After some early forays, amd a bit more boat maintenance by me, Sue and I had the pleasure of welcoming friends Paul and Claire on board for a weekend in good conditions in the Solent. We headed to Osborne Bay for a first night at anchor, then motored round to Cowes the next morning to enjoy the gastronomic delights of the Squadron’s chef at the opening of the Pavilion Upper Deck. Suitably refreshed, we then headed round for another night at anchor in Newtown Creek.

Thank you to Paul and Claire for being such amenable crew. – we enjoyed having you on board very much!

It had been a good final check of Spellbinder’s systems, and with the date of departure set, I welcomed Bash back on board for an initial passage to Dartmouth. After a night at Cowes, and a fine dinner in the Castle, we set off at dawn to catch the westward tide down the Solent. With high pressure edging in from the west, we had fine sailing conditions with a fair north wind to take us down the coast.

We had a pretty easy sail down past St Alban’s Head, then cut in for lunch at Lulworth Cove. Thankfully the ranges were not in use so we could head in direct along the beautiful Jurassic coast.

We tacked up towards Weymouth harbour entrance, and went in, rafting up as instructed. It now costs me £48 a night to stay there – a far cry from my early days in Kianga, when I am pretty certain it was less than £20. But Bash hadn’t been there, and we enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the town, having some mussels and a glass of wine while waiting for elder son Tom to arrive. We had supper on board, and retired early, as the next day we faced an early start, and the prospect of Portland Bill.

Portland Bill is a bit of a notorious jut of land which produces serious races and turbulence at certain states of tide and weather. There are two options to round it – go the long way round, or get your timing right and head right inside, ‘close enough to throw a biscuit to the lighthouse keeper’ as the saying goes. The conditions suited the latter course of action, and we had an enjoyable sail round the Bill at dawn.

There then followed a cracking sail across Lyme Bay, a beam reach for most of it with the tide helping us, and the sun out. Sailing-wise, it doesn’t get much better. We arrived in Dartmouth as planned for lunch, anchoring in the roadstead, then explored the town.

After lunch we headed up to Dittisham, picking up a buoy, and going for a stroll. Having had a house there for many years, it was a pleasure to be back and to meet some people I hadn’t seen for quite a while. There were a few new houses but nothing substantially changes in these beautiful South Hams villages.

After a good stroll, and an obligatory pint at The Ferry Boat Inn (FBI) we ate on board, before heading up the river the next day with the tide.

The aim was to anchor off Bow Creek, and take the dinghy up the river to have lunch at The Maltster’s Arms. This we did. It was a serious lunch too – thanks Bash!

After lunch, we needed at stroll so pulled the dinghy up the shore and found a footpath to gain some height and admire the views.

Suitable awakened by the exercise, we headed down river back to Dartmouth, later enjoying a spectacular sunset from the balcony of the Royal Dart Yacht Club.

It was a great few days. Thank you Bash and Tom for being such good company. I was sorry to see them off, but at least they went in style – by steam train, from Kingswear to Paignton and onwards.

I write this while anchored in Dartmouth, awaiting my next crew. The plan is to head down to Penzance over the next few days, and thence to Cork via Scilly.