Skippered Cruise - Celtic Flame II  6th - 13th April 2025 

Skipper: Geoff Norwood 

Crew: Harvey Freer  , Peter Newland  and Pete Chamen 

With a late Easter it had been planned to put CFII back on charter towards the end of April, however I’d like to thank Brian Hawkesworth and Les Dixon for agreeing to make her available earlier. A true stroke of luck as we had excellent spring weather throughout the cruise.I met up with Ian Michell and his good friends Mervyn and Andrew on the Friday as they had undertaken to help get the boat ready. A fine if chilly day with a light wind but perfect for the main task of putting the sails back on. The foresail went on without incident but the main required a few attempts to get all slides, lines and shackles in the right place at the right time. All done in good humour, and we retired to the Mountbatten Bar for lunch. Whilst the pub looks like it has seen better days the beer and food were unexpectedly good.

After a few more minor tasks Ian decided to take the boat out into the sound for a brief check of systems and installations. On a bright evening with a light breeze we headed under sail as far as the breakwater, and with a few manoeuvres checked she was ready to go. The log was not functioning but after a quick clean of the transducer we began to see speed readings as expected. We were soon back on the pontoon and ready for dinner at The Bridge on the marina.

There was a possible plan of an extended trial on Saturday, but we woke to a good F6 streaming down river from the east and with white caps on the Cattewater it was not prudent to head out. After an extremely hearty (i.e. HUGE) breakfast at the Galley Kitchen in the boatyard it just remained to collect and fit the spray hood from the sailmakers in Plymouth. Thanks to Ian and crew for their mostly unseen/unheard work done to keep CFII in good nick.

My crew travelled together from Bath and Bristol and we met for a brunch before we stowed our week’s supplies and planned the trip. Easterlies were forecast all week, but becoming light from Monday so for a familiarisation with the boat and each other we set out for the Yealm. It was quickly apparent that the wind was still lively and we took in 2 reefs before heading beyond the breakwater. A close reach and a tack took us straight into the estuary where we were very well sheltered on the southerly pontoon. We paddled the tender to the slipway in 2 shifts and found the Swan Inn in Noss Mayo bathed in warm evening sun. We decided to head back to the boat to eat aboard. The wind died overnight and we had a quiet night in the lovely estuary.

We made an early start to head for Falmouth or Helford and with a course almost south-westerly the easterly gave us a comfortable reach right across towards the Fal. Initially I had hoped to go into the Helford River for the night, but the moorings are mid-stream and with a due east wind it may have been a little lively in the swell, so we turned into the Fal and headed for an easy berth on the outer pontoon of Pendennis Marina. The facilities here are adequate – the shower block being a few minutes walk inland, and with an extra charge for shore power it seemed quite expensive, however this turned out to be par for the course. A Thai meal in town suited us all after a fairly long day.

With winds remaining in the east all week but forecast to become light later I didn’t really want to go around the Lizard, but it was too early to head back west. Given the lovely clear fine weather we agreed to stay a second night in the marina, and to explore the rias the next day. The wind was fresh in the morning with a bit of north in it so we set out of Falmouth to have a look at Coverack – a small cove just north of the Lizard sometimes used as an anchorage to await a tide gate. A lovely reach out to Manacles buoy brought the village into view, but with the tide running and a falling breeze it would’ve been a long slog back out to the buoy had we gone deeper into the cove, so we turned back towards the entrance to the Helford. A dead run brought us into the river mouth, but the bright spring day fell calm and we motored on the rising tide as far into the charming, wooded creek as we dared – past Frenchman’s Creek and up to Tremayne Quay before the depth sounder warned us to turn back. We picked up a visitor buoy for an hour to enjoy our lunch in the sun and a hint of summer in the warmth. We wanted to explore the Fal too, before the high tide, so set off under motor up into Carrick Roads and round the twists and turns of the river with the tide reaching its height. We made it almost up to Malpas where there is a recently extended visitor pontoon. However, with a very shallow patch just prior to this and with the tide on the turn we turned and followed the ebb all the way back to the marina having enjoyed a tour of the extremes of the rivers.

Each day the forecast was for light and unfavourable winds, but the reality was that we had good opportunities for sailing each day, and our next leg towards Fowey was a pleasant light breeze carrying us around Dodman with the tide in our favour and into harbour for early evening. We remarked all week at the lack of other boats on the water given the weather and the approaching holiday weekend. Fowey was no exception and were able to take a berth on the Berrills Yard walk-ashore pontoon to the north of the town. There are no onshore facilities associated with this berth so we walked to the sailing club where we were made welcome. Showers are available there, but my previous experience is that they are not great and charge by the minute with £1 coins. Although the berth nominally needs to be vacated by 0830 we were allowed to stay since there was very little traffic.

With 3 nights left and the easterlies persisting we decided to make our way to Salcombe or Dartmouth over the next 2 days – stopping again at Yealm. Once again the wind favoured us with a south-east 3-4 allowing us to make good headway. I had wanted to check out Polperro – a drying harbour, with some sheltered (from the west) visitors’ buoys in the entrance, so we stayed close in to the coast. The entrance is hard to spot from the west but opens in a NW direction as you pass. We made an approach along the leading line until close to the very narrow entrance, less than 50 m wide, but, looking into the confined moorings, with a following swell of about 1 metre, I took a last-minute decision to head back into the open sea. It’s a spot for a visit on settled westerlies, I think.

The lovely spring weather continued, and we had a perfect sail across Whitsand Bay, past Rame Head and the Mewstone and entered the Yealm at the beginning of the ebb flow. We decided to go the northern pontoon to make access to the harbour facilities easier, and to check out Newton Ferrers. There was plenty of space – still very few boats sailing in the sound or at sea despite the lovely conditions. I suggested we give the outboard a test run before heading ashore, and Pete took it for a spin around the pontoon a few times with no apparent problem, although there was a drip of fuel when he returned. Once all ready to depart we were going to do a ferry run with max 3 in tender but…. Nothing we could do would start the engine. The ebb was now increasing and would have been at full force on our return, and it would have been very difficult to make the crossing safely twice. Luckily we had provisions on board so enjoyed the tranquil evening on the boat. Waking the next morning to see the full ebb current I am sure it was the right decision.

We were able to depart to time our arrival at Start Point as the tide turned in our favour and made our way east, passing Salcombe with a couple of tacks. Around Prawle Point we noticed a disturbance in the water and a number of pointed dorsal fins. A RIB was circling them, clearing observing. I was fairly sure it was tuna as I had seen quite a few on this coast last year, but as we got closer it was clear they were cetaceans. Somewhat bigger than the dolphins we often see, and with a more tubular body. The fin was vertical rather than curved. I watched through binoculars and clearly saw one breach clear of the water. My impression was that it was a brownish colour and without the pale belly of dolphins. We all watched in fascination until the pod of whatevers headed off to the west.

Despite the calm conditions it was a bumpy ride around the point, but we were then set for a clear leg on the easy approach to Dartmouth, and were soon on the visitors’ pontoon of Darthaven Marina on the Kingswear side. Again, rather expensive but with superb facilities. They’ve opened a new shower block since I was last there and it is without doubt the best I’ve found on south coast marinas. With water and mains on the pontoon, and a replacement Gaz bottle available in the marina office we made ourselves comfortable before walking up the hill to the Ship Inn for a very good meal.

Saturday dawned calm and slightly overcast but we’d had 6 days of glorious spring sailing. We decided to head back to the home base for the last night, ensuring we’d have the tide with us again on our return around Start Point. We did attempt to sail on and off, but the intermittent gusts were barely enough to fill the sails, and eventually what wind there was turned westerly so we settled for motoring along to Plymouth Sound as the evening turned fine again. Throughout the week we had been aware that the log and speed seemed to be over-reading, and we had confirmed by a rough time along the measured mile on our westward journey. As we had time to spare in the evening, and I had previously plotted two waypoints along the breakwater due W-E at 1 mile distance, we spent a while running these 2 legs at an indicated speed of 5kts westward and 6kts eastward. The measured time gave about 4kts westward and 5.3kts eastward. There was minimal tide but this indicates around 15% to be deducted from indicated speed on average. I assume the instrument can be calibrated to suit the sensor position but I’m afraid I didn’t attempt to correct it. We had agreed with Brian and Mountbatten Chandlery to leave the outboard on board, unlocked for them to investigate, and I believe the fault (carburettor) was found and fixed prior to the next charter that week. Great work from Brian as usual.

We were back on the home pontoon after refuelling and filling the tanks. Once again fuel usage was around 2l/hour. We left the clear up until the morning and headed back to the Mountbatten Bar for a simple but satisfying meal.

In summary we had a superb spring week with blue skies and some good sailing conditions nearly every day. We explored the Cornish coastline and rias and enjoyed good company and conditions over the 260 miles. Thanks to all for their camaraderie and crewing competence – none of us had sailed together before but we made a great team.Thanks again to those who help keep the boat in good condition – ours was the first week out in ’25 and we gave her a good shakedown with good performance all round from Celtic Flame.