August 2015 holiday voyage on Wild Honey (Sadler 29)
Overview: 312 miles, underway 66 hours over two weeks. 50 hrs sailing, 16 hrs under engine.
Hamble, Lymington, Poole, Lulworth Cove, Weymouth, Dartmouth, Salcombe, Brixham, Teignmouth, Portland, Poole, Lymington, Hamble. Dolphins were the top highlight.
Saturday 8th August 2015
Went down to the Hamble in late morning, sorted out the boat and got provisions on board. Later we walked down the river to the coast then returned to Warsash and ate at the Rising Sun.
Sunday 9th
Set off west down the Solent early (0810) to avoid Cowes Week activities; saw the first start of the day (Sigmas) and sailed downwind as far as Lymington Yacht Haven to berth for the night. 18 miles.
The tiller extension broke (a weak repair by the previous owner) and, with no fitting in stock, I asked the marina chandlers to get quotes for a replacement joint and for a complete assembly. However, we managed without it with no problem all the voyage. Warm & sunny weather so we walked around Lymington and then walked along the coast towards Keyhaven.
Monday 10th
Set off for Poole at 0850 via the North Channel. Sailing mostly close hauled, in 10 to 14 kts, though not much beating required. Visibility became poorer with hints of rain ahead. Went to Poole Quay Boat Haven. 30.1 miles. Our little yacht was dwarfed by a variety of Sunseekers all around us, some still being finished by the builder.
Tuesday 11th
Not much wind forecast or evident so we stayed in Poole for the day, enjoying the tourist sites, museums and shops. Poole Quay is always lively in the evenings.
Wednesday 12th
Better wind forecast so we set off for Weymouth at 0748 with adverse tide initially but with west going tide for the most of the passage. Good sailing wind so stayed near the scenic coastline and anchored for a sunny lunchtime stop in Lulworth Cove, which was fun but busy. Left at 1400 for Weymouth but as the wind died we motored the last one & half hours into the port. We moored alongside another yacht well into the harbour on pontoon D5, right on the centre of the town. 27.3 miles in total.
Thursday 13th
Good Easterly / North Easterly winds so we set off for the 55 mile passage to Dartmouth at 0710. This brought us to Portland Bill at the right slack-tide time to pass close inside to avoid the “Race”. Sailing on a broad reach we make good time, though the weather gradually became cloudy, grey and eventually rainy, as forecast. This meant for much of the passage we were out of sight of land, so giving a different experience from earlier passages. Entry into Dartmouth was upwind sailing in stronger winds and poor visibility but proved straight forward. 54.8 miles in just under 10 hours. We took a berth in Darthaven Marina on the east side of the river, Kingswear. A very scenic place.
Friday 14th
Stayed at Darthaven and visited Dartmouth in the morning. In the afternoon, via the steam railway, visited Agatha Christie’s summer home, now a National Trust property, up river on the east side. An enjoyable day
Saturday 15th
Set off for Salcombe at 0925 in NW /W winds, 9 to 12 kts. We had an enjoyable sail, initially reaching to Start Point then upwind to Salcombe, total 18 miles. We started off in adverse tides to reach Start Point at slack water for an inside passage. Arrived at Salcombe around Low Water so took the narrow channel to the west of the Bar, also used by a couple of yachts ahead of us. At Salcombe we asked for mooring instructions and took an orange buoy as instructed, only to be told that this orange buoy was not a visitor’s one so we had to move to another! All good practice. (Note: Visitors buoys are orange AND marked with a V ). Salcombe was in full August holiday mode, a sort of sailing-town theme-park. We stayed two nights on the mooring, sharing with two other small yachts for the second night.
Sunday 16th
Enjoyed Salcombe ashore and afloat. Inflated and used our tender & outboard in earnest for the first time.
Monday 17th
Departed mooring at 0800 for Brixham. NE winds so beating East and North back to Prawle Point and Start Point. Favourable tide direction but tide flow not suitable for a close inshore rounding of these points so stayed a little offshore. This had the bonus of putting in contact with the northern edge of the Fastnet Race fleet making their way slowly west, downwind against tide. A chilly but sunny day giving a pleasant sail.
Wind dropped just after mid-day so motored after Berry Head and moored in Brixham Harbour Marina after four pm. 28 miles in just over six hours.
Brixham is more downmarket than Salcombe but is a good practical port; we had a great Tapas-style meal here.
Tuesday 18th
Not good wind forecast for a long eastward passage so went north to Teignmouth, just 10 miles, sailing across Torquay Bay. The wind dropped as forecast so we motored last part. We followed the Tom Cunliffe Channel Pilot advice on the entry with no problems, arriving HW +1. We moored on one of only two visitor pontoons; very cheap, very convenient (50m tender ride from the shore) and very picturesque. We spent the day pottering around Teignmouth and Shaldon (on the opposite shore of the estuary). A great place to stop.
Wednesday 19th
A good southerly wind forecast so suitable for our passage east but a very grey and rainy day. We left at 0735 for our 56 mile passage. The tide direction was favourable for this eastward leg but not suitable for passing close in to The Bill so we had to follow the outside route south of The Bill and then east of The Shambles. This made for a longer passage but with good strong winds we averaged 5.6 Kts through the water. However in increasing poor visibility and stronger winds we were very glad to finally make it into Portland Harbour. A good practical marina but not as interesting as Weymouth.
Highlight of the holiday: About ten miles due west of Portland Bill we saw a pod of five or six dolphins. Rather, they saw us, and leapt towards us from the north, dived under the boat, coming up all around us in a sort of starburst manoeuvre, then raced off astern. Too quick for a photo I’m afraid.
Thursday 20th
Another day of southerly winds to take us east to Poole. Damp and grey weather but no heavy rain. Departed Portland at 1000, starting off close hauled but gradually changing to a broad reach covering the 30 miles in six hours. We kept off St Albans Head to avoid the overfalls with today’s tide times. Berthing back in Poole Quay, still surrounded by huge motor boats. We had a great Thai take-away and then enjoyed the music and entertainments on the Quay, rounded of by huge fireworks.
Friday 21st
At last a sunny day and SW winds for our return to the Solent. We left Poole a 0900, motored out of the harbour and then sailed across Christchurch Bay. It was too early for the Bournemouth Air show, though there were a variety of naval vessels anchored there ready for it. We came in through the North Channel with a strong east-flowing tide in the Hurst narrows. We were not in a hurry to get back to the Hamble as our berth would be drying by the time we arrived so we returned to Lymington Yacht Haven and enjoyed an afternoon in Lymington, buying provisions for a good meal on board.
Saturday 22nd
Another sunny day with a good sailing wind for a beat back home to the Hamble. After the quiet waters further west, the Solent seemed very busy. We arrived back in time for lunch on board then sorted out ourselves and the boat ready for us to leave and drive home, tired but very satisfied with our holiday cruise.
George & Magdalen Hoskins, August 2015
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