Rascal's Odyssey: Fowey 20th and 21st June

As per usual this trip the weather is not being kind. After a good week in Plymouth it really is time to move on. We dropped lines at 9am and left Sutton Harbour. There was a bit of a swell so it was hard to get decent photos but I must say we had a better view than when we arrived.

By 10.00 we had our full wet gear on, by 11.00 it was raining, the story of this summer. We had a slow but uneventful journey but towards the end we were listening to a pan pan, a sailing boat was having problems with a blocked fuel line. The Fowey lifeboat was dispatched to tow him in as we arrived in Fowey the lifeboat was going out.

Going into Fowey is another wonderful sight. We are very impressed with the West Country and all the different places to visit. It is one of many natural deep water harbours and was very important in Medieval times. It then became important for shipping China Clay. It still ships China Clay and some pretty big ships venture up the river.

Even though early in the season it was quite busy as we knew there was room on the pontoon at Mixtow Pill we elected to go there as we had read that the moorings in the harbour can get quite bouncy in certain conditions. As we arrived we were the only boat on the visitors bit so we reversed in as far down as we could go. As soon as we moored up the heavens just opened in an absolute deluge so we scuttled down below. When it dried out and we emerged again the pontoon was full. We decided to go for a little explore and discovered basic showers and toilets. I definitely wasn't expecting showers here so that was an added bonus. Although we can shower on the boat I prefer to go to a real shower. They were a £1 for 6 minutes and far superior to Dartmouth. Not a lot here apart from a caravan park at the top of the hill. There was a café near the water but unsurprisingly given the weather it wasn't open.

Next day we pumped up the dingy to go and explore Fowey, a sweet little town. It was the home of Daphne Du Maurier for many years, I didn't get a photo of her house as we parked the dingy nearby at town quay. A description of the streets was also used in Wind and the Willows.

I was most impressed that the RNLI had lockers by the town quay for your life jackets. Normally we carry them in a rucksack so it was nice to be able to leave them safely.