Pwllheli

 We enjoyed being at Neyland and the Bristol Channel Old Gaffers put a lot of effort into making the gathering a success. Most of the rest of the fleet was going to Southern Ireland in preparation for further festivities in Dublin at the weekend. Sadly Bonita will have to miss this as I need to go home for a few days for Felicity and Wills wedding and a bit of grandparenting. 

The winds remain persistently from the north. On Sunday morning Jerry and I, after much discussion of likely and possible combinations of wind and tide,  decided to leave at first light to avoid deteriorating weather.  With a spring tide behind us we soon passed the islands off SW Wales which are important bird sanctuaries and are surrounded by complicated swirling tides. Things slowed down considerably once the tide was against us.  

However, after 24 hr at sea we watched the sun come up behind the mountains of Snowdonia and entered the little port of Pwllheli. My friend Geoff who is studying Welsh tells me this should be pronounced by pressing the tongue against the back of the teeth. I tried this but it still didnt come out right. In a packed marina we were allocated a berth in a tight corner surrounded by many considerably more valuable boats. Fortunately, despite a strong ( northerly) crosswind, with Jerry on the warps we managed to get into the berth without damage. And there Bonita stays for a few days, surrounded by white plastic until we hope we will be able to rejoin the gaffers further north.

 

Neyland

Bonita spent the day in Nayland. Several other Gaffers turned up during the day including Susan J, Cygnet, and Martin and his dog Jack on Charlotte Elizabeth. There was a strong northerly wind all day.

 Nayland is completely sheltered, but the northerlies are predicted to last for pretty much as far as the forecasters can forsee, which is concerning.

Geoff left us yesterday as he has to go to a wedding, and Jerry and I spent the day pottering about the boat, talking to other gaffers and seeing something of the neighbourhood. We have been well cared for while we are here by the members of the Bristol Channel OGA who have put a lot of effort into making our visit a success.

We had supper in the marina restaurant and were entertained until late in the evening by the excellent Swinging Nettles quartet. (The seats in the picture were soon filled.)

Wales!

After a long night at sea motoring into a light head wind, at dawn we saw the gentle hills of Milford Haven. The gaffers are gathering at Neyland, about 8 miles into the Haven, a rural spot though to get there you go past quays, oil storage depots and moored tankers. This, as far as I know, is Bonita's first visit to Wales as when we went round Britain ten years ago we kept to the west side of the Irish Sea. We had to buy her a courtesy flag with a Welsh dragon on it. 

There were several Gaffers at the marina, with more arriving later and some due tomorrow.

The picture shows Bonita with the prawner Laura. Laura was built by Crossfields at Arnside in 1906, and with both boats together it's interesting to see some of the differences between them and how the design progressed over the 20 or so years that separate them. Laura has been well restored and at one time was well known as a racing boat. She looked in very good condition and is currently kept in North Wales.

The Bristol Channel Gaffers welcomed us with drinks and a fish and chip supper and made us feel that now in Wales and with Lands End behind us the Round Britain cruise has really begun.

Lands End

We have spent 3 days in Newlyn waiting for better weather, and yesterday evening we were joined by our friend Jerry who has come over from Canada for the experience of sailing with the Gaffers. There was quite a gathering of gaff rigged boats in Newlyn harbour and some anchored outside and this morning we all left at about 6.30am. Its sunny, the wind is still northerly, but much lighter and may change in direction later.

The picture shows Geoff and Jerry with a background of the Longships lighthouse off Lands End. 

This was not the first Longships lighthouse: the first one was built in 1795 and was sketched by Daniell for his book.

Previously these dangerous rocks had been unlit.The old lighthouse was shorter than the present one and sometimes obscured by high seas. The current lighthouse was built in 1869 and the old one dismantled.

We are now heading northerly towards the Welsh coast nearly a hundred miles away.

Hoping for better weather

We spent the day still in Newlyn, with a brisk and cold northerly wind. No new gaffers have arrived today so we still have Recipe, Lahloo, Indian Runner and Susan J for company. Tomorrow the wind is predicted to be just as northerly but rather more gentle, so we are hoping to be off in the morning.

We spent the day quietly in Newlyn. This is a lovely little harbour dating back to the fifteenth century, but was enlarged with new harbour walls constructed in 1887/8. The picture shows the harbour today with many fishing boats of varying sizes and a few yachts.

We walked to Mousehole with its quaint village and miniature harbour. There are memorials everywhere there of a tragic disaster in 1981 when the Solomon Browne lifeboat which was stationed nearby was lost with all her crew attempting a rescue in a storm in the middle of winter -a reminder of the hazards lifeboatmen face even today with the best equipment that is available.

We have filled up with fuel, water and food, so are ready to be off tomorrow if things look hopeful in the morning.