Round the Corner

When we arrived in Padstow we knew we would have to wait for a few days so that the tide would be at the correct state to enable us to leave the river and cross the bar in daylight. Our original intention was to leave Padstow and sail the 30 or so miles along the coast to St Ives and then use that as a starting point to round Lands End and on to the south Cornish coast. However a phone call to the HM at St Ives soon put a stop to that idea. His comment was that even local boats couldn’t get in and out of the harbour because of the large swell and build up of surf and it was looking as if this would carry on for the rest of the week! So it was back to the tide tables and charts! We eventually agreed that Sunday at 4am would be light enough for us to see our way along the river and over the bar and would give us enough time to reach Cape Cornwall with a favourable tide; so we became Padstow tourists for a week! The weather was beautiful and our berth in the centre of the town could not have been better - although at times it did feel as if we were part of the tourist attraction with folks peering at us as we sat on Teteli and commenting on various things as if we didn’t exist! It was also quite fun especially watching the constant stream of parents pretending to help their children fish for crabs and the squeals as the crabs clambered out of their bucket prisons to scamper to the edge of the quay and throw themselves back into the water ready for a free meal and a return to a bucket later!

                                                                      Teteli alongside in Padstow

After a lovely relaxing few days we started to prepare for our departure however the weather forecast was beginning to look a little difficult and eventually by Saturday the Met Office had put a strong wind warning in place for the area around Lands End with winds gusting to F7! Unsurprisingly we decided to wait! Sunday was indeed blustery even in the sheltered confines of Padstow but the strong winds rapidly eased and the forecast for Monday was F2-3 from the east - which although not the best direction for us was as least better than a 6-7 from the WSW! So Monday morning saw us up bright and early (4am!) chugging out of Padstow harbour under a grey overcast sky. The weatherman on the radio promised that any mist would soon burn off and we would be in for a glorious sunny day - however the weather gods in Cornwall hadn’t received this message and the morning remained grey and murky although very warm. With the tide under us we made good time to Cape Cornwall and with calm seas and little wind we decided to take the inshore route around Lands End. There are two routes a boat can take one takes you outside of all of the rocks and reefs, passing the Longships light to seaward - this is the easy but slightly longer route but the preferred one in heavy seas or bad weather.  The second is the inshore route which takes you through a half mile wide channel between the rocks and the shore. The inshore route gives you a very good view of Lands End and the tourist buildings perched on the cliff top, it also takes you very close to the jagged rocky reef guarded by the Longships light and the partially submerged rocks with names such as Sharks Fin (and yes it looks like one!) and Kettles Bottom (not sure why). The weather was quite calm and although murky visibility was OK and the skipper guided Teteli through with no problems. 

Passsing the Longships Light

Then for the first time in ages we slowly bought Teteli round onto an easterly heading as the sun began to shine and the wind dropped to nothing! By this time we had picked up the east going tide so were riding on that towards our destination with the help of our trusty Volvo engine. We passed the cliff side amphitheatre and the packed beach alongside and in the distance began to make out the shape of St Michaels Mount in Penzance Bay. Slowly rounding the headland we passed Mousehole and its little drying harbour and headed for the deep water harbour at Newlyn.

Our Newlyn neighbours

Newlyn is first and foremost a fishing port however the harbour will accommodate a few yachts on the understanding that this is a no frills sort of place and the fishing boats take priority. It is not a pretty place but it is an honest hardworking fishing port with all the fishy smells, diesel smells,  and boats loading and offloading at all hours of the day and night. After a long day we thought we may find something to eat in the small town completely forgetting that we had arrived on a Bank Holiday - however the chippy was open and we had some of the best Fish and Chips all trip! Beating hands down the rather expensive Rick Stein version in Padstow! Eaten out of the paper on deck with a bottle of cold beer in the sunshine it was the end to a tiring but very rewarding day. For me Lands End had been another one of those scary challenges and having read lots of dry pilot notes and dire warnings about this rocky stretch of coastline I was full of trepidation, now I’ve done it some of the trepidation has gone but as always I know we can never master the sea just learn to work with it and respect it. So with one Cornish headland down we were planning the next one and rounding Lizard Point the following day.