Early July – Milford Haven to Padstow

30th June 2021 – To Padstow Overnight

Correction to last post.  The Dolphins are Porpoise (I call everything Dolphins) and the Seagull was a Black Legged Kittiwake.  Thanks Paul H.

Before an overnight trip there is obviously some apprehension.  So hairdressing is a good way to use a few hours, dyeing and cutting.

 

Milford Haven Lock.  It was a hot and sunny day and very unusually we entered Milford Haven lock at 5.50pm in shorts. 

After visiting the museum it was so much more interesting, passing the Gas storage terminal on the way out of the Haven.

One of the impossibly large tankers.

All well in the evening sunshine.  We were then contacted by the Castle Martin Firing Range to inform us practice was taking place.  They had seen us on the AIS and called on the VHF radio.  We were told to stick to a heading of 180 degrees, which was only slightly different to the bearing Mick had planned.  Over the next few hours we could actually hear booming noises.  We hoped they were good at their jobs.

We watched the sunset, while repeating the oven Lasagne routine, as it was so welcome last time.  After which Mick retired at 10.00pm until 01.00am.  Once night fell, it became very cold.  Even with the radio for company, there were few stars and I was glad to be relieved at 1.00am.

I then slept 01.00 til 05.00.  Mick rested after but did not sleep again.

We had a terrific dolphin display during the evening, while crossing the Bristol Channel.  The sea was calm and a small pod joined us at about 9.00pm.  They stayed for a good few hours and into the night, but was very difficult to see them when it was dark and there was no moonlight.

Four Porpoises surfacing together.  Mick snatched this from a Video Clip.

Large shipping in the Bristol Channel and a constant mist.

The mist had mostly cleared when we arrived in Padstow.  The River Camel channel is narrow but well buoyed.  We arrived at 10.15am and were assigned Ladder No.9. 

The harbourmaster had a supply of Calor Gas, so we are now OK for the summer.

I took the opportunity to take some pictures as it was likely we would be rafted against soon.  We deployed the fender board.  A plank of wood, tied across three fenders, which rested on the ladder, to stop damage to the boat, especially as other boats arrived.

The following day Keith and Harry arrived on Alchemy and were excellent raft buddies, so courteous, removing their shoes and treading lightly when they were coming and going across the front of our boat to get to the shore. 

Before too long the harbour was rafted 3 deep everywhere.  Not all rafters are as courteous, including the couple with the dog later, whose dog left its muddy paw prints with no apologies from the owners.  They thankfully moved as soon as they could to a better landing spot for the dog.

1st July – Thursday

We spent a few hours on Thursday trying to secure a table for dinner on Saturday night for my Birthday.  I have had a few dire birthdays lately and needed a better one.  No room at the Inns.  Even the most expensive.  However, the nice man at Rick Steins finest told us to try ‘Burgers and Fish’.  Don’t be put off by the name he said the food is great. 

 

So I went up the stairs in the alley and asked the guy.  He told us that currently the situation is so tricky with staff, they were deciding day by day how many bookings they could cope with.  I had to ring back at 10.30 the following morning after they had their meeting.

Mick thought I had a slim to zero chance.

2nd July – Friday

10.30 on the dot I rang.  Hurray the lovely lady said we had a spot.  Perseverance wins again.

Washed the boat, as Keith and Harry had a hosepipe out.  Mick changed the fan belt.

We later walked up the coast path to the Memorial and beyond to the beach.  Over looking ‘Doom Bar’, hence the name of the beer.

3rd July – Saturday

The best Cherry and Almond Croissants were collected by my dear husband.  A lazy morning reading the paper.  Cards and gifts from Mick and Liz x. 

The meal at ‘Burgers and Fish’ was terrific.  The restaurant is in a large loft space and felt cozy and special.  Not cheap, but the Chimichurri prawns were worth going for alone.

4th July – Sunday

More croissants.  Naughty.

We walked up to Prideaux Place, the local Manor House.  The house is currently closed, but the grounds and the tea shop are open.

What we did not expect was the field of Deer across the road.

So many.

And so close.

And not camera shy.

5th July – Monday

Intermittent showers today.  We darted out at lunchtime to go uphill to Tesco.  The town car park, the overflow car parks and the two fields behind Tesco were all full with visitor cars.

6th July – Tuesday

We escaped the crowds and went to Wadebridge on the bus.

The bridge of the name Wadebridge.

A small but pretty town at the other end of the Camel Trail from Padstow.  Most people hire bikes.  We cycled it on our own bikes last time.

Excellent pasties from Malcolm Barnecutt’s bakery.

Later this Padstow fishing boat arrived.  We think it is a tight harbour for maneuvering then this arrives to show us how it’s done.

It was interesting to see the lock gate submerge into the water.

Then fully submerge to allow traffic to pass over.

7th July – Wednesday

Mick downloaded two new maps for our TopoGPS map app.  The split in the maps was straight down the middle of Padstow.

They proved worthwhile as we found a better path higher over the coast, and got some fabulous views over the River Camel.  We ended up back at Prideaux Place, but no Deer today, we were lucky to see them.

8th July – Thursday

We took the 11.00am ferry ‘Black Tor’ to Rock.  Across the river Camel from Padstow.  £3 per person each way.  Operates every half hour.

 

At this time of year two ferries run all day.  From the slipway at High Water and from the lower beach at Low Water.

We walked uphill, looking at all the amazing houses.  There is a small group of shops and …

Another Malcolm Barnecutt Bakery.  The mass produced pasties can be a bit dry, but not these.

The walk downhill was very pleasant.  Above is the watersports Club.

Coffee in ‘The Rock Inn’ before going back on the ferry.  We will go the other way on the coast path next time.  For beach lovers Rock is ideal.

In the evening I attended our W.I. Zoom meeting and listened to Gill’s excellent talk about Walking in the Mont Blanc area of France.

9th July – Friday

The navy arrived.  Another lesson in boat movement.

HMS Explorer Patrol and Training Vessel, Primarily assigned to Yorkshire Universities Royal Naval Unit, serving Hull, Sheffield and Leeds Uni’s.

Our last day in Padstow was spent filling the boat with food and water.

We had planned to stay longer but a good tidal window was too good to resist for the Captain.

I quite like the people watching, but Mick is less keen to be on show.

The best was a guy who proclaimed himself the ‘Crabbing King’, catching more than 20 in a couple of hours.  One of his pals had her sandwich stolen by a seagull, which caused great uproar.  Then a seagull stole his bait, in its bag, and opened it, in front of him, on the harbourside….cheeky.

It really is us, watching them, watching us.  People arrived at our corner from the car parks, immediately took selfies, of themselves, couples, their children, their dogs, bought ice creams, pasties, fish and chips, phoned their friends, facetimed, talking loudly to family and grandchildren, parking themselves on the benches and declaring which boat they like best, and which they would buy, many stating sailing was NOT for them etc etc.  A constantly changing sea of faces.  One guy stopped, looked at the crowds, declared loudly it is too claustrophobic and left.  All life right here.

Ice Cream Index for single cones £2.00 (nr The Whistledown Gallery) to £2.70.

Our favourite Fish and Chips this time was the Walkers Café on the harbourside.  Sit-In, self service, no skin on the fish.

Sailors Info

We love Padstow, it is a melting pot of people.  The boats come and go on every tide.

The fee’s are only £23 per night and £18 after 7 nights. 

Two sets of facilities at each side of the harbour.  One in the harbour office building, one in the red brick building across the lock.  The red brick had consistently hot water and plug sockets.

Both had laundry facilities. £3 Wash and £2 Dry.

Wifi was better when the harbour was empty.

Tesco uphill, 15 minutes walk.  Spar in town.  Lots of bakeries and other eateries.  MANY Restaurants.  Lots of Lovely ‘everything you never needed’ shops.

Until next time Padstow.

Next stop Newlyn.

Late June 2021–Caernarfon to Milford Haven

23rd June – Wednesday

When we set off on our travels in 2014 we had a horrid trip from Arklow in Ireland to Milford Haven.  Fingers crossed for this one, hopefully we have got better at coping on longer passages.

The forecast was for very little wind, calm sea and a balmy 12C at night.  No one mentioned the fog.

We set off at a reasonable 08.30 to make the 123 miles to Milford Haven.  The weather was cool and overcast all day.  We had jackets on all day.

We had contacted Aberporth Firing range before departure and they picked us up on AIS and told us it was alright to proceed through the firing range as they had finished for the day.  Always good to hear!

The fog arrived at 21.00 and stayed for most of the journey.  Visibility was about half a mile, but reduced to a couple of boat lengths at times.

Mick took the first sleep from 10.00 til 01.00.  During my watch I was shocked by the arrival of a visitor, who first sat on the outboard motor.

He seemed to be quite young and could not be persuaded to leave.  During Mick’s night shift from 01.00 to 05.00 he stayed on the foredeck.  Mick slept again from 05.00 to 6.30.

The seagull repositioned himself at dawn onto the sprayhood and started to poop.  At this point he was again persuaded to move by wafting the boat hook.  We thought that had done the trick until we spotted him, up the mast sat on the Radar Reflector. How so much poop came from a young seagull I have no idea, but it was epic.  Splatted on the deck from a great height for added decoration.  In proper daylight he realised that if he flew from the boat he could float on the water, but seemed to prefer the boat.

We did hear later that there was some kind of magnetic anomaly at this time and racing pigeons had lost their way too.   ‘Bondie Seagull Tours’ parted company with him in unknown territory to him, near Skomer Island bird sanctuary, hopefully he made new friends.

When the fog it heavy, we are required to blow a fog horn.  One long blast every two minutes.  The asthmatic crew (above) proved a bit useless at this.  We have an air horn for big emergencies, but as there was no traffic on the AIS, tooting the horn we bought in France, French Horn, did the trick.  More like a Vuvuzela which Mick made a much better noise with.

I had made a container of sandwiches, but for the first time we cooked readymade Lasagne’s for tea that night.  Very welcome and warming.

I wore my thermal walking trousers, and used the hot water bottle on watch.  We listened to the radio with one earphone plugging into a phone, while the other person slept, to keep us company.  Sadly no stars but you can’t have everything.  No seasickness (we both took pills), no choruses of Jerusalem, light wind, calm sea.  We saw several Dolphins and puffins but they were camera shy.

As we approached Milton Haven via the middle channel, the mist was lifting and we could see the lighthouse on St Ann’s Head.

These huge lights are used for guiding ships into the channel.  The picture belies their size.

You may recall me describing our last entry into port as looking like a 70s disco.  In the daylight we could see why, and where all the lights were this time.

After a large ferry passed us in the channel we approached Milford Haven lock at 12.15.  Passing the huge ships feeding the Gas Holders, more of which later.

The harbourmaster then tried to send us to a very narrow berth B005, after 30 hours we did not need an extra test of manoeuvring skills right at the end.  The harbour was getting full and a kind lady pointed us to a berth next to her.  A friendly Lancashire face in our time of need.

All in all not a bad passage.  Sleep, showers and poop cleaning next.

Picture of Milford Haven lock emptying.  Picture taken the day after arrival.  Massive volumes of water are involved.

It is very deep and takes 10 minutes to fill and empty.

25th June – Friday

Mick completed a 100 hour service on the engine.  I went to restock at Tesco.

For the next few days we orientated, did cleaning jobs on the boat, filled the diesel cans, did the laundry (£2 wash and dry woohoo).

29th June – Tuesday

The marina welcome pack had two free tickets for the town Museum, located on the harbourside.

Open 10 til 4 every day, except Sunday.

Something we hadn’t seen was a petrol powered trolley, used on the docks for hauling fish.

70 women were employed on the dockside making and mending fishing nets, a very repetitive task.

Glad the life jackets have improved.

A full sized sea mine from during the war.  Milford Haven was a target as it was used as a port for Atlantic convoys.  I did not realise they were so big.

Upstairs is the story of the Nantucket Quaker Whalers who came here to live and start the whaling fleet in the 1700s.  This was followed by Fishing as the main employment of the town and then the Gas Companies arrived.

Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is condensed at minus 160C into Liquid Gas.  It reduces to 1/600th of it’s volume when in liquid form.  Just for this terminal the ‘Qatargas’ supply chain has 25 carrier tankers in permanent rotation bringing liquid gas from Qatar to Milford Haven.  5 massive tanks make up the South Hook terminal.  Each is bigger than the Albert Hall and took 15 days to pore the concrete continuously.  The roofs were elevated into place using gas.  This is one of 3 terminals in the UK, two are in Milford Haven.  They supply 20% of the nations gas supplies.  Mind blogging.

The museum is normally £4 to enter and donations are freely given, as it was a great way to pass an hour.

30th June – Wednesday

Hairdressing for us both.  A quiet day in preparation for our second overnight trip of the year to Padstow.

Sailors Info

Milford Haven marina is accessibility at most states of the tide, due to the huge lock.  It is best to be there 4 hours either side of high water.

5 nights for the price of 4.  Facilities were excellent and very clean.  A vanity room with hairdryer and plug sockets was the icing on the cake.  Laundry £2 per wash/dry.

Tesco and it’s associate retail park is a 10 minute walk from the marina.  The High St has a number of shops and an Original Factory Shop.  Lidl is a walk uphill.

There are cafes and restaurants all around the marina, which makes for a good atmosphere.  We tried ‘Foam’ at the end of the marina.  Great food and a conservatory overlooking the Haven.  Also the ‘Harbourmasters’ restaurant.  Both serving modern wholesome food.

Wifi was good.  Electricity Included.  Small but good chandlers.

Ironically, with our current location in Gas central, Calor Gas is in short supply, due to gas BBQs and the extra staycation campers this year.

Next stop Padstow.

Mid June 2021 - Conway to Caernarfon via Menai Strait

17th June – Thurs – Conwy to Caernarfon

An early 06.00 start to make the 26 miles to Caernarfon.  It is a bit less straight forward than usual, as we have to pick up a buoy near Bangor Pier and wait for exactly the right time to pass under the Menai Bridge via the infamous Swellies (turbulent water, if approached at anything other than slack water).  The Menai Strait is the body of water between Anglesey and Mainland Wales.

We had overcast skies and a chilly wind first thing.

We sailed around the back of Puffin Island.  Spoiler alert……there are no puffins!!!!!

Apparently the rats won that inter species battle.  Plenty of Guillemots and Cormorants though. 

We passed Beaumaris Castle and picked up a buoy opposite the Gazelle Hotel, near the end of Bangor Pier.

The sandbank demonstrates the need for care in this area.

Back at the helm.

View of Bangor Pier and Snowdonia from our buoy mooring.

Our lunch stop lasted from 10.30 to 14.00.  Time to negotiate the Swellies.  Like most things they are much less scary than legend proclaims when the weather is good and the Captain has timed it to perfection.  Two hours before High Water Liverpool.

So we followed the buoys and headed for the central span of the Menai Bridge.

The next marker in the pilot books is the Bungalow.

Then to the Boat House.

Pass the Swellie buoy to Starboard.

Line up the Transit Points under the Britannia Bridge.

Until we are abeam (next to) the Pyramid marker on the Port side.

Passing under the middle of the left hand arch of the Britannia Bridge.

Aiming towards Lord Nelson’s Statue until you reach the middle of the river.  And relax.

Disclaimer - These pictures are not for navigation purposes and full planning should take place prior to passing through the Menai Straits.

We meandered past Port Dinorwic.

Arriving at Caernarfon at 16.00.  26 miles in 10 hours, with a lunch stop.  Good first trip to blow off the Covid Cobwebs.

18th June – Friday

In search of an evening meal we walked around and chose the historic Black Boy Inn at random.  No booking required, queue and go.  Good pub grub followed.  In what was a larger pub on the inside than it was on the outside, we were seated randomly next to two guys on a golfing trip.  One turned out to be Steve Roberts, a work colleague we hadn’t seen for a good 15 years.  Another sliding doors moment.  Who next?

20th June – Sunday

Fathers Day lunch at the Old Court House, recommended by a local sailor.  Complete with live music from a Piano player.  First live music for a very long time.  Then a lovely walk south along the coastal path. 

21st June – Monday

Walked to the Segontium.  Ruins of a Roman Fort.  Last occupied by 1,000 troops in 400 AD.

Sadly the accompanying museum was closed, but there is a good timeline of the town upstairs in the tourist information centre, near the castle.

A large settlement built to protect Anglesey and its precious crops.

The swing bridge at the Slate Quay to enter the town harbour, as opposed to the Marina where we were moored.

Town square statue of Caernarfon's longest standing MP, 55 years, and Prime Minister David Lloyd George.  Not all residents are so reverential.

Caernarfon Castle.  We have visited inside the castle a few years ago.  It is currently undergoing extensive renovation work, so we thought we would leave it until the work is finished.

We enjoyed six days in Caernarfon. 

Sailors Info

Caernarfon Marina is a great stop over and place to spend a few days.  The town has a Morrisons and Asda supermarkets.  Everything is walkable.  There are coastal paths North and South.

Lots of good restaurants, pubs and bars.  Mr Fu’s was another good recommendation.

There is a chandlers on the harbourside near the footbridge.

The facilities are located on the South side of the marina.  They are unisex and quite new, but are sadly let down by the poor standard of cleaning.  More mop sloshing than scrubbing.

The harbourmaster was very accommodating and we really enjoyed our stay.  Free wifi and electricity included.

Next stop Milford Haven…..overnight!!!!

Conwy 2021

13th April 2020

We visited for the first time this year.  Fleur was fine.  Tiny amounts of mildew were found on items we hadn’t separated or brought into the open.  Like the sailing jackets, which were all brought home for a wash.

We put the sails back on, which had been serviced by Impact Marine in Carnforth.  They were a dream to deal with and we highly recommend them.  The new cushions I had made during the winter looked good too.  Over the next two days she was cleaned inside and out and the water pump seal was replaced.

It was just nice to be in a different location.

21st April 2020

Another 4 nights at the boat.  We brought back all the newly washed items from the last visit.

We had a grand day out in the van, driving all the way up the coast to Prestatyn.  Sooooo many caravan sites.  Rhyl, Abergele, Rhos on Sea and Colwyn Bay.

7th May 2020

Flying visit to deliver the new beds for the back cabin.  They were cluttering the house.

24th May to 4th June 2020

11 nights at the boat on a mini break.

We met up with Lynn and Jim of Full Circle and they made us a delicious homemade Tagine.  Such good company and great to meet up once again.

We had a great day out in the van travelling to Bangor and then circumnavigating Anglesey.  It is a very beautiful island and we had a beautiful weather for it. 

Another gift of a day at Bodnant Gardens. 

We had tried to time it, to see the Rhododendrons in full bloom. 

Not being gardeners we did not know that Bodnant is famous for its Laburnum Walk.  No, I didn’t know either and we nearly missed it.  But is was truly beautiful and worth seeking it out. 

The gardens are amazing and it is worth walking the full length to see it all.  The cafe service is famously slow, you have been warned.

On Sunday the 30th we went for our first ‘Just for pleasure’ sail in many years.  Out towards Puffin Island to give Fleur a shake down, and make sure everything was working.  It seemed strange to return to port at the end of the day.  We usually end up somewhere else.

And then another good day out in Llandudno before returning home.

You may now be thinking, this is not a sailing blog.  But I hope it demonstrates how frustrating the year has been.  We have been biding our time waiting for news on when we can visit Ireland.  We were happy to sail to Ireland, but not allowed. 

11th June 2020

We returned to the boat by train, determined this time that if we couldn’t go to Ireland we would start our summer trip.

Boris announced on the 14th that Ireland was still not on the green list, so we decided to set off.

Unfortunately after all this time, the weather had other ideas.  We finally left for Conwy on the 17th June.  Huzzah!

Winter 2020/21

We were hoping to visit Fleur during the winter months and take time to visit the local area in the van.

The Welsh First Minister had other ideas and locked down Wales in October.  On a Tuesday he announced his plans, so on Wednesday we scrambled to Conwy to put Fleur to bed for the winter, take down the sails and remove anything that was likely to go mouldy, or suffer during a prolonged period.  Things like leaving the cupboard doors open, leaving the curtains hanging free, moving stored items into the open, leaving the fridge open, taking home all perishables and anything edible.  Hoping we don’t forget anything.

Our neighbours Kevin and Shelley on ‘Dakota’ were kind enough to send us pictures periodically and another owner took videos.  We didn’t see her again until Mid April.

Much more importantly we haven’t seen our growing family in Ireland, which had a new addition in February.  Beautiful Amelia, joined her sister Evie, Laura and Damien.  Thank goodness for technology to help stay connected.  We miss them so much.

We filled the winter with lots of walking, with several individual friends then more as rules permitted.

I did an online embroidery course with Liz, Kay and Leslie, through Lancashire Adult Learning.  We learned so much from our tutor Shamim and importantly it gave us something to do between lessons, which was invaluable.

As usual we tried to help where we could, the repair shop continued and a new cooker meant more baking.  

But it was the chance to volunteer for the local vaccination centre, at our Health Centre, organised by the local Rotary Clubs, which makes us most proud and more importantly most humble.  Our first shift was on the 15th Jan and our last weekly shift was on the 13th of May.  The week our Health Centre decided they had delivered to the majority of the community and needed to re-start normal operations.  Jenni and Bill from Rotary deserve special mention for their organisational abilities and dogged determination to succeed.  I always say ‘No such thing as a selfless act’.  It gave us a date in the diary, and such joy, to be a small part of a great team effort.

Some of the Rotary and volunteers on the last day at the Health Centre.

The work continues at the pop-up venues.