On Saturday, the wind was still heading me, although a direct tack out to sea allowed a long tack back into, and west along, the coast. An approaching front appeared as forecast as the long tack took me into Beer Roads.

(Click on image for short slideshow)

Beer in sight over the post bow. The approaching front – high cloud, then middle layer cloud followed directly by low cloud.

The constricted entrance to Axemouth harbour

The beach at Beer

In ‘Sailing for a Living’ by Basdil Greenhill, Percival Marshall, 1962, theres is a photograph of a three-masted Beer lugger – (“Beatrice Annie”), which would have been launched from this beach.

Beyond the white cliffs around Beer lies Branscombe and the familiar red cliffs of Devon.

I tacked close to the beach and headed out to sea again. The next tack would have taken Blue Mistress all the way to Teignmouth had the wind not veered when we were off Straight Point, between Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton. I lost interest in photography at this stage and concentrated on the beat along the final 10 miles.

. . . end

Images by Bill Whateley