The last ten days have been very influenced by the weather – a large anticyclone (the Azores High) has positioned itself to the west of the British Isles, and while it has allowed some brief weak fronts in to bring cloud and light rain, it has generally kept the weather settled. It has also meant winds from the north – not a bad angle when heading down the south coast of the UK, into the direction of the prevailing south westerlies.

Having said goodbye to Bash and Tom by steam train at Kingswear (opposite Dartmouth), I greeted my next crew Alex coming off a similarly-powered locomotive. It really isn’t a bad way to arrive at or depart from a yacht! I had anchored Spellbinder as I often do in the main Dartmouth roadstead, and after motoring up the river and showing Dittisham to Alex, we re-anchored and were royally entertained by RYS friends Merrick and Emma and their crew.

The next day the wind was fair-ish for the Yealm, and we tacked down the coast in a fresh breeze with the ebb. The Yealm is one of my favourite rivers: very sheltered, very beautiful and a bit of a squeeze to get into. We picked up a buoy and headed out to meet friends.

After a great supper chez Martin, we met up with RCC friends Mervyn and Penny, and Chris. A great night out was had.

Next stop was the Helford River, which we reached after an enjoyable sail in fine weather. We picked up a buoy, enjoyed a pint at the Ferry Boat Inn, ate on board and looked at the sunset from the Helford River Sailing Club.

The next day we caught the tide around Lizard Point and tacked into Mounts Bay, arriving in time to get admitted into Penzance dock – always a fun affair, as you tie up in a slightly old-fashioned way against the harbour wall, cheek by jowl with trawlers and work boats. We ate well at the Boatshed, a fish restaurant just yards from the quay.

A few hours after Alex departed by train, I was joined by new crew Karenza and Rose, who had arrived at Penzance by more traditional locomotive. I showed them around Spellbinder, cooked them supper and we retired early to lock out at 0730 the next morning, taking on water then anchoring outside the harbour for a few hours to await a fair tide around Land’s End. There then followed a great sail to Scilly, where after a few hours we arrived at The Cove, my favourite of the archipelago anchorages, located between St Agnes and Gugh. We arrived in time for a lovely stroll around both islands – the former before supper, and the latter after dinner to watch the sunset.

The next day we motored round to Porth Cressa, where we anchored and enjoyed Hugh Town on St Mary’s, visiting (inevitably) the IoS clothing shop, and buying various things. We enjoyed a walk above the town, visiting ramparts, one of which was named after one of Karenza’s ancestors.

We then sailed around to seek an anchorage in St Helen’s Pool, but it proved too breezy and we eventually took a buoy for the night on Old Grimsby, on the north side of Tesco, before heading round to the other side of the island to New Grimsby the next day. There then followed a lovely walk on Bryher, and another on Tresco, before we headed out to a lovely dinner with Karenza’s cousin Sarah, her husband Jeremy and extended family. The walks included refreshments at Hell’s Bay on Bryher and Ruin Beach on Tresco.

Following our fine dinner, we had a morning the next day to explore the wonderful Tresco Abbey gardens. I’ll let the photos do the talking – they are one of the UK’s finest.

I could show many more photos of the Abbey gardens – they really are breathtakingly sub-tropical, with specimens from the world over. Even at the winter solstice, they say that there are some 300 plants in flower.

We left New Grimsby after lunch, battling slight seas and contrary winds for 24 hours, arriving in Crosshaven, Ireland, with a light south westerly which gave us a fine sail at the end. The same winds built once we were in, turning into a depression which we were glad to avoid. Now ensconced in the marina of the Royal Cork Yacht Club – the oldest in the world, having been founded in 1720 – we are happy to have arrived, having had a great cruise. I now look forward to cruising the Irish south west coast with Sue in the coming fortnight.