West country cruising

[rex_seadog]

Being based in Dartmouth we have exhausted most of the obvious destinations for a long-weekend cruise - east to Torbay, Teignmouth, Exmouth (as far as Topsham), Lyme Regis and west to Salcombe (including Southpool and Kingsbridge), Hope Cove, Bantham, Newton Ferrers, Cawsands and most of the Plymouth marinas. We've also had weekend trips to Alderney and Guernsey in moments of madness (12 and a quarter hours St PP to Dartmouth in ideal sailing conditions!) but really too far for 3-4 days. We are now looking for more possibilities and have considered Looe, Polperro (probably the western limit), Millbrook Lake, St Germans river, Frogmore creek (up from Salcombe), Lympstone (up the Exe), Beer (have seen recent thread), Axemouth and Bridport (the eastern limit). Any advice on these or other suggestions would be very welcome. The boat is a Hunter Delta 25 with bilge keels (or rather twin fins as Hunters would have it) and so we can dry out. We also try to get ashore each night to a pub - not really into spending a romantic evening on the boat in an isolated pool as my usual sailing colleague's an ugly bug***! BTW we have Fishwick's West Country Cruising but would appreciate personal recommendations.

 

[snooks]

If you anchor off Looe, make the effort and take your dinghy into the harbour...We came a cropper trying to "surf" the dinghy (Hawai 5 0 style) into the beach much to the amusment of the holiday makers watching event unfold!!

We were a group of 3 lads trying to pose in front of the girls on the beach...all went wrong, dinghy capsized, all got wet....rse!

Lovely little Cornish town, they seemed to find the sight of 3 soaked teenagers amusing though, could never understand why.....

 

[Guest]

Is Fowey too far for you? We always visit when we are down your way. BTW we have been visitors in Darthaven Marina and thought the marina and people very good. Particularly liked the Ship Inn just up from the marina, good beer and food!!!

Pete

 

[Guest]

Is Fowey too far for you? We always visit when we are down your way. BTW we have been visitors in Darthaven Marina and thought the marina and people very good. Particularly liked the Ship Inn just up from the marina, good beer and food!!!

Pete

 

[ccscott49]

The Ship Inn, try harder, to stop you going over to Dartmouth! They succeed, the service is better and the beer cheaper! The hotel at the ferry slip, (can't remeber the name offhand) Does or used to do great seafood. Been to the royal Dart YC aswell?

 

[yachtcharisma]

Hi,

We're based in Plymouth, also with a bilge-keeler. However, it's quite hard to add to your pretty comprehensive list. The obvious pub stop up the Tamar would have to be Cargreen off the Crooked Spaniard's Inn - it's listed in Mark Fishwick's book. Nice spot, they have some mooring buoys or I've anchored just downstream of the point on the W side of the river, but I've rarely visited the pub, so am less well placed to comment on that. I think J-J keeps his boat up there, so may well have more to add.

Millbrook lake is quite a favourite. If you tuck into the bay in the SE corner of the lake proper within an hour or so of high water you'll dry in a very sheltered bay with the pub at Cremyll ("Edgcumbe Arms"?) a pleasant 1 mile walk along the shore to the east. The link below shows the "lake" and makes the artificial breakwaters that seem to have been built up at the entrance the the bay (mid-right in the arial photo) clear - they just cover at high water so you need to plot a course into the bay between them. If you plan on grounding by the stream in the extreme E corner of the bay, that's gravel covered by a fairly thin layer of mud. Further out or further N and the mud gets deeper!

http://www.multimap.com/map/photo.c...width=500&height=310&gride=242413&gridn=52053

St Germans river is very pretty, but not an obvious place to go for a pub stop. You're a long way from anywhere at the main anchorage, the Dandy Hole. You can go right up to St Germans, and even stay afloat at low water neaps in mid-channel with some careful positioning, but I'm not actually sure there's a pub there at all. I've certainly never been to one.

Saltash, of course, has its pubs, and even a new visitors pontoon, I believe, but I've never found it a terribly appealing place to stop myself!

Elsewhere, Looe I've been to in the middle of winter and enjoyed, but noted how little space there was for visitors and so have never been back during the "season"

Hope that proves of interest. Do feed back if you find anywhere else good - there could almost be a "good anchorages" forum in addition to the "good pub" one!

Cheers
Patrick

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Sailing a Corribee
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox
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[Guest]

Yes Royal Dart YC also very welcoming with good food and beer but food not as good as the Ship. We were weather bound for a few nights and then did Dartmouth to Gosport in 14 hours, genny sailing!!! dog had her legs crossed by the end but a good passage.

Pete

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: Axemouth and Bridport

Both ok if you can float in a thimble and have the bottle for narrow entry. Don't bother for a first time entry if its over a 3 from the S or SW or if there is a heavy swell.

 

[Cornishman]

In addition to venturing into the estuarial Tamar already recommended you can come further up river to Calstock (2 pubs in the village) perhaps stopping off for a cream tea at the National Trust's tea shop called the Edgecumbe Arms (but not a pub) at Cotehele Quay. If you can take the ground you can lie to the Quay overnight. Best spot is next to the small hand crane on the quay, but keep out of the small docks. If you would like to make a contribution to Trust funds for your stay offer it at the tea shop, otherwise there is no charge. There are moorings off Calstock Boatyard, too.
If you get down to Fowey, and the wind is anywhere in the Eastern half of the compass, just around the corner in St Austell Bay and South of Par is a tiny village called Polkerris with good holding ground (sand) off its silted up harbour with the Rashleigh pub right there on the beach.

 

[charles_reed]

Suggest the following:

Tamar up to Cotehele, not many grockles, but easily done on the tide unless you draw more than 3.3m and airdraft exceeding 29.8m. Lie alongside the NT quay.

Fowey estuary, up to Golant or, if really brave St Winnows. (You could anchor in the unmarked channel in 2.4m @ neaps LW). Lower down is definitely commercial.

Charlestown and the old chinaclay dock, HM is very welcoming

Fal estuary - St Just in Roseland, Trelissick, if you can dry - Malpas and Tressilian R, up to Truro on the tide and tie up by the island below the bypass bridge. St Mawes Roads.

Helford River if you can get in for the moorings.

Mylor Creek.

Newlyn now "be charming to yotties" campaign in full flow - but don't get drinking with the local RNLI crew, they're professionals...

in Scillonia:- Coveen, between Gugh and At Agnes, (tho' I understand they've put lots of mooring buoys in there).

Old Grimsby Channel off Tresco (if your pilotage is up to it). Rather thin sand on rock but next to the only safe all-weather anchorage in the islands (St Helen's Pool).
New Grimsby (from King Charles Castle channel).

I am unaware of your LWL, but Scillonia used to be a long weekend (Fri pm -Tues am) for me from Pwllheli, in a 31', single-handed.

 

[roger]

Most of the places have been covered but dont forget, for bad weather the upper Dart, Bow creek, Sharpham, Totnes.
For good weather and adventure try the Avon. We were at Burgh Island on Friday at lunch time and saw a ketch disappear into the entrance. Dont try this if you dont know what you are doing or in bad weather. The Sloop can be quite nice. No I havent done it Badger has a fin keel.

 

[rex_seadog]

Many thanks for all the advice and suggestions.
Although I'm reasonably familiar with most of the places mentioned west of Plymouth (Fowey, Falmouth, Scillies etc) from extended cruises, these places are not realistic for our long-weekend trips. Unfortunately our 3 or 4 day weekends include drives to and from the Midlands so that in practice we need to complete our outward leg in one day to allow a couple of days for the return, shutting up the boat, dinghying ashore and driving home. With a 24 and a bit foot boat, albeit fairly fast, we rarely get the right conditions to get much further west than Plymouth, at least if we want to get somewhere before closing time and not rely too much on the engine. With an 8HP outboard we try to donkey only as a last resort and, in fact, we usually only carry enough petrol for about 40 miles. Much as I like the Turk's Head on St Agnes we would have to crack on a bit to get there and back in a weekend! Pwllheli to the Scillies in a long weekend, even in a 31 footer, sounds like a feat of endurance to me - don't think I'd be in any state to work the next morning. Think I'm talking myself into early retirement!
What we're really after are places closer to the Dart that are usually ignored. I think some of the Tamar suggestions will be high on the list or perhaps Axemouth if going east. Reference the spot in the SE corner of Millbrook Lake, is this the anchorage that the book warns is foul - if so, is this much of a problem with a tripping line? Agree with Roger's comments about the Avon. Arrived at Burgh Island near low water and surveyed the channel on foot! The entry close to HW, following Mark Fishwick's advice, proved to be quite interesting but the bar food at the Sloop made it very worthwhile. As he also says, the upper reaches of the Dart provide good pickings for visitors to the area: Dittisham, Stoke Gabriel and for those who can take the ground, Bow Creek and Totnes.

 

[yachtcharisma]

> Reference the spot in the SE corner of Millbrook Lake, is
> this the anchorage that the book warns is foul - if so, is
> this much of a problem with a tripping line?

No, I don't think the place I'm talking about is mentioned in Mark Fishwick's book. I came across it looking for somewhere to beach & scrub the boat - which does give a clue to one possible disadvantage, you can only get in there a couple of hours either side of HW springs.

However, the bottom isn't foul (at least, not in the anchoring sense - the mud that I end up crawling around in while scrubbing certainly seems pretty foul!). The spot near there that *is* supposed to be foul is "Barn Pool", just the other (seaward) side of the "Narrows" where the Tamar comes out into the Sound. I nearly mentioned it as a possible anchorage, actually. I've anchored there a few times and never had a problem myself, although I've seen someone else get their anchor stuck there and always use a tripping line.

It's a nice spot, and much closer to the "Edgcumbe Arms" than Millbrook Lake, but we've always found it a bit rolly. Maybe I'm a bit of a wimp, or maybe a Corribee, with a LWL of only 16', is more susceptible to rolling than others, but I don't really find it a terribly comfortable place for anything more than lunch. But I have the same problem with Cawsand Bay too, which I think you said you've been to, so if you didn't have a problem there you'll probably like Barn Pool...

Incidentally, agree that the River Avon is a lovely place. But the current certainly runs fast past that lovely thatched boathouse - I tried to sneak in a bit early on the flood and found myself being swept into rapidly shallowing water at a couple of knots over the ground while practically stationary in the water. Think I'll be a bit more patient next time!

Cheers
Patrick

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Sailing a Corribee
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox
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[longjohnsilver]

I was also anchored off Burgh Island on Friday lunch time! Small world, but only recall seeing a speed boat on the other side (we were on the Western side to escape the slop in a blue hulled motor boat). I also fancy going up the Avon, bet they don't have many visitors.

I wouldn't recommend Lymptone on the Exe, too much mud and not easy to get to. Why not try Starcross, excellent clubhouse in the old Brunel tower on the waterfront.

Further on Westbay is another old haunt of mine but would steer clear for some time asa now they have started work on the new harbour wall which means constant heavy traffic and noise.

Axemouth is an interesting spot but would recommend you only enter right at the top of the tide and never with any southerly in the wind. Be prepared for a sharp left turn!!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by longjohnsilver on 06/08/2002 21:55 (server time).</FONT></P>