Day 3 - A Day at the Races: Portland Harbour to Dartmouth

Another early start to make sure we catch the right tide for the inner passage past Portland Bill. You have to pass close to land to avoid the notorious race and it seems that you could reach out and touch the lighthouse itself as you pass. Breakfast was on hold until we were safely clear and on our track towards Berry Head. As well as muesli today, we had wholemeal toast – courtesy of the grill on the Force 10 oven – with Barrie’s homemade marmalade.

After breakfast, we set up the spinnaker expecting a broad reach down to Dartmouth on account of the forecast northerly wind. As soon as we were ready to hoist, the wind backed to westerly again so we had to put the kite on hold and go back to white sails. Motorsailing for most of morning :-( we eventually found some wind we liked after lunch as the clouds closed in and precipitation was evident over the land. Just as we reached the entrance of the River Dart, the heavens opened and it was time to find a good excuse to go below!

On arrival in Dartmouth, the clouds parted and the sun came out again so steaming gently, we joined the melee of yachts jockeying for position to moor up on the town quay. After a couple of overnight stays at anchor, we needed to replenish our stores. We found that the Co-Op store had been turned into a M&S food which delighted the guys onboard. Whilst the range of pre-packed food is good at M&S Food, it is difficult to find basics - such as flour and HP brown sauce - so another trip was required to find the Spar.

When we returned from our provisioning expedition, Dartmouth was in full swing with yachts arriving from all points of the compass. On Bryn Mawr – a Southerly 110 - the crew were getting ready for a barbeque on board. Chris & Jan Humphrey [Skipper & First Mate] were joined by their friends Sally & Phil Johns {Bosun and Cabin Boy, not necessarily in that order] and were preparing some wonderful ingredients to pop on their clip-on barbeque. They had arrived earlier that afternoon and bought Tiger Prawns from the local fishmonger and meat and vegetables to make their own kebabs. Also, Phil had marinaded some chicken pieces in white wine vinegar, tomato sauce and sliced fresh chillis – it all looked amazing!