It has been hard to say goodbye this time, but it is time to get our heads down and fix this engine!
We have returned from a week of landlubbing in Southampton. It has been chaotic but lovely with Stag and Hen dos, weddings, work, clearing our rented garage and lots of family and friends.
It has been hard to say goodbye this time, but it is time to get our heads down and fix this engine!
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God has mysterious ways, having always taken our holidays in Devon or Cornwall I think he was giving us chance to stop and stare and 'see' the beautiful places and meet the wonderful people. We like our music and were introduced to an artist called Gaz Brookfield, one of his lyrics always sticks in my head 'strangers are just friends I havent met yet'! and this has been particularly true of our adventures so far. There are so many genuinely lovely people who are only to happy to be part of our adventure and their local knowledge has been invaluable. We visited a place along the Tamar for Mia's birthday called Morwellham Quay, it is where the BBC filmed the Edwardian Farm. Full of history on the copper mines and village life how different it would have looked back then, it was beautiful and Mike loved the boat there!!! We are hoping to go back soon and walk or paddle up from Calstock. God has mysterious ways, having always taken our holidays in Devon or Cornwall I think he was giving us chance to stop and stare and 'see' this beautiful place and people. We like our music and were introduced to an artist called Gaz Brookfield, one of his lyrics always sticks in my head 'strangers are just friends I havent met yet'! and this has been particularly evident on our adventures. There are so many genuinely lovely people who are only to happy to help us.
Well today may well see us relocating to the Tamar for some considerable time. After a lovely week in Plymouth catching up with friends, doing a bit of local exploring, working and celebrating Jacob's 4th Birthday, we decided we would go to Calstock to meet my Aunt.
After dodging the most glorious array of gigs by the Tamar bridge. We were in complete awe as we passed under the pair of bridges. Shortly after the bridge the engine coughed spluttered and then cut out it sounded awful :-( It would appear the damage was more than an oil hose and the word catastrophic and terminal. So we are currently sat on a conveniently placed swinging mooring that we managed to pick up after anchoring and then towing a line with the dinghy. There are alot of options to evaluate, but the one thing we have to keep in mind is that she is a sailing boat and she is happiest when sailing so we are not permanently stuck we just need to adapt our sailing! We are lucky my lovely Aunty and cousin came down to meet us at Saltash, unfortunately slightly distracted. Reminding me again how very lucky we are to have such a loving and caring band of family and friends. Well for now I'll sign off and leave you in peace. Much love to you all xxx We have spent the last week on the Dart. A very beautiful river, Dittisham was especially tranquil. Unfortunately a prior appointment took us to London so we only had two days to explore :-(. The only downside was the cost, they are very diligent in their fees. We paid the same here for 6 nights on a row to pontoon as we did for 8 nights in Torquay walk ashore with water and access to electric and facilities. No one came to see us so we could have escaped maybe we are too honest, but that would push up the price for other cruisers! Thursday evening we untied ready for another sail :-/ we studied the weather for days! The winds were lightish and no strong winds due until the weekend. Leaving at 5pm to catch the tides we also had the last bit of sun seeing us on our way. I managed another first and got the main sail up all on my own! Once the children were in bed I encouraged the watch system to commence otherwise we both tend to sit there with it all so new. We had our food and drink in the cockpit ready and waiting we had a cup of tea together and then I took the first watch. It all went ok, I was especially pleased the Yeoman had been coerced into life again (plots our position on a paper chart). We made really good progress even against the tide and were soon past Start Point. A few big ships came our way, it made me very anxious but they turned and appeared to be ferries heading towards Plymouth. By the end of my watch, I felt a tack was in order but I thought I would scare a resting Mike so stood on. It was a good decision as we tacked on the watch handover and we made Plymouth on that tack. We arrived safely at 5am after meeting the fishing fleet on the way out of Plymouth and a warship at anchor. Fairy lights would have been a nice addition to the Plymouth sound it is a dark looming wall.
Thank you for all your lovely comments and support, we are thinking of you all and missing your lovely faces, although we are catching up with friends and family we haven't seen for a while. We have found a lovely Marina and will update our adventures again shortly. |
The Pirate Paynes
We are a family of five attempting to sail the seven seas arggh me hearties! Archives
April 2019
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