The day we launched, and for a few days afterwards, our spirits were flying high. We headed up the River Fal towards Truro and anchored in a quiet bay where we watched a playful seal catch a big fish in the clear waters. All felt good, although cold, and we were glad to have “Tommy”, our new heater, pushing out warm air as we relaxed, read and occasionally thought about the list of jobs still to complete.
The lovely boatyard manager, Graham, rang us to confirm we would be hoisted out again on Monday at 4.30pm so the prop could be adjusted as our new engine was lacking power and not revving at the expected levels when under load.
We arranged to meet Bea and Andy to take them for a sail as they had just sold their beautiful boat, so left our quiet anchorage early to meet them at 11:30am at Yacht Haven Marina. The intention was to tie up alongside the pontoon for just enough time to collect them and head out again. It was low tide and I was aware the approach to the marina did get shallow but was lulled into a false sense of security as there were numerous boats (admittedly smaller but would still draw a similar amount to us), on their moorings close to the marina. It was quite windy with gusts of up to 20knots and I manoeuvred Cerulean so we could glide sideways with the wind on our beam (side) pushing us onto the pontoon. I almost bailed at the last minute as we touched the bottom and a cloud of mud bellowed out behind us. However, we persisted as there was only one berth left available on the pontoon. The saying, “The most dangerous thing to have on a boat is a schedule” was ringing in my ears but I ignored it! We gently moored up in front of another boat, with our anchors facing each other, nose to nose – not an ideal mooring technique as I was pinned in, unable to leave the pontoon going backwards (which is the preferred way to leave when there is a boat in front facing a different direction), due to the shallow depth and unable to move forward with wind pushing us onto the pontoon. However, Bea and Andy arrived and we decided to leave before the tide fell any further otherwise we would have to wait on the pontoon for a few hours for the water levels to increase. We set up spring lines to help us get off the dock so, with me powering in reverse with the wheel hard over to starboard, Andy held the line until our nose was out and then I gave the order to slip the line, I changed gear to forward and we headed out. At this point I did several things wrong. I underestimated the strength of the wind and current, I didn’t increase the engine speed enough, I had forgotten to turn on the bowthruster (biggest mistake) and I wasn’t keeping an eye on the depth. Everything happened so fast. Suddenly a gust of wind caught the front of Cerulean and our nose was pushed into the boat in front. At this point all chaos let loose and I wasn’t certain what was happening other than we were being pushed onto the other boat and something was caught but I couldn’t see what, other than hearing a lot of shouting, swearing and cross voices coming from the owners of the other boat. Eventually we managed to untangle the two boats and we left with a couple of bent stanchions and unknown damage to the other boat. Bea knew the owners so we immediately made contact with them. Feeling anxious but relieved to get the boats separated, I headed out of the mooring area weaving through the maize of buoys when suddenly the boat lurched forward. I was confused as I had been avoiding the mooring buoys but had not been keeping an eye on the depth in my rush to get out into the channel. I had hit the submerged, forgotten concrete block of a disused mooring buoy (no buoy was attached to it) and as I looked behind, I could see a trail of disturbed mud where we had touched the bottom. I felt sick. How could I have been so stupid twice in the space of a few seconds? Some days you are a bird, and others you are the statue – today I was the statue! I felt shaky, incompetent, foolish and embarrassed all in one big bundle of SH1T! I tried to enjoy the day as we hoisted our beautiful new sails for the first time and headed to Helford River at a great pace. I tried to smile as we picked up a mooring and had a lovely lunch with Bea and Andy, attempting to push the horrible thought that not only had I damaged someone else’s boat but also our own and bruised my confidence and ego. As we were being lifted out the water the next day we would be able to see whether there was any damage to Cerulean’s keel.
We dropped off Bea and Andy at the same marina, stopping just long enough for them to jump off before we headed back up the river where we had arranged to meet Mike and Nicki who were sailing from Gosport (where we had met them six months earlier), to Falmouth in preparation for their departure for Spain in a few days. It was good to see them and we had a lovely catch up on board Cerulean before we motored back down the river on Monday afternoon to be lifted out the water again. We arrived dead on time and were greeted by Graham who lost no time getting Cerulean in the hoist. I told him what had happened and how concerned I was about the keel. He, very kindly, tried to reassure me that it happens a lot and I’d probably been extremely unlucky to find a forgotten concrete pad. As Cerulean was lifted out the water we went to inspect the damage. I had scuffed the keel and left a nasty graze on the bottom which needed drying out and repairing. Graham very kindly found us a spot in the yard, even though they were frantically busy, and arranged for the repair to be done in the morning. I could’ve kissed him – if Covid restrictions would’ve allowed – he was just amazing and we will always feel extremely grateful to him and his wonderful team.
We returned to Bea and Andy’s for the night (how lucky are we to have them…?) and I spent the evening baking a big cake to take to the boatyard in the morning. Next day, Bea dropped us at the boat and I delivered the cake in time for morning tea. By the time we arrived the repair had been done and the prop angle altered. We were able to complete some other jobs and dropped the bent stanchions at a local fabricators for repair. Later that afternoon, we were relaunched with all the guys full of appreciation for the cake which was nowhere near matched by the appreciation we felt for them! Unfortunately the prop was still not right and after much headscratching, it was decided we should stay afloat while more research was done into finding the right angle for the boat/engine/prop combination. With the depth sounder showing we had zero depth, I very gingerly, but successfully reversed out of the yard into the channel – I was back on the horse!
The next morning we picked up a mooring buoy next to Zen Again and paddled our new kayak over to have coffee and TimTams (Antipodean chocolate biscuits) with Mike and Nicki before they headed into Truro so Nicki could have her Covid vaccination. We said our farewells as they prepared to leave the UK for Spain and hope to see them again in The Canaries before we all head across the Atlantic in a few months time.
With my confidence starting to be restored, we set sail for Helford River where we spent a few magical days anchored in this slice of paradise. It was particularly special as there were no tourists and very few visiting yachts in this normally very busy and popular anchorage. We explored the beautiful, quaint, chocolate box village of Helford and wandered around the quiet streets and woods. I loved it! It was so quintessential English with thatched pub beside a stony beach, a small village shop that shut at 3pm and had windows full of handwritten notices about local events, bluebells in flower in the old woodland and stone walls tumbling down to the sea.
A strong easterly was forecast so we moved anchorages back to the sheltered Fal/Truro River near the village of Malpas where we were met by the friendly seal again as we anchored. The self-flagellation was starting to ease as the wind increased and tried to blow away any doubts or fears I had been harbouring. Perhaps it was our turn to be a bird again instead of the statue….!?