Falmouth 20th - 30th June

We did have a discussion whether or not to stay an extra day - hind sight is a wonderful thing. comments in the logbook on subsequent hours read lumpy and very lumpy. It was windy but on the nose, attempts were made at sailing, but we would have had to have tacked so far out it would have added loads to the journey. All season, which ever direction we want to travel the wind has been on the nose. The weather gods have definitely fallen out with us. It was one of those journeys where you just plug on.  Due to problems with the log writing I can't give exact times, roughly just over five hours.

As with every place we've arrived at in the West Country we have loved coming in to our destination as the views are just spectacular. Falmouth is another natural harbour and is huge. It is also full of boats so it took some working out where we wanted to be. We had elected to stay at the Premier Marina which is about 20 minutes out of town. As soon as we arrived we were pleased with our choice although it was a good hike from our pontoon to the office and facilities.

There is a restaurant (The Upper Deck) on site, as we were cold tired  and hungry we went straight up and enjoyed a welcome beer and very tasty fish and chips. When you get the bill, it gives you 10% off your next meal. So we had to visit again for another meal.  Over our beer on the first night we decided that the continued West winds were getting to be monotous and we would not continue any further West. That sounds a downer, but it's not. Despite the weather we have had a super time and the rest of the West Country will be here another time. There is no point doing it just for the sake of it and to tick off some harbours. This meant that a lot of the little anchorages we planned to stay would be missed.

Once that decision was made we were ready to enjoy Falmouth. Although it's a bit of a walk into town, that is no problem for us as we walk everywhere. If we are not physically on the boat sailing our average daily steps, without much effort,  is around the 12k mark. The walk into Falmouth is very pleasant and we never tired of it. Beautiful views all the way along. In the opposite direction there is a Sainsbury's five minutes away so that was very handy.

I think we have found the best ever toilets and laundry. Individual toilets, sinks and showers with lots of hanging spaces. They are unisex but we didn't find that a problem. The added bonus was that there were real hairdryers outside in the communal areas. It's amazing how little things cause so much pleasure.

Fellow sailors will know how getting the washing done cheaply and effectively is important. I also like a nice sitting area as it's a waste of time trailing back and forth to the boat. So I am usually armed with a good book.  The washing machines were £2.50 each and the driers and the driers a £1  for 15 minutes, which at first I thought a bit steep, but the lady in the marina office assured me two tokens would be enough to dry thoroughly. I was a bit doubtful as the towels usually take more but I am pleased to rreport that I was wrong,  superb driers.

I also need to mention the rubbish area, not a place I often coment on. Although most marinas are good a recycling facilites the bins are often accessible to 'the public' and tend to get filled up and wrong things go in various bins. At this marina you have to use your fob to get into the refuge area so you are not met with overflowing bins, but an organised easy to use area.

Our friends Maggie and David (and dog Leo) were renting a cottage about fifty miles away so came to visit. Murphy's law worked here despite having gloriousweather , the day they came was one of constant rain. Leo was not very keen on the pontoon and it was a bit of an effort to encourage him onto the boat, once on he was as good as gold. I cooked a meal for us and after it was finished it dried up enough for us all to walk into Falmouth. Whilst there John spotted Anne from China Girl, I think she was a bit confused to see John with a rather large Golden Retriever on a lead. It was nice to catch up again, this will be our last meeting as they are continuing on with their circumnavigation. It's been fun catching up with them in various ports.

Also based at the Premier Marina Site is Turn to Starboard, which is a forces sailing charity. I have been following them on twitter for a while after reading a good piece about them in Yachting Monthly. One of their supporters is The Endeavour Fund, who my nephew works for. So I trotted up to the office to say hello. Shaun showed me round the offices, which is a really good set up. By coincidence we were moored next to one of their boats. I left with two of their baseball hats and a few leaflets that I will be distributing in marinas on the way back to Ipswich. This is a really good charity if anyone wonders what they might like to donate to.

Our planned leaving date of the Tuesday was changed because of the weather. Extremely high winds were forecast o it ws no to nipping over to St Mawes and anchoring and no to various moorings on the way back. So we decided to stay put. Before the weather kicked in we decided to catch a bus to the end of the Helford River and walk back to Falmouth. In the book it said 10 miles, but by the time we'd walked into town for the bus and walked back the walk was in actual fact 17 miles. A lovely walk but hot and tiring.

We did of course have to find our English Heritage Castle, Pendennis Castle. It was a long walk out of town and we went past the Castle on the Coastal Path to see Pendennis Point first. We were rewarded with some beautiful views. THe castle is anther one that was built in Henry VIII days and used throughout history up to the second world war. We had taken a picnic but it was hard to find a shady area to eat it as all the benches were in bright sunshine. We managed to sit behind one of the building on the grass. Later at the café, if you bought a cake you got free tea or coffee, so we had to take advantage.

Falmouth is a lovely town so we enjoyed our daily walks into town. I managed a pedicure and John a hair cut, so all is well with the crew of Rascal. There is also a Maritime Museum, which like a lot of other museums have a ticket that lasts a year. We went twice, there is a really good Titanic exhibition, by the time I'd gone round that and read everything there I was museumed out. So it was good to go a second day.

Interactive displays.

There is a branch line that runs from Falmouth to Truro so we caught the train to Truro. (£6.10 for both of us with our Two Together Card). Can't say we were overly impressed with Truro so I was glad we hadn't taken the boat up the river and then the dingy into the town. However I enjoyed the train journey.

We stayed in Falmouth far longer than we intended but we'd rather be safe than sorry. If you are going to be weather bound anywhere Falmouth is a good place. We didn't do all we intended to do there, St Mawes, sailing and anchoring further up the Fal etc, but we know it is there for another year.

Although John and Mick (from Fleur) had worked on it last season the first reef  had started playing up again so we went and had a chat with the riggers on site. (A2 Rigging Ltd) Long story short, they came to work on the boat. Will (the rigger) thought our line was a bit thick so he changed that and sorted out the shuttle which is inside the boom. So hopefully that problem is now fixed. We haven't had the invoice through yet but we were impressed with the service.

Sailing Information
Fowey to Falmouth 25.8 nm
Beautiful harbour with lots of opportunities to anchor or moor (given the correct weather)
Premier Marina - very friendly staff. Although a walk out of town this means the swell doesn't reach it.
Excellent facilities including on site restaurant.
Best toilets and showers of the trip.
Super laundry, large washers and efficient dryers. (£2.50 per wash and £1 per 15 min dry - 2 tokens easily dry a load.)
Sainsbury's five minutes walk.
Falmouth a vibrant town, lots of independent shops.