcross Yacht Club. Safety boat crew for the 4 back-to-back races for the 23 boats at this open sailing event. Decent winds all day between F2 and F4 from the north east. GPS battery ran out after only a couple of hours so most of the track is missing.
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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