SCILLY SEASON

Simon Ellis continues his three-month long cruise from Poole to the Isles of Scilly, taking in Polperro, Fowey, Falmouth, Porthleven, Mousehole and Land's End

- WORDS AND PICTURES Simon Ellis

DAY 67 9 JULY

Woke up to find the rain had passed and better weather was on its way, although we knew there would still be a residual swell waiting for us.

Not that the 4nm hop from Falmouth to the Helford River was going to pose too much trouble at chug speed.

On exiting the Fal, the expected Force 4 made its presence felt but by keeping it slow and steady we arrived at the entrance to the Helford within the hour. Once in the lee of the land, the wind and waves settled down and we picked up a mooring buoy. Not wanting to risk a wet tender trip ashore, we summoned the water taxi to take us over to the Ferryboat Inn for an excellent lunch with a very pleasant view across the river, followed by a leg stretch before retiring back to the boat.

DAY 68 10 JULY

We departed a glorious Helford at 1030 in bright sun and minimal wind before turning to starboard and throttling up to the Manacles waypoint. The sea was lovely and flat and we arced round to line up for the Lizard, clocking up 12nm before the swell started. It was only a Force 3-4 but the combination of wind against tide over an Atlantic swell proved very uncomfortable, so we eased back to a 5-knot chug.

After rounding the Lizard, I changed to a north-west bearing for Newlyn harbour, engaged autopilot and after three hours and another 20 miles of riding the rollercoaster through Mounts Bay, we arrived and secured a finger pontoon.

Newlyn is very industrial with fishing boats everywhere and limited facilities. Ironically, by the time we'd recovered and relaxed, the swell had dropped and the sea looked remarkably calm. That swell had spooked me, despite all my preparations.

We visited Penzance harbour on foot to enjoy a curry at the Red Chilli restaurant before walking home under a moonlit sky.