At Mullion Cove, with the wind from the south west, there was an opportunity to photograph swell – or, at least, to attempt to photograph swell. Trying to record waves at sea is nearly always disappointing – the vessel moves in tune with the waves. I have seen some amazing images from the Southern Ocean but they really need to be taken from outside the boat to truly reflect the situation.
Cornwall
A short walk in Cornwall – taken further
Cadgwith is some 70 miles south south west of Steeple Point. If you walked the coast from Steeple Point to here, you would have walked approximately 240 miles.
We walked into Cadgwith from Kennack Sands just to the north – a mere two and a half miles on a Saturday morning with a wind blowing and clouds scudding.
The Sing of the Shore
I have been looking at a copy of A Glossary of Cornish Sea-Words, by R.Morton Nance, published by the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies in 1963.
It fell open . . .
We took the train to St Ives . . .
. . . a birthday treat. The train meandered through Devon – Newton Abbot, Totnes, Plymouth, and on to Cornwall, threading it’s way down the county, stopping everywhere – Saltash, Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, Lostwithiel, Truro, Par, St Austell, Redruth, Camborne and Hayle, before we changed at St Erth, with time for a coffee in the tiny station cafe. And then Lelant Saltings, Carbis Bay and finally St Ives, to step from the platform into a world discovered by artists long before the holidaying public came to stand and stare, to eat pasties and ice creams and tempt hungry seagulls that know no better.
Speak up for the horses
You carefully pilot your ship into harbour at the top of the tide. You wait until the tide goes out and there is clear ground around the ship. Then you bring the horse and a cart to offload into. The cargo is heavy – coal, or slag, so you harness two horses in tandem to haul the load across the beach and up to the stores.
Dinghy – a brief encounter
As we walked past I glanced up and thought, “That’s a fine-looking dinghy.”
And then, “That’s an interesting way of stowing it.”
Same walk, different view
We walked down to the Prince of Wales Pier in Falmouth and took the ferry to Flushing. From there we walked to Mylor Bridge, then along the water’s edge to Restronguet. My companions saw the daffodils, the camellia, the fading snowdrops and the unfolding daffodils, the Cornish violets and the yellow gorse. I saw . . .
Form and Function – two ketches
We were in Falmouth at the weekend and walked to Restronguet on Saturday.
A crab sandwich and a pint of Tribute at the excellent Pandora Inn. Against the quay, two hundred yards away, this:
Stillness in the dark
This series of posts has covered a short voyage. My original intention was to outline – (mostly in images), a trip I made up the rivers Tamar and Lynher in August and maybe make a few comments about waypoints. Experiencing the advantages and disadvantages of waypoints was the exercise I set myself for the trip. On the way, I learnt much more than expected. All voyages involve a personal journey of one sort or another, but, looking back at this one, there were so many things I hadn’t seen or done before. Like many people who finish their day job, I ask myself, “What on earth have I been doing all my life?”
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I go on deck around 0500 to check the rode. I shortened it last evening to keep Blue Mistress out of the shallows as the tide fell.
It is dark. I have rigged an anchor light aft rather than on the normal fore-stay because it throws a useful light over the cockpit. The boat is only 25 foot long so the difference is unlikely to affect any passing boat. Of the two other anchor lights I can see, one is rigged the same way.
To the Lynher
The early morning mist reveals four egrets. We enjoy the peace together.
(Click on image to enlarge – an extra click magnifies)
The tide is falling and I decide to wait till after lunch before leaving. There will still be an hour or so to the next high tide but it will be slackening. This gives me a morning to do odd jobs on the boat and time to sit and read.
Beyond Steeple Point 