Falanda Sailing

 Wow, what a return! Tonight I can officially say I have sailed singlehandedly around Britain, something I have been dreaming of doing, since forever!  For the last 7 and half weeks, I have quite literally been living the dream, just me, and Falanda (with dad a small spot in the distance behind!). We have been through the solent, across the Thames, across the firth of forth, through the Caledonian canal, and back down through the Irish sea to Wales. Then sailed through Ramsey sound, to Milford haven, across the Bristol channel, around Lands end, the Lizard, and back to Topsham. Falanda  has taken good care of me, and I hope I have shown as much appreciation towards her. She is a beautiful, seaworthy vessel, and the hardest part of this trip was walking away down the pontoon today.  A massive thank you to all the people who welcomed us in, forming a small fleet as we aproached Exmouth Docks (20 strong!), where a crowd was waving.  Thank you to all the boaters and...

 We had a pretty dull day today, with no wind, and grey, drizzly skies. This meant we had to motor a lot, which is frustrating, and incredibly boring.  Luckily we had a lot of company, as everyone seemed to be heading for either Salcome or Torbay, at the same time as us. I left Queen Anne's Battery this morning at the same time as 2 other yachts, one a fast 30' raceboat, which we stayed with all the way to Torquay. Soon 5 other boats were within a mile of us, and we has a great little flotilla to keep me and Falanda company. It only got bussier as we aproached Salcome, where ferrys, trip boat, yachts and big powerboats were suddenly everywhere!  Rounding Berry Head, we saw the famous Berry Head midgets, waving down to us, along with some pods of dolphins, and lots of underwater crabpots. 45 miles after leaving, me and the fast boat dropped our mains at the same time and headed into the harbour. After a brief shout over the water, I was invited to go racing with them! A h...

 Only a short hop today from Fowey to Plymouth, with not a lot of wind, so it was hard to keep Falanda moving, and of course ahead of the other boats! At one point we were racing a big 40' fiberglass sailing boat, with Falanda edging in front, easily. I am always suprised at how fast Falanda can sail, when she sneaks past the modern boats, with full crew. For a 70 year old wooden boat, I am delighted that she is so fast,  especially compared to the modern boats with all their fancy equiptment. Anyway, this boat then put some sort of spinnaker/crusing chute up, and shot off, ahead. Soon, I was faffing around with our spinnaker, something I haven't practiced using much before, so it all just ended up in a mess, with falanda moving much slower than before anyway!  The fog was only just starting to lift when we passed Plymouth Brakewater, and the wind had started to fill in, so we had a nice sail up the channel. We were waved in by some friends from Topsham, and also got to w...

We had a grey start this morning, but by midday the mizzle had cleared to reveal the Lizard. The Lizard is feared by many sailors, as its a major headland to go around.  With wind against tide, it can quickly become a nasty stretch if water, but with a bit of planning and a calm sea we had a pretty smooth passage. We both had a few pods of dolphins playing with us today, and when the wind picked up a bit, it turned out to be a nice sail.  The old owners of Falanda live in Polruan, the opposite side of the river to fowey, so we met up with them this evening for a chat. Although a small town, we've met loads of people, and I have once again been suprised at how many have heard of me!  Our return to the South West coast of England has been full of small annoying crab pots, something we haven't had in a while, thanks to the deep waters of Scotland and Wales. Tomorrow we are heading for Plymouth, a very short hop compared to the 50 miles today, and then Torquay will be our las...

122 nautical miles traveled in 22 and a bit hours, meaning an average speed of 5.5kts! Before setting off, we both had a quick engine check, and noticed that the raw-water impella (a rubber cog which pumps salt water to cool the engine and exhaust) had one fin missing. We replaced it, and found another 2 old fins in the water system, which we think may have been the cause of the problem!  After leaving  Milford Marina , we were greeted by an atlantic swell, reaching around 3m tall. Falanda's decks were soon awash, and we were sailing nicely! A pod of dolphins came to play mid-afternoon, and they then accompanied us for around 10 hours on and off. After sunset the phospherecence  began to show, and soon the dark shapes turned to glowing torpedos, shooting like arrows through the inky water. Their movement almost mirrored Falandas, and they seemed so close, I could have almost touched them! I spent the night admiring how Falanda glided over the waves, slicing through the br...

 After a couple of days stuck in Fishguard, we are finally on the move again!  Last night some friends came over, and after a couple of hours discussing different sailing boats, we agreed to go for a quick sail before I set off this morning. So, as soon as Falanda began to float again, we headed out for a play outside the harbour. It was weird to  a) have someone else onboard with us, and  b) not have a particular destination.  Unfortunitely the mizzle didn't lift, so we were soaked before I even got going!  Once I had dropped off the extra crew,  we had a cracking sail around the first headland, (video 1), and the sun even came out for a bit!  The wind was bang on our nose going through Ramsey sound (quite a scary passage, with the light fog), so we had to Motor Sail until out. Video 2 is leaving the sound. I had a choice of either going through Jack Sound (between the next islands and headland) or out a bit further to go around most of the big r...