Illusion
Well-Known Member
Well after much barracking from friends and relatives about having this great new boat that hadn’t been outside the Solent! At the beginning of August and having just returned from Cowes Week, we started planning our two week cruise down to the West Country for the last 2 weeks of August.
What a great month August was, 1 week sailing, 1 week work and then 2 weeks motor boating.....if only every month was like this!!
I must say at this point SHMBO and I spend almost every weekend on the water, but we don’t tend to venture much outside the Solent. In fact our last boat a Sea Ray 240 Sundancer clocked up over 200 hours in 3 years but the furthest we ever went was Poole. With the purchase of “Illusion” our Fairline Phantom 40 at the start of 2007, our boating was set to change.
We’d to do our RYA Day Skipper this Autumn in readiness for some extended cruising in 2008. The trouble was having spent most of this year getting used to the new boat and homing our boat handling with twin engines on shafts, we could resist undertaking on a 2 week adventure.
We set off on a Monday afternoon following a morning spent getting the boat ready, a few last minute jobs and some provisioning. The plan was to go from our berth in Swanwick Marina to Yarmouth and then off West towards Poole on Tuesday. The forecasts were a bit unsettled, the back end of the low pressure that had caught out some of the Fastnet fleet. With northerly winds blowing 30 to 40 knots we decided to take shelter in Lymington for a couple of days…..but as soon as it settled we were off!
First stop Poole Town Quay Marina
Then off to Weymouth past Old Harry’s rocks. Weymouth was great place, we had a fantastic meal at Perry’s and a chance to take on some fuel (48p per litre)
7am start for the 8am lifting bridge and the trek from Weymouth to Dartmouth straight across Lyme Bay.
Went inside the race at high water no problems, thanks to a bit of pilot book reading and a good look out for lobster pots!
Approaching Dartmouth and arrival of the West Country sunshine
Great spot on the river thanks to the Dart Nav – what a nice bloke.
It’ll get busy the following week for the regatta!
Into the dinghy to explore the river
Next stop Salcombe – very busy place, our first time there by water
Now that’s rafting……think Illusion’s somewhere in there
The early morning trip from Salcombe to Newton Ferrers was my favourite passage of the trip, you can see why!
Coming into the River Yealm at10am in the morning…..bliss!
Fortunately SHMBO’s family live in Newton Ferrers, so the local contacts provided a great mooring in the pool. Fortunately the owner of the mooring was away for a week so we ended up staying for a couple of days. Also a chance to do the laundry and get a great Sunday roast!
On the Tuesday following the bank holiday weekend we headed back towards Dartmouth. We had wanted to go to Fowey but time was running out having got stuck in Lymington for a couple of days and we wanted to get a berth in Dartmouth to see the first 2 days of the regatta. Having berthed reasonably cheaply for most of the week we decided to splash out on two nights in the Dart Marina. What a nice marina and staff, lines taken for us on arrival, use of the spa and can highly recommend the Wildfire Bistro. The day trip on the Dartmouth to Paignton steam train was a lot of fun.
The wind was blowing from behind us for the trip back across Lyme Bay with a slight ground swell to keep it interesting.
Obligatory wake shot…..
…….and log shot, just to prove the guys at home that we were out of the Solent.
Even time for a spot of lunch!
We decided to try the offshore 3 to 5 miles south of the Bill rounding on the way back. Certainly a longer way round as we were going back into Weymouth, but it was interesting to see the race at work. With the reasonable fuel costs we again decided to fill the tanks.
Following a night again in Weymouth we stopped in Poole again for a night, then the short hop (listen to us now!!) from Poole to Yarmouth.
Back in the Solent….home sweet home (well overcast!)
What a great experience and so rewarding. The weather in the end was kind to us, no mishaps and with 306.3 miles covered during 27 hours of motoring we reflected on one of our best 2 week holidays. Cruising at a comfortable speed of 20-23 knots, we were averaging about 1 nm to the gallon at a cost of approx £28 per hour.
Our cruise had highlighted several things, when you’ve got time and the weather on your side there’s no better holiday, also you can learn how to use your navigation electronics and as beautiful as our home in the Solent is, its certainly a busy place!!
Bring on the Day Skipper this autumn….already planning our trip next year.
1. Certainly Dartmouth again but for the full regatta (and of course the Red Arrows)
2. Fowey top of the must visit list
3. Will feel happier with full nav skills not just relying on the Raymarine kit
What a great month August was, 1 week sailing, 1 week work and then 2 weeks motor boating.....if only every month was like this!!
I must say at this point SHMBO and I spend almost every weekend on the water, but we don’t tend to venture much outside the Solent. In fact our last boat a Sea Ray 240 Sundancer clocked up over 200 hours in 3 years but the furthest we ever went was Poole. With the purchase of “Illusion” our Fairline Phantom 40 at the start of 2007, our boating was set to change.
We’d to do our RYA Day Skipper this Autumn in readiness for some extended cruising in 2008. The trouble was having spent most of this year getting used to the new boat and homing our boat handling with twin engines on shafts, we could resist undertaking on a 2 week adventure.
We set off on a Monday afternoon following a morning spent getting the boat ready, a few last minute jobs and some provisioning. The plan was to go from our berth in Swanwick Marina to Yarmouth and then off West towards Poole on Tuesday. The forecasts were a bit unsettled, the back end of the low pressure that had caught out some of the Fastnet fleet. With northerly winds blowing 30 to 40 knots we decided to take shelter in Lymington for a couple of days…..but as soon as it settled we were off!
First stop Poole Town Quay Marina
Then off to Weymouth past Old Harry’s rocks. Weymouth was great place, we had a fantastic meal at Perry’s and a chance to take on some fuel (48p per litre)
7am start for the 8am lifting bridge and the trek from Weymouth to Dartmouth straight across Lyme Bay.
Went inside the race at high water no problems, thanks to a bit of pilot book reading and a good look out for lobster pots!
Approaching Dartmouth and arrival of the West Country sunshine
Great spot on the river thanks to the Dart Nav – what a nice bloke.
It’ll get busy the following week for the regatta!
Into the dinghy to explore the river
Next stop Salcombe – very busy place, our first time there by water
Now that’s rafting……think Illusion’s somewhere in there
The early morning trip from Salcombe to Newton Ferrers was my favourite passage of the trip, you can see why!
Coming into the River Yealm at10am in the morning…..bliss!
Fortunately SHMBO’s family live in Newton Ferrers, so the local contacts provided a great mooring in the pool. Fortunately the owner of the mooring was away for a week so we ended up staying for a couple of days. Also a chance to do the laundry and get a great Sunday roast!
On the Tuesday following the bank holiday weekend we headed back towards Dartmouth. We had wanted to go to Fowey but time was running out having got stuck in Lymington for a couple of days and we wanted to get a berth in Dartmouth to see the first 2 days of the regatta. Having berthed reasonably cheaply for most of the week we decided to splash out on two nights in the Dart Marina. What a nice marina and staff, lines taken for us on arrival, use of the spa and can highly recommend the Wildfire Bistro. The day trip on the Dartmouth to Paignton steam train was a lot of fun.
The wind was blowing from behind us for the trip back across Lyme Bay with a slight ground swell to keep it interesting.
Obligatory wake shot…..
…….and log shot, just to prove the guys at home that we were out of the Solent.
Even time for a spot of lunch!
We decided to try the offshore 3 to 5 miles south of the Bill rounding on the way back. Certainly a longer way round as we were going back into Weymouth, but it was interesting to see the race at work. With the reasonable fuel costs we again decided to fill the tanks.
Following a night again in Weymouth we stopped in Poole again for a night, then the short hop (listen to us now!!) from Poole to Yarmouth.
Back in the Solent….home sweet home (well overcast!)
What a great experience and so rewarding. The weather in the end was kind to us, no mishaps and with 306.3 miles covered during 27 hours of motoring we reflected on one of our best 2 week holidays. Cruising at a comfortable speed of 20-23 knots, we were averaging about 1 nm to the gallon at a cost of approx £28 per hour.
Our cruise had highlighted several things, when you’ve got time and the weather on your side there’s no better holiday, also you can learn how to use your navigation electronics and as beautiful as our home in the Solent is, its certainly a busy place!!
Bring on the Day Skipper this autumn….already planning our trip next year.
1. Certainly Dartmouth again but for the full regatta (and of course the Red Arrows)
2. Fowey top of the must visit list
3. Will feel happier with full nav skills not just relying on the Raymarine kit
