Dartmouth Devon and broken stuff
by SV Taipan on 19 Sep 2016
Taipan in the Dart River SV Taipan
Falmouth, seaward and onward, we headed out into the relatively smooth waters, east towards Dartmouth. Beautiful farmland laying like a patchwork atop the coastlines dramatic cliffs. Sailing in close in the rare sunshine we were able to appreciate this beautiful Cornwall coast. Pirate lairs and dark history now basking in benign beauty.
A mere 36nm, and we managed to make it last all day. A detour into Fowey rewarded with the water view of this small, pretty port town. Nestled on a narrow and crowded waterway bristling with the inevitable castles.
In the late afternoon we anchored in Cawsan Bay outside the entrance to Plymouth Harbor, departure point of the Mayflower, the ship that transported the first English separatist, known today as the Pilgrims, from Plymouth to the New World in 1620, and of Captain Cooks 1768 exploration fleet which subsequently found eastern Australia and then went on to circumnavigate. Plenty of history here to come back and explore.
Weather turned a bit rough overnight and when we pulled out at zero dark hundred the sea level cloud had shrouded the coast in grey mush. We ploughed on east to Dartmouth, a further 33 miles.
Arrival well before dark enabled us to get anchored and dingy ashore to have a quick look around before the arrival of Pam and Jon Choate ex 'Tweed', sailing friends from years together in Queensland and Asia. The harbor master charges twelve pound per day to anchor here because the river bed is owned by Prince Charles!!!
Pam and Jon arrived on Saturday morning so we sat round on Taipan and reminisced over victuals. Sunday was raining cats and dogs but we braved the weather, moved the car across the river and had a brief explore. In the afternoon we had a good look round this neat little village of Dart. Took a drive out to the Agatha Christy mansion 'Greenhills' although we didn't go in, and generally enjoyed a little touring including Brixham and the replica ship Golden Hind which Sir Francis Drake used to circumnavigate the globe between 1577-80.
Our good friends departed on Monday after a hearty breakfast at Al Fresco, and we readied the good ship Taipan for departure.
Next stop Poole to get on with some of the repairs which have been waiting in the wings.
The eight month old vane pump on the Spectra Watermaker has failed. This will have to be returned to the US before they will replace it with a new one under warranty. Spectra has always been one of our top 10 companies for service but since it was sold it has plummeted to the bottom of the list.
Our Tides Marine Sail Track system has been failing since we left the Bahamas. The clevis pins holding the slugs in the track have been popping off like the buttons on a fat mans trousers!
Tides marine have admitted they had a faulty set of pins and they have agreed to provide replacement pins. They have also agreed to pay a marina fee to effect the repairs. We have been pretty hampered by the possible failure of these pins and have not had a full main up for several months except in very light conditions. Our original contact with the company was very positive but we will see how it pans out since we have been referred to the UK branch.
We will leave Dartmouth and stop over in Weymouth before making Poole on Wednesday.
This article has been provided courtesy of the SV Taipan.
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