Sumara of Weymouth

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16^th August 2024

Malpas to Brixham

Sumara had been left on a buoy near to Malpas while I returned to London for a month. The boat was well looked after by our friend Jo. When we arrived to retrieve Sumara, she managed to find us a space on the walk-ashore pontoon so we could walk the dog into Truro to provision.

It also meant that we could enjoy a meal in the Heron Inn with our friends Julie and Nigel, both keen paddlers and Julie is also a member of the Arctic Club.

We set off towards Cawsand Bay in the early hours of Sunday 18th August. The weather was fine for the 48 nm journey with a moderate westerly. However, the weather for the following day was looking pretty strong, as was the weather for Tuesday. I was deliberating needing to shelter in Plymouth for a few days when Grit said “Why don’t we just sail on to Brixham?” and it was a cunning plan.

The weather was due to go light over night so it would just involve altering course to Start Point and plodding on. It meant we wouldn’t be able to join Paul and Diana for a meal in Cawsand which was a shame, but it would mean the boat would get another 50 nm up channel.

At this point I should point out that there was a certain pressure to get up channel as I had booked myself into the Classic Boat Festival in St Katharine’ s Dock on 7^th September not realising that the last lock-in was on the 5th September.

We booked into Brixham Marina and were joined by our friends Alan and Najia from Torquay for a pleasant walk out to Berry Head followed by a beer in the Prince William pub. This pub has been decorated in what I can only describe as “1980’s French Boulangerie Style” but despite its “interesting” decor, it does sell a decent fish and chips and a fine pint of Jail Ale.

Brixham to Portland

With the threat of Hurricane Ernesto arriving, now morphed to named Storm Lilian, we needed to grab any opportunity to knock off the next 55 nm to get to Portland Harbour. We set off at 01:00 GMT on 21st August with a forecast of W or SW 4-6 with a strong wind warning but the direction was perfect so we cast off with the aim of going the outside route around the Bill and the Shambles.

Once safe inside the massive Portland Harbour and tied to the Visitor’s Pontoon, we took a stride out to the Bill to re-sample their crab sandwiches.

Whilst in Portland Marina I spotted a yacht called Hal and realised that it belonged to Arctic Club members Frances and Gareth. They were sailing with their two children, Charlotte and Harriet. It was to be their last sail before selling the boat as they were moving to Canada for a year.

We joined them for a meal in the marina restaurant.

Portland for Lymington

We left Portland in the pitch dark and set course for Swanage. The “Windy” app had forecast virtually no wind until mid-morning but then forecast it gradually building as Storm Lilian, the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto, was to pass through. However, there was loads of wind, it was pissing with rain, and there was a bit of a sea running too, so I decided against the biscuit toss route around St Aldhelm’s Head and we went outside the race. Once past the headland the wind was pretty much on our stern but we held the main to port in readiness to gybe into Swanage at the port hand buoy just off Peverill Point.

Here we had a bit of a fracas with some divers. I saw a boat hovering near to the buoy but thought it was an angling boat or a potter. As we sped downwind towards the buoy, Grit was just donning her gear to come on deck, so I made the gybe into Swanage Bay whilst still on auto pilot. All was fine, although Sumara was temporarily held down while the auto-pilot caught up. At this point the “angling” boat came hacking towards us with a crew member shouting abuse. Only now, with the boat alongside, I could see that it was flying the divers flag on the aft, but as the boat was previously face onto us it was, of course, totally obscured by the hull. A much smaller flag on the coach roof could only be seen edge on. At this point I could now see some small orange marker buoys in the water but it was too late to avoid sailing between them. It seemed a strange place to dive on the outside of a port hand turning buoy and I can’t work out why the guard boat didn’t call on channel 16 or indeed why it held station downstream of the divers. I shouted across to the Skipper that I hadn’t seen the flags and apologized as I made my way into Swanage. I wonder whether a blue and white spherical marker would be preferable to flags?

Swanage was as delightful as always. We picked up on a buoy to the north of the pier which costs £10 per night. It would have been quieter to anchor off the beach but I have a painful hand and I didn’t fancy hauling up the chain. We successfully fended the mooring buoy off from the hull by using two fenders tied together in a “V” shape and hauling the buoy up tight. Due to the appalling weather the water taxi wasn’t running, so we pumped up the little Avon dinghy and rowed ashore for a beer and a bite. On Sunday the wind increased, but as the sun was out, the water taxi was back in action – it would have been a tough row.

We took the woofer on a very pleasant walk to Durlston Castle, returning to the boat at 16:30 for supper on board and an early night. 

We set off at a fairly civilized hour towards the Solent.

It is a new concept to me having to book marinas in advance. Lymington was apparently completely full on Sunday, but they had a space on Monday. I needed to return to London briefly, so I booked my precious spot. It was a shame being committed to one marina because we were riding the tide and wind and had to slam on the brakes to skid into Lymington. We could have easily made Gosport or further but I had a berth booked so Lymington it was. Hey, that’s not such a bad thing. It is a bustling place and it is always fun watching all the boats show off their mooring prowess, with some not quite achieving their desired location.

it was time to leave the boat again as I had a dentist appointment in London. We tidied up as best we could and jumped on the train to Waterloo. I’ll be back on Thursday night with my friend Philip to hopefully get Sumara up to London. Sadly strong easterlies are forecast so it could be a bit challenging!