April 1st - 1st sail of the Season

Yesterday (April 1st) I helped a friend move his boat (a Hanse 320)from Brixham to Plymouth.

We had been watching the weather to decide when would be a suitable day and Thursday was the best for some time so we gave it a go. Departing Brixham at 09.30 we headed out onto flat water with sunshine, this couldn't last! Heading down the coast towards Dartmouth the sea was still smooth and it continued towards Start Point. However, as we closed on Start Point we were conscious of the seas building and white caps appearing on the waves.

We tacked a couple of miles off the Start and headed as close to the wind as we could as we needed to clear Bolt Head and Bolt Tail, two quite impressive headlands. Fortunately the tide was now in our favour and we were really covering the ground. A first reef was put in off Salcombe entrance but we were still flying, 9knots over the ground.

All around was white water but we were heading in the right direction and enjoying ourselves in the sunshine, gradually catching a 37ft yacht that had left Brixham 3/4 of an hour before us, also bound for Plymouth.

Off the entrance to the River Yealm we had to put in a second reef as the wind was still building and the boat became more manageable. We passed Plymouth breakwater seven hours after leaving Brixham. We were still doing eight knots over the ground.

Our trip was soon over now as we tied the boat up in its new berth at Plymouth Yacht Haven. Very quickly we secured everything and headed of to the pub for a well earned pint. Rain arrived as we entered it.

What a good sail to start the season off with. Just two weeks to our launch day now.