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ActivityActivity dateActivity description
The Helford and Frenchman's Creek 2014-09-08 From Helford Passage via Frenchman's Creek up into Mawgan Creek towards the top of the Helford Estuary. A little windy on the way back meant plenty of exercise!
Helford to Gweek - Falmouth 2010-09-20 From Helford Passage all the way up to Gweek and back. Not stopping at Daphers French Mans Creek this time.
Tags: Helford
Helford Kayaking 2023-09-10 A lovely paddle on the Helford. Via FranchMan's Creek then up to Tremayne Quay for lunch (and a VHF message relay for a broken down dory). Then back via Port Navas.
Tags: Helford
Helford River 2018-09-06 A short walk down to one of our favourite canoeing spots on the Helford - without a canoe this time. This is where Scooby previously learnt to swim just for the fun of it so Liz was keen to take him back for another paddle.
Tags: Helford
Helford Passage 2021-07-04 Checking out the options and costs for launching a kayak or canoe at Helford Passage (we used to launch from Bar Beach when we went to Cornwall with the car), Launch price reasonable at £2 (that's not taking the piss) but the hill back up from the Helford Passage beach will take some effort wheeling a kayak).
Kayak Puncture! 2023-09-09 A second puncture (in a about 4 year's use) in our Sea Eagle 465 inflatable kayak put paid to our kayaking plans for the day. Instead we spent a bit of time on Bar Beach on the Helford avoiding the day's strongest sun. Scooby still doesn't like swimming.
Tags: Helford
Helford Passage to Gweek 2018-07-08 On yet another stunning 2018 summer's day, we put the canoe in just past the Helford Passage and paddled up to Geewk at the top of the Helford. Then a dawdle back stopping at an old lime quay. Highlight of the day for Liz was teaching Scooby to enjoy swimming! We think that his buoyancy aid may have helped. At Penwarne Farm Campsite - lovely views in a field overlooking the sea between Falmouth and the Helford.
A new walk round Durgan and Trebah 2025-07-15 Tried iWalk (https://www.iwalkcornwall.co.uk/) for the first time on a new walk around Helford, Durgan and Trebah. The iWalk app and its instructions turned out to be very good (albeit this particular walk wasn't the most interesting all the way round). Slight diversion to Glendurgan NT for an excellent lunch.
Helford and Frenchmans Creek 2013-09-18 A walk along the Helford Estuary, back inland and then along Frenchmans Creek back to the village of Helford
Tags: Helford
Helford Passage to Padagarrack Cove 2017-07-09 With Winguru and the Met Office differing in forecast speed by about two and a half times, we wanted to avoid the possibility of too much incoming tide against the westerly wind. So we had a short paddle from Helford passage down to Padagarrack Cove and then up past Port Navas.
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.
Tags: Helford
Helford Paddling 2023-05-18 A quick dip into Frenchman's Creek and then up to near Tremayne Quay for a coffee stop. The first bit of the track is on land to measure the distance we dragged the kayak back up from Helford Passage to the campervan. Quite hard work but do-able. The kayak launching fee from Helford Passage was £2 which we thought was fair (and the more expensive ice cream was very nice too).
Helford and St Anthonys 2022-09-07 Mostly a "re-do" of a previous walk with some slight changes after reaching Manaccan. Heavy rain for about 20 minutes. Annoyingly, I ripped my bike jacket on some thorns. Bloody annoyed - a very good jacket that I'd had for over 20 years. Now held together with even more gaffa tape.
Tags: Helford
Helford Creeks 2019-07-13 An early summer long weekend paddling on the Fal and the Helford. With the winds being from the north, we chose the Helford for the Saturday. Back to Frenchman's Creek but with a rising tide we were able to get right to the end of it. Lunch and some Scooby ball action at Tremayne Quay (and helping an old wooden sailing boat moor alongside) and then in to the strangely named Vallum Tremayne Creek for the first time.
Tags: Helford
Rosemullion Head and Mawnan 2015-09-18 Round Rosemullion Head and back via Mawnan Smith. Lovely walk but the plan was slightly spoilt as the midges on the Head put paid to the idea of reading there for a couple of hours.
Tags: Helford
More creeks and kingfishers 2015-09-20 A paddle round the creeks of the Helford. More kingfishers today - in Frenchman's Creek. Lunch at Merthen Quay and then back via Polwheveral and Porthnavas creeks
Tags: Helford
Helford Paddling 2021-07-02 A change to normal by putting the kayak in the water on the south side of the Helford Estuary (at Helford itself). Explored Frenchman's Creek and then up[ almost as far at Bishop's Quay (but ran out of water at neaps). Lunch at Tremayne Quay. Scooby really not keen on enhancing his swimming skills.
Tags: Helford
Up and down the Exe Estuary 2012-04-01 Down towards Starcross a couple of times and up to the Turf on a gloriously sunny April afternoon. Lovely F3 to F4 wind. An average speed of 4.5 knots in a 30 year old Wayfarer is none too shoddy
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).
Work cycle ride 2017-06-23 In to Exeter and back. Stopped at SYC on the way back.
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.
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.
Channel Islands - Alderney to Exe 2012-06-06 The return sail from Braye Harbour Alderney to the Exe Estuary. The second half of the sail was very breezy as we sailed across in a gap between two lows. Unfortuantely only the 2nd half of the track was saved on the GPS.
Exe estuary drift 2012-06-17 Downstream against the incoming tide. Over on the Lympstone side for a change as there was some water. Got about as far as the Duck Pond before the tide started to change.
A perfect summers sail 2012-07-22 With the first spell of decent weather this summer the dinghy cruise down to the Beach Cafe and back had an excellent F3 southerly sea breeze and lots of sunshine. Marvellous. All the best photos courtesy of Lizs brother Julian.
Safety boat at SYC 2017-06-24 Safety boat for SYC dinghy cruise. Nearly an out to sea cruise but it was a little lumpy just out towards the fairway buoy.
Another 26 miles 2016-11-06 Round to Lympstone and back again. Another windy ride. Stopped at SYC for the AGM.
Meandering on Exe Estuary 2012-09-09 Some gusts but mostly lulls on short Wayfarer sail
Down river dinghy cruise 2012-09-15 Down to the beach cafe and back. Very light winds most of the time but the sun was shining.
Autumn estuary sail 2012-10-06 An end of summer sail down to the beach cafe and back. Fairly light and variable winds. Six SYC boats.
SYC to Pole Sands 2018-07-14 A canoe paddle down from SYC to the Pole Sands in company with Ellie T and Marco F (and the hound). Strong Spring tides both ways but a sea breeze made the paddle out hard work and super easy on the way back. Scooby enjoyed having four different people to throw the ball for him on the Pole Sands!
Return to the Exe 2020-05-15 First time back on the Exe Estuary after many, many months. First trip out on our new inflatable kayak - a Sea Eagle 465 FastTrack. Overall - very pleased with it.
Exeter and back 2017-01-05 Quite fast on the way out but a bit of a head wind on the way back slowed things down a bit overall.
Lympstone and back 2016-11-05 A windy ride round to Lympstone and back. Back on the Marin after its trip to the LBS for a new rear wheel. Not a happy bike - gear change was really sloppy, the chain came off and the rear brake rubbed. No wonder it all felt such hard work. Stopped at the Swing Bridges to watch them open to let yachts up to the canal basin.
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.
Up river to the Turf 2013-04-28 Only the 2nd dinghy sail of the year. Up river as far as the Turf in a nice gentle breeze
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.
Work cycle ride 2017-05-23 Into work and back. Not much wind which made it a bit easier.
New Years Eve bike ride 2016-12-31 Exeter and back
Morning dog walk 2021-08-10 Checking out new battery in Montana 600 GPS. Old one was about 7-8 years old and had probably done 500-600 recharges so can't complain too much.
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.
Liz and Jill go large 2013-06-14 Too much talking too much wind and too much carrot cake to make for a respectable average speed but not bad on the distance front. Next week the girls will be cycling to Exmouth and back apparently.
Exe estuary dinghy sail 2013-06-29 A nice sail on the Exe in maybe a F3 to F4 on the day of the Hurricane and Dart opens. Imploded trailer tyre cut short the time available for sailing a little bit,
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.
Work cycle ride 2017-05-12 Into and Exeter and back to work.
Exeter and back 2016-12-29 Into Exeter and back. Moving average a little disappointing given how hard I pedaled!
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!
Monday afternoon on the Pole Sands 2013-07-15 A canoe trip from Cockwood Harbour to the Pole Sands off Exmouth. Scooby loved it.
Post work paddle 2013-07-17 A paddle down the Exe Estuary and along the Pole Sands with Nigel after work. A lovely sunny evening in the middle of the heat wave. Photos by Liz from a distance!
Sunday evening sail 2013-07-21 That rare occurrence - plenty of water, plenty of wind and plenty of sun. A lovely evening sail on the Exe Estuary.
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.
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.
Exeter and back 2017-02-06 Super fast on the way out. A bit slower on the way back. The last five miles were into a fairly strong headwind right on the nose. That and pouring rain and the cold put a slight damper on the last quarter!
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
Paddle round Pole Sands 2013-10-06 A paddle from Cockwood, out of the estuary and round the Pole Sands. There were even some little waves at times.
Start of holiday Scooby walk 2014-01-11 Scoobys first walk of our winter holiay
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.
Lympstone and back 2017-10-15 Round to Lympstone and back again. Choccie bar near Lympstone Sailing Club, said 'hello' to Graham A at Topsham Sailing Club (who was putting Celtic Breeze to bed for the winter) and then round to Starcross Sailing Club for a coffee and a look at the Topper Open Meeting. A bit slow as Liz had some aches and pains and the wind was starting to get up.
Commodore's Cruise 2017-07-29 The weather forecast was rubbish - no winds and heavy rain. Turned out to be a nice wind and only occasional rain.
Scooby's last summer holiday walk 2019-09-23 Your activity description here
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.
First beach cafe sail of the year. 2014-05-03 A lovely F3 south easterly for a sail down to the Exmouth Beach Cafe and back again
Sunny beach cafe safety boat duty 2014-05-17 A lovely sunny May sail down to the beach cafe and back. Light winds but just enough.
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.
Work cycle ride 2017-09-28 Windy and slow on the way 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
Exe Estuary Meandering 2021-07-21 With Nigel H on his Dart 18 avoiding the heatwave. Just enough wind for a cooling breeze.
Sail on Nigel's Dart 2014-08-18 A decent wind (gusting maybe F5) for a storming sail on Nigel's Dart. Some excellent speeds with a top speed of over 17 knots - probably the fastest I've been under sail. Top stuff
Up river - twice 2014-08-31 A lovely sunny day. Wayfarer sail up river and then up river again. Winds got a bit light going up the Exe towards Topsham and the Clyst so just sailed round and round.
Work cycle ride 2017-09-26 First time back on the bike after two week summer hols - hard work.
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.
Exeter and back 2016-12-17 First ride in a fortnight - work and the weather put paid to the previous weekend.
Up river sail 2016-10-22 First time out on the Wayfarer for quite some time. The wind didn't manage the promised F3 / F4 and we ran out of wind trying to get past Topsham. A seal popped its head out the water about 10 yards away from us and watched us sail by the Turf. Liz would have taken a photo but was too preoccupied trying to retrieve the Double Decker she'd dropped down the centre board casing. Pleasant sail/drift in the autumn sun.
Lizzie bike ride 2015-04-17 Liz's first bike ride in ages
Tags: Estuary
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.
First SYC dinghy cruise of 2015 2015-04-25 An upriver dinghy cruise to start the 2015 season of SYC organised dinghy cruises. Pleasant wind - maybe F3
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.
Exeter and back 2016-12-05 To the Mill On The Exe and back
Sunny Corner Quay and the Tresillian River 2015-09-23 From the small Sunny Corner Quay on the edge of Truro round to the Tresillian River on the Fal Estuary. Not too far today as there was a keen wind to be paddled against on the way back down the Tresillian.
October dinghy cruise 2015-10-10 An iffy weather forecast (F4 gusting F5 with occasional F6) didn't tie up with the conditions at the start time so we went out with one reef. In the end, it turned out to be a lovely sail.
Beach cafe sail 2024-06-20 Sail down to the beach cafe in Malcolm B's RS Vision. No wind until we got some sea breeze. Then hot weather and a reasonable sea breeze. Sail aided by the new mainsail on the Vision.
Round to Lympstone 2017-08-20 Round to Lympstone and back with Liz. The remnants of a lurgy for Liz and the headwinds on the way back contributed to the single figure average speed!
Exeter and back 2017-04-14 Wanted a nice gentle ride as it was the first time back on the bike in three weeks - a camper van trip and a slow to end lurgie having got in the way. And a nice gentle ride with Liz it was.
Lympstone and back 2016-12-04 Round the Exe Estuary trail to Lympstone and back.
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.
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!
Squires Cup Safety Boat 2016-06-12 Safety boat for the Squires Cup racing for dinghies and cats on the Exe Estuary. Not a lot of wind so not much call for our services. Some rain at times.
Down river dinghy cruise 2022-08-13 Safety boat duty on a down river dinghy cruise. Twenty one boats, a big spring tide and a few minor dramas. And my first double scoop of ice cream in about 3 months. Lush.
Up to buoy 45 2017-08-19 Quite a "feisty" sail as the weather did pretty much what was forecast - which was F4 gusting F5. They were fairly big gusts on the way out. Ran aground near the Turf Locks - whoops - and mutinous crew made the captain get out and push us off.
Lympstone and back 2017-02-19 Round to Lympstone and back with Liz
Another twenty miles 2016-10-20 Third day in a row of cycling into Exeter and back. Every day is getting harder - surely that's not right! A couple of "reading breaks" on the way back.
Summer Sail 2016-07-30 Went up river to about the Goat Walk and then back again. Liz did some helming for about the 3rd time in the 10 years we've been sailing on the Exe. Then some on water reefing practice and then back to SYC for the "Commodore's BBQ".
Jim Vallis Cruise 2016-08-06 The first Jim Vallis Memorial Cruise. A dinghy cruise in memory of our friend Jim Vallis who started up the organised dinghy cruises at SYC. A lovely sunny day with the wind varying between nothing and about force 5 - but with no big gusts so very sailable. Joined at SYC by many from Jim's family and Sandra joined us on our Wayfarer for a sail.
Free Sailing Safety Boat 2016-08-13 Doing safety boat for a Free Sailing at SYC on a lovely summer's afternoon. A pleasant F3 with the occasional gust made for almost ideal sailing conditions with just a few things to keep us slightly busy. A surprising overall distance as we spent the first 15 minutes at anchor (and expected to remain there for much of the afternoon!)
Down river paddling 2022-08-09 With Nigel H in the inflatable Sea Eagle. Down against some tide and sea breeze to Bull Hill Bank. Then a lovely drift back with the tide and wind. Thanks to Derek H for the drone pics!
Work cycle ride 2017-08-15 Work and back
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