Fri 24 to Sun 25 Jun
We treated ourselves to a 3rd night as Dartmouth was getting very busy and we did not think that we would get a convenient berth if we moved on Sunday.
So we enjoyed the facilities, shopped in Dartmouth, including the statutory visit to Simon Drew’s shop. http://www.simondrew.co.uk/
On another day, we walked to the Froward Point NCI lookout https://www.nci.org.uk/ along the coast path, however, with a combination of a closed road from a rockfall and a lady misdirecting us, we walked further and climbed a bit more than necessary! But we did have our cream tea!
Sun 25 Jun Darthaven to Dittisham
Our last visit to Dittisham was about 4 years ago, so we motored against the tide to moor alongside a tatty yacht that had been left, paying visitor’s rates. The harbour master didn’t understand it either! We caught the ferry across to Greenaway quay, but the driver assumed that we were going to the pub and had to take us across to the other side! The house and gardens have had a lot of work done to it and is much improved, however, the Trust still have serious issues with the mature trees that have outgrown themselves.
By this time, we confirmed that the fridge was not working. The compressor was running continuously (5-6 amps for 24 hours = flat battery!).
Mon 26 Jun Dittisham to The Yealm
This was the penultimate fine day, as from Thursday, the forecast West wind would make getting back very unpleasant. We gave Torbay a miss this time and set off towards Salcombe. There was plenty of wind at Dittisham but none out to sea, so our forecast fine reach disappeared into another motor, at least it was with the tide. At Prawle, we decided that we would continue to the Yealm so that it was a shorter motor back to Cargreen.
Tue 27 Jun
We’ve visited the river many times but we have never done the walk, north up the river through the woods. It was relatively short, and beginning to get much cooler, nevertheless, an enjoyable walk.
We returned to the Newton Ferriers village along another path to do the shopping and a well earned cup of tea with recent copies of Country Life, followed by a shower on our return back to the jetty. The tide had gone out much further than the Skipper thought, so he had to extricate the dinghy from the mud. (Serves him right – The Boss)
Wed 28 Jun Back Home
The rain started at about 20:00, which we had anticipated that by taking down the cockpit enclosure. We decided to take the fridge to Gavin (along with the rest of the boat) at the Yacht Haven. The rain (forecast light but quickly became moderate) with little wind made the trip a bit slow, mostly it was because we were against the tide. Gavin recharged the gas in the fridge, which we all expect to leak out again. We made our way back up to our mooring, getting really wet in the process. We were back home by 17:00 for a proper cup of tea and a pub meal at the Mary Tavy Inn. http://www.themarytavyinn.com/