The weather is due to deteriorate further with F7/8 being forecast within the next 24 hours, so we were looking to make a move. The winds are still from the east, and still forecast to go round to the south, making any leg over to Brittany not really a viable option. Instead we have decided to head up the English Channel with my thoughts being that we could visit either Newlyn or Penzance, as we have never been to either of them – or continue up to Falmouth. The wind must move from the east soon as it’s been from this direction for some time – fingers crossed. The Isles of Scilly are somewhat exposed and we really don’t fancy getting stuck here in gale conditions.

Decision made we headed out at 0630 and into some pretty big lumpy water, heading out to the east it was a wind against tide situation. One yacht was going out under bare poles (no sails up) and their mast was swinging about like a metronome! As for us, well let’s just say that I don’t think there will be any weeds left on the underside of Sun Dog! Quite a number of boats were heading back to the south coast as they have also been stuck here by the weather, and are looking to take advantage of the weather window before it slams shut with the gales that are forecast.

Once clear of the Isles of Scilly the wave height calmed down a bit (thank goodness) and the wind settled to around a steady F4/5 but it was pretty much on the nose as the wind was still from the east, and it stayed that way all day. So it was a day of motor sailing with the added joy of poor visibility. The visibilty was so poor that the AIS and Radar were swiched on all day, and we were glad to have both onboard in this busy stretch of water. Because we were motorsailing battery use wasn’t an issue, in that running the engine kept the batteries fully charged, as running all this kit does consume a fair amount of battery power.

The traffic separation scheme off the east coast of the Scillies was quite clear when we were crossing the bottom of it with only one ship heading south and none heading north. I have been impressed by the AIS system we had fitted, as it gives the big commercial boats course, heading, speed, and their destination on the chartplotter, thus the decision making process is a whole lot easier. You can “see them” on the chartplotter before MK1 eyeball can pick them up. This is because AIS is a system based on satelitte information and not line of sight like radar, and from the ships destination one can assess which direction they will be heading, once they exit the traffic seperation scheme.

I have to say that whilst it was a pretty slow slog up the channel plugging into the wind and waves, we decided to keep going for Falmouth as this would give good shelter should the weather turn as grim as the forecast. The only “land” we saw on the way over to the mainland was Wolf Rock Lighthouse, and from there on in towards Falmouth the commercial traffic increased quite considerably.

We gave the Lizard a good clearance to avoid tidal rips and then headed down and into Falmouth with the tide giving us a good push, and this gave us our best speed over the ground all day. We arrived pretty much 12 hours after leaving the Isles of Scilly and tied up alongside at the Visitors Marina. We will give ourselves a bit of time here to explore, and perhaps visit Newlyn and Penzance by public transport given we missed them out by coming directly to Falmouth.

Getting safely here in the weather window we had was a blessed relief, and we are happy to be safely sheltered, and tied alongside a pontoon with fresh water and electricity on tap…….luxury.