The fleet move to Salcombe
50°14.622N 003°45.561W
It was an early start for the MBM fleet this morning as Time Flies slipped its lines at 6.30am, with Claire and Ray aboard, to assess the sea conditions for a passage to Salcombe. Time Flies reported back favourable conditions and the first boat, Nimbus 280, Sea Breeze, headed out of Mayflower Marina at 7.30am followed by the rest of the fleet at 8am. One boat, however, Broom 42, Flightline, has decided to travel further west to Fowey and Falmouth as they are in no hurry to return home. We wish Robert and Carole well for the rest of their trip.
The one and a half hour passage to Salcombe in a following sea, with the wind behind us, was good.
Windy 37 Mistral, Tally Ho, was one of the first boats to arrive at Salcombe, swiftly followed by Bayliner 275, Allora. As we are nearing the end of the two-week cruise all boats were encouraged to refuel on arrival at Salcome and take on enough diesel to get them home to the Solent, should the weather close in.
By 11am all 15 boats were assembled on deep water moorings in The Bag. As the MBM team arranged berthing fees with the harbour staff, many crews used their dinghies or the water taxi to travel into the town and do a spot of shopping. The sun made a brief appearance during the afternoon, but the wind began to pick up as the day progressed, which made it quite a bit cooler than it has been over the last few days.
A radio briefing was held at 6pm where Cruise Leader Neale outlined his plans for the rest of the trip. As high winds are expected on Saturday, the RIB will access the sea state across Lyme Bay at 6am tomorrow with the view of moving to Weymouth. If Neale is happy with Time Flies’ findings, the fleet will move at 7am.
Photos – Sealine T50 Sea 02 and Broom 345 Way Ahead approaching Salcombe, Sealine F37 Coasting and the fleet assembled in the ‘The Bag’ in Salcombe.
