On Bank Holiday Monday, 6 May the group of dinghy sailors assembled at 0815 and surprisingly were ready to leave the hard on time at 0900………. leaving at the scheduled departure time is something of a rarity for the dinghy sailors!
Two dinghies were crewed by members of WQSC and four dinghies belonging to the visiting Cody Sailing Club departed in a gentle F2 from the north, sunshine and a strongly ebbing tide.
Thanks largely to the tidal stream, the Tamar bridges were reached in 50 minutes and an hour later, a gently lee shore landing was made on Drakes Island.
Following an early lunch in the sun and observing the passage of HMS St Albans into the Sound, the return voyage started with a circumnavigation of Drakes Island that was followed by a stop just upstream from the Cremyll Ferry for ice creams.
The wind had freshened to a steady F4 on the nose, with wind over tide this made for a choppy and energy sapping sail up river. One capsize did extend the length of the return trip but it was still a thoroughly good day out.
Special mention must go to Matt, Andrew and Ruben who despite being inexperienced managed to sail with the fleet and showed commendable spirit – even when wet!
Cody Sailing Club describes itself as “a virtual club” and is based in Hampshire. They don’t have a clubhouse but their members come together to enjoy Family Camps and Dinghy Cruising along the South coast of Britain. They reached out to WQSC again this year and together with the generous help of our local landowners, they have once again set up camp on the water’s edge at Weir Quay.
For the next week, Cody will be setting out on dinghy sailing adventures up and down the river and out into Plymouth Sound.
Their programme includes a joint sail with us on Bank Holiday Monday and at yesterday’s Friday dinghy sailing.
Photograph by Ann ParsonsPhotograph by Ann Parsons
Cody have thanked us for our support in arranging this camp and are blown away by the beautiful setting in which they find themselves.
The forecast for the weekend of April 27/28th had been very variable and somewhat off-putting during the previous week.
However, four boats left Weir Quay on the morning of the 27th in fair weather and were able to sail to the Sound in a gentle north-easterly breeze. Anna Catharina and Bronte decided to anchor for lunch in Barn Pool as their young crew needed refuelling. Father and daughter, Matt and Tilia canoed across from Bronte and Tom and Tilia (both 9) enjoyed scampering about and appearing through various hatches while we heated soup.
Tom feeding the ducks at Barn Pool
Meanwhile, Mike had sailed on in Tempus Fugit as he was keen to get to the Yealm pontoon to complete some boat fettling jobs. After careful consideration, Mike had taken the passage inside the Mewstone and arrived unscathed – shortly to be joined by Dick in Balu, also single-handed.
Matt and Tilia on Bronte
The Harbour Master had kindly cleared the upper pontoon for our sole use and visited fairly promptly to welcome us and take our overnight fees. By 1700, four boats were securely moored. We all enjoyed drinks and nibbles on Balu although Tom had created an alternative pontoon bar using fenders and made sure it was supplied with rations for the junior crew!
A delicious meal, made from everyone’s contributions, was served on Anna Catharina. We all managed to squeeze into the warm saloon to enjoy it while awaiting Andy, who was gallantly sailing Elowen to join us after a day’s work running a course in Sallerton Wood. Jane and Tom borrowed Bronte’s canoe and went off to greet him and he was soon aboard, being rewarded with a beer and a hot dinner.
Andy sailing to join the others on Elowen
The wind strengthened overnight and it rained but all slept well, some needing hot water bottles and double sleeping bags !
On Sunday morning there was a shore party to explore Court Woods and admire the bluebells , wild garlic and beautiful beech trees which cling to the river bank on the Newton side.
Meanwhile, Mike visited the village from the harbour pontoon to buy provisions. With low tide at 1507 we had all left by 1300 with slightly different agendas. Elowen needed to check and retrieve their lobster pot which had been laid the night before – sadly no inmates on this occasion.
The wind was W F4 allowing a ‘cracking sail ‘, (to quote Mike ) back to the Sound. Elowen and Anna Catharina anchored at Barn Pool again, allowing Tom to go ashore exploring and time for the flood tide to gather pace. Leaving Barn Pool at 1600, having watched the Brittany Ferry and various large ship manoeuvres, we sailed all the way back to the Weir Quay moorings in sunshine concluding a very happy weekend in great company.
Our third evening of club Dinghy training this year was relatively warm but with a cool wind that started strong and then gradually died as the evening progressed.
It was rather beautiful on the water, as these photos show!
A few hardy stalwarts braved the gale-force winds and rain yesterday for the first Friday Evening Dinghy Session of the season.
The decision was made to keep the sailing sessions short and to limit the number of dinghies in use, so that crews had the chance to warm up after their blustery sails.
Hopefully we will have some more kindly weather next Friday!
Our third Winter Talk took place last night at Bere Alston Bowling Club and our speaker, David Johnson gave us a truly fascinating insight into how important life jackets are to us and particularly to offshore sailors.
He explained what happens to us after falling into sea water and how short a time we would have to survive and hence how important a good self-inflating life jacket is and preferably one with a face-covering hood and water-activated light.
We saw the components of an offshore life jacket and how to inspect these to ensure the system will work, should we ever need to use it.
Having opened up the life jackets we had brought with us, it soon became clear that none of us had firing mechanisms that were within their expiry date! Quite a sobering discovery.
We learned how to check the condition of the components and how to tell if the CO2 cylinders were correctly full.
One life jacket that had a corroded CO2 cylinder and an out-of-date actuator (hence needed new parts) was activated to see it inflate and learn how to adjust the fit correctly to allow space for the inflated shape.
Afterwards, we went outside, where member Mike Tucker showed us the inflation of his life raft (it had reached the end of its expiry life, so could be used for demonstration).
We learned so much about these important safety devices and certainly feel inspired to make the necessary checks to ensure they will be always be in full working order.
We are indebted to David for his creative and inspiring presentation.
On Saturday 9th March, the club revived a past tradition when it held a Barn Dance at the Parish Hall in Bere Alston.
The evening was so well organised by our two Social Secretaries, Sue and Katherine and we had the wonderful Dartmoor Pixie Band playing music while we danced to the instructions from their caller. The event attracted all ages with many families taking part as well as some more mature members!
Pasties were served soon after we arrived, which were supplemented by shared salads and other savoury offerings brought by the members.
The dancing started up after this, followed by another break to enjoy an amazing selection of shared sweet dishes and treats.
A second set of dances then took place and we continued until, weary but happy, we wound up after having enjoyed a great evening together.
A gang of Gabion Fillers, drawn from both the sailing club and the gig club, assembled again at the Hub Club today. Their task was to move rocks by hand from the huge stack, piled up in the parking area, across to the staging and into the upper gabion baskets.
Heavy buckets of rock were filled, carried and lifted up to where they could be neatly aligned into the upper gabion baskets.
Fuel for the labourers was provided in the form of home-made cake and bacon sandwiches, together with hot drinks.
At the end of today’s work they had filled 2/3 of the upper gabions.
Next Sunday 11th February, the final filling of these high tier gabions will be completed by a similar team of volunteers drawn from both clubs.
Well done to everyone who helped today and we look forward to seeing this job finished next weekend!
After the gabion filling has been completed, the bank around the baskets will be backfilled with earth to bed them in and contour them into the landscape.
They propose that you save the date for an evening with the CA’s Regulatory & Technical Services group (RATS) at 1900 GMT hours on Thursday 21 March 2024.
RATS will delve into the current hot topics that may impact your upcoming cruising and share practical advice. Members and non-members are invited to attend, either in-person at CA House, London or virtually via Zoom.
This fourth annual RATS seminar will feature concise 5–15 minute presentations on current topics crucial to cruising sailors:
Orca: the continuing interaction with orca off the coasts of Portugal and Spain and current thinking on avoidance tactics.
HVO and Sustainability: hydrotreated Vegetable Oil could offer a simple, drop-in replacement for fossil fuel derived diesel to reduce cruising sailors’ environmental footprint. What are the arguments for and against this approach and what are the current regulatory and fiscal impediments?
EU Visas and Permits: the 90 in 180-day rule that now applies to UK citizens visiting Schengen countries has curtailed cruising plans with some cruisers contemplating giving up sailing altogether. There have been some positive developments in Sweden and France with permits and visas being available under certain circumstances. There are also political rumblings in France, Spain and Italy that may improve the situation.
CE/UKCA and RCD: what is the latest position on conformity marking of vessels being brought into service from outside the UK and outside the EU? Has the problem gone away with the recent decision by the UK Government to accept CE marking?
RATS Technical Projects: an overview of the types of issues we are investigating in some depth e.g. battery technology, sustainable end-of-life boat scrapping, diesel emissions, electrical Systems, remote monitoring of boats’ systems, alternative propulsion, connecting to shore power, UV degradation of safety lines/equipment, transmission of emergency information, diving from your boat.
Tickets: In-person at CA House, London or via Zoom Webinar – free for CA members / £7 for non-members.
Weir Quay Sailing Club 
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