Waiting, waiting for a weather window…

So when we last blogged we were all square-eyed from looking at weather forecasts and determined to see Falmouth. Well, we are still square eyed, still waiting for some good news in a weather forecast, but on the upside have indeed seen some of Falmouth. Sadly still no sign of a crossing in the next week. Big Boo! End of executive summary ( honestly, I don’t miss work).

Tom works on the boom brake.

Let’s talk about that weather quickly. We need four days to cross Biscay to get to Spain. Sadly a number of low pressure systems with strong winds keep tracking in. Every now and then a 24 hour window or even close to a 48 hour gap appears but then a Force 8 to Force 10 wind tracks in and the window goes. The shipping forecast has had gale warnings for Plymouth, Biscay and Fitzroy for days on end. We were out sailing on Monday when we heard a securite from the coastguard “Force 8 ceased”, we were thinking oh wow good news, then it continued “Force 9 to Force 10 now in place.” What!! So in a nutshell, in the next 7 days there is no clear weather window. We’re now thinking of crossing to France if we get a 24 hour window to try and make some progress.

Enough of weather I here you say – what have you two been up to? Well, first we had a bit of a ‘lessons learnt’ episode. We’re going to share it all – gin and tonics, warts and all. Too many sailors hide their sins, better to confess, and hopefully we all learn. Non sailors, stay tuned now – this is good!

Every time we’ve thrown our Rocna anchor down it’s stuck like glue. We’ve been very, very impressed. So Friday morning after 5 days on a windy anchorage we woke with a list of sightseeing activities, only to be rudely told by the harbour master we needed to move due to shipping movements. We’re in a small area with a marina to our left and another one to the right, and a dock in front of us. We chucked our anchor down and off we marched. Sailors know where this story is going…

We went to see the RNLI for a very interesting tour of the lifeboats and then went to the Falmouth Marine Museum. Fabulous museum with lots of modern informative displays. Seeing Knox-Johnston and Ellen McArthur similarly leave Falmouth on RTW exploits (admittedly far greater challenges) made our hearts beat somewhat faster. We walked up the tower which has a webcam on which some of the eagle-eyed have been watching Adina on! Down to the basement to see the underwater view demonstrating tides and the phone rang: “Your boat is dragging towards the marina, you need to get back fast.”

We sprinted down the high street, looked out to the water seeing Adina on the move, lept into our dinghy, full speed, and jumped onto Adina in the very nick of time. Hearts racing we tried to anchor again without success just pulling up seaweed. We retired to a mooring buoy for the night and did what we always do when it flies – went to the pub (The Chain Locker that many have recommended), bought a drink and discussed lessons learnt.

Sounds simple in hindsight but here goes our new rules for ourselves. When settled sit on your boat for at least 3 hours to ensure you’re secure. Do the usual transits and keep checking them. Put the tracker on your gps to see if you’re moving and how you’re swinging. If its windy, stay put, have one person onboard. We also have a nighttime model too. Ensure you have a anchor alarm on next to you with a suitable danger circle (plus spare batteries), and a torch. On the chart table, leave the engine keys and a large torch and your jacket handy. Ensure each of you knows exactly what you’re going to do. One goes to turn on batteries/switches, one goes for the helm, ready to go. And if it’s really windy, it’s shift time on anchor watch.

Heart-stopping stuff. We saw a smaller boat today that had dragged and he woke up, looked out and got a bit of a fright! Perversely made us feel better! Do let us know any tips or ideas and we can all learn. One day we’ll enhance the site and add a sailing tips section.

Susie helming – note spring clothing!!

Only way to get over it is fight back. Saturday the sun shone and we went sailing. Boosting our confidence we sailed up the various rivers around here. We then headed for the Helford River, silent as can be and anchored overnight. Beautiful and unspoilt. Heaven. But Sunday normal service resumed – cold and windy! Rats! Monday same thing and we came back to Falmouth.

So in between eating pasties we keep ourselves busy on the boat, sorting our new home out. We’re in the marina right now as given we’re heading off for 2 to 3 years we’re having our vast array of batteries checked out later today as we want them in good nick (Adina is no simple yacht with a lot of kit). It will be expensive if they need replacing.

I’ve been having fun going up the mast. Thanks to Steve Keenor for the climbing harness recommendation. We went for the DMM Centre Alpine harness for others looking – provides better access to the very top of the mast compared to a traditional seating harness.

Falmouth is home to many beautiful Gaffer boats

Falmouth has a lot of beautiful old gaffers which as soon as the wind calms down appear, a truly magical sight. We eat well, indeed when I met Susie I thought all she could cook was fish cakes and poached eggs. Now freed of work she’s cooking up a storm! Long may it continue. Not to say Susie just cooks, those who know her know she is very hands on and loves a challenge be it engine or electrics. Still need to source some local crab and hoping the fishermen have been out. Local pubs are excellent as is the local ale.

So yes, we’re still itching to head to the Med, it’s nothing against the lovely Falmouth, just our time in the Med is being eaten away and it’s heart-aching looking at the forecasts with no good news in sight. We do appreciate people who have been in our situation before telling us they’ve been through it too and understanding our frustration. The once empty anchorage is now filling up with people in the same plight. Shame after such a good start. Look out for us on the webcam. I’ll give a wave next time I’m up the mast!

Webcams
http://www.harbourlights.co.uk/webcam.html

http://www.nmmc.co.uk/index.php?/justvisiting/webcams/falmouth_harbour_from_the_tower_up_river