Padstow towards Scilly

Sunday afternoon high water was rather late, at 17:05, which meant the flap gate would not open until 15:05 at the earliest. We decided to head out as soon as it opened, so got Robinetta and Worm (and crew) ready to go. We had a good chat with the crew of Sula, a 40’ Sun Odyssey, that was moored beside us. They had visited the Scillies many times, and recommended the moorings at Old Grimsby Sound as the best place to head for from Padstow. We followed their advice when making our passage plans.

Getting the crew ready included a “full Cornish” breakfast, and buying pasties from the Chough Bakery for later, while Worm got a coat of paint on her underside. We filled Robinetta’s water tanks, and paid for her stay. Over 21 days meant a cheap rate, and we were pleasantly surprised at the bill. Having a small boat does keep the costs down!
Getting clear of the Mediterranean style mooring proved easy enough, although the bow line was absolutely filthy after a month of frequent immersion. Once the flap gate went down we had to wait for the Jubilee Queen to enter the harbour to pick up passengers, but once she was clear of the entrance we were free to go.

Once we turned in to the river Camel the wind came from dead astern. We hoisted the staysail and goose-winged it with the no.1 jib to help the engine fight the still flooding tide. Once we were clear of the Doom Bar we turned head to wind in a nearly flat sea, and raised the main sail, then off went the engine as we went onto a lovely broad reach in bright sunshine to clear Trevose Head.

The headland itself looked exceptionally good as we went close in, inside its outlying trail of rocks. The pass between is deep and clear, without too many crab pots, but we did loose speed due to adverse tide. Once past Trevose Head out course took us further off shore, and clouds came to cover the sun. The wind began to die, and with nothing to steer at, and the engine essential, George the tiller pilot came on duty to helm all through the night and into the next morning.
There were fog patches, fishing boats, and adverse tides plus a traffic separation zone to keep us alert, but we also saw dolphins and sea birds. Given it was the hight of the breeding season I was slightly disappointed by the numbers, but I saw several Guillemots and Gannets, plus a lessor Black Back Gull and a couple of cormorants. A pod of common dolphins paid us a flying visit at duck but did not stay long, unlike the hornet who visited earlier in the day and rested on the cabin side for an hour.
 A small “garden” type bird (about wren size, but with a longer slender beak) dropped onto Robinetta for a 5 minute rest near dawn. It might have come from anywhere, but the direction it arrived from suggested Ireland.
The morning’s hazy visibility meant that the Scillies were not obvious until we were only 8 miles off. The sea was pewter grey, but blue sky was visible through cracks in the cloud cover, and gradually the cracks grew and the blue expanded. Eventually the haze thinned, revealing the Scilly Coastline.

We entered Old Grimsby Sound at low water and picked our way past the exposed rocks. At this state of the tide we could see all the hazards marked on the chart plotter, which was reassuring. By 11:30 we were safely moored to one of the 7 visitor mooring buoys just off Old Grimsby Harbour. These are the only visitor buoys in the Scillies that the CA Almanack does not say are charged for, but they are supposedly subject to swell, and in a strong tidal stream. Robinetta was the only boat to use them that night.

I rowed us ashore in Worm, landing on the beach by the Ruin Beach Cafe. Julian and I had to carry her about 200 yards up the gently sloping beach to get her to the high water line where we could safely leave her.

The cafe/bar did us a very good lunch which we ate outside on the veranda which boasted unbeatable views, then we had a long walk round Tresco Island in the sunshine. A gentle wind kept us pleasantly cool as stunning vistas appeared round every corner. What a place!

By the time we got back to Old Grimsby (after ice creams at the New Inn in New Grimsby) Worm only needed sliding round and pushing slightly to get her in the water. The beach was a perfect camber for launching off and there were no waves. What a contrast to Lundy!