Trip back from Milford.

[ishtar]

Today is three months to the day that we took Ishtar to Milford. We spent five days coming back, taking in Lundy on the way.

Louise, packing the dinghy and preparing to leave Llangwm for the last time.



Alternator packed up when refuelling at Neyland. We have plenty of battery power though, and a paraffin lamp. If we were careful starting the engine, and consuming power frugally, we'd be fine.

Spent our last night on Dale pontoon.



An early start, left Milford at 7am.

[ishtar]

Gave the traditional salute to Pembrokeshire as we headed for Lundy:



Plenty of sea mammal action on the way across:




Before long, we could see the shape in the distance. It would be many hours before we made it.



Gradually, it expanded, and we saw the lighthouse at the North end.


Picked up a visitors mooring and Louise rowed us ashore.


The old light is a viewing platform now

[ishtar]

There are not really words to describe my impression of the island. Stunning, breathtaking, haunting, all of these, and much, much more.











Just think, this could be you, soon:

[ishtar]

The Marisco Tavern:



A rough night on the mooring as the wind turned East was followed, typically, by this:



A night at anchor in Porlock follwed:



Just in case you think it was all plain 'sailing' we were awoken at 2am with strong winds. Our anchor had dragged and we were techically ashore, if it wasn't high tide. Louise stayed up th erest of the night watching, unable to sleep after we had reset. Awful night.

Pretty soon we were back on familiar ground



Oh yes, this was taken about 10 minutes after we had tied up. How long does the Cardiff stain take to appear I hear you ask....................

[ishtar]

Three months during whuch time I would say we have graduated from 'beginners' to 'inexperienced' as sailors. A lot to learn, obviously, but we feel we have come so far on our learning curve in these last few months.

Oh, and there was another entry in the flipper club. I'll let her, er, I mean him or her, explain if she, I mean he or she, feels like..........

[ishtar]

We only used the one battery on the whole trip, leaving one untouched if we needed it. Just shows what you can do if you switch unneeded things off.

[rose]

Nice to see you all safely back.

[sandpiper]

As with all your trip reports there's a familiar theme... "Louise rowed us ashore"and "Louise stayed up th erest of the night watching"

You should give yourself credit for putting up with the sores you must suffer when Louise forces you to sit watching her toil!!!

[allan]

Martin didn't point out that on their arrival outside the barrage he told Louise he didn't feel well enough to help. Also before they left CYC the alternator was removed for repair, yes you guessed it.........................by Louise! I really hope Edwina reads this, I plan to sit down and watch for our next trip!
Allan

[ishtar]

Actually, I was unwell, and that includes a rather messy trip home in the car, which is not for a public forum.

As for Louise, well, you're correct. I've always believed that she should have an understanding and abilities the same as my own. We discussed this yesterday, when I was mildly indisposed. If something did happen to me, and we were on the way back form Lundy, or wherever, then the ability to row a tender, or perform rudimentary engine checks, electrical work, could be essential. To that end, I've always encouraged Louise in these things.

When we were in Greece in the summer, she rowed a rope ashore from the stern of the yacht against a very strong wind. Some Brits in a local Taverna clapped her, and the 'wives' said that she shamed them. Even the men said they would have struggled. She was chuffed to bits with this.

Anyway, as you've seen from some of my other posts, it cuts both ways. I am the culinary expert in the relationship, for example.

[sandpiper]

I'd try the same with Angie but wouldn't get away with it! (she'd crash the boat every time)

What did you think of Lundy for diving?

[ishtar]

It looked fantastic, Huw. Time and tides are the issue. We spent a full day there, and an evening. I wanted to dive, but being on the island, getting back out to the boat, sorting out the kit, getting to dive site in the tender, diving, getting back and going back ashore would have taken several hours, so I decided to leave it until I had more time there, perhaps 3 or 4 days, and try and dive it 'properly'.

The other issue, as we spoke about, is the tides. The best diving would be in current. Picking up two divers in the tender and getting back to a yacht against a tide could be iffy. Again, if there were a couple of boats there, much less of a problem.

I'm keen to do it, and I will. Problem with Lundy is, I've just completed my 20th diving season, and I know few divers who've done a lot out there - the logistics make it hard.

But we can do it next year.

[sandpiper]

I'm sure we can sort something - worse case we could tow a RIB out there.