Passage to Torquay

'Front door view' at Torquay

The trip to Torquay was 82NM, with the assistance of the tide we had a fast passage with the wind reaching 28 knots with short lumpy seas which Sabbaticus loved - reefed down  thrusting into the seas and taking waves over the deck. (Leanne reached 10 plus kts with a favourable wind and tide!).  We both enjoyed time helming in the heavier weather which gave Tommy (our auto helm) a break.  Although we would prefer not to have a self furling main, the ease of reefing the sail was a major plus with a push of a button and very little effort we had two reefs in the main sail and no time spent out on deck to achieve this – a real plus when short handed sailing to reduce fatigue.  However, operation of the main sail furler has to be just 'right' otherwise we end up with problems with the potential for damage to the sail and running rigging a real concern.

The stopover in Torquay was to collect our new aluminum hulled RIB (Rigid Inflatable Dinghy).  Like everything on a boat this ended up being a bigger task than we expected.  Our planned four days in the marina turned into seven days whilst we awaited extra parts to enable the RIB to be secured to the davits – thank goodness our timetable is flexible! The ordered RIB was damaged so we ended up being offered a slightly larger RIB at 3.25meters for the the same price as originally agreed.  Although larger than we preferred it is a very light RIB and therefore achieves our goal of reducing the weight on the davits (the arms on the stern that the RIB is pulled up from the water and is stored on).  The original RIB was GRP and also had a centre console, auto-tilt, and a 15hp 4 stroke motor - all of which we have effectively removed from the davits - overall weight will drop from approx 150-180kg to approx 80-90kg with a 8hp 2 stroke outboard! Fitting the new RIB necessitated another few day’s delay as we re-measured the davits before we accepted the larger RIB and then ordered, received and fitted the additional parts required to modify the davit arms to secure the RIB.  After several frustrating days for John, including two trips for Leanne to the marine chandlery which was a 30 min ferry ride each way across the harbour, and then waiting two days for spares to arrive the RIB is now secured and the previous cover fits which was a real bonus (and relief).  

 

Finally the RIB is installed

This RIB required our newly installed life raft to be moved along the back rail.  While a relatively simple job it still required two sets of hands and small fingers to tighten the nuts which ended up being another half day job. 

English Riveria ?

Torquay was an easy destination to stay in and is marketed as the ‘English Riveria’ although this is a picturesque town I think this is a bit of a stretch. Torquay used to be a major tourist destination in the early 19th C and has a beautiful large bay and lots of B&B, pubs and cafes.  We enjoyed the local delicacy of fish n’ chips for dinner which was a nice treat.  For a bit of history - the marina we stayed at had these huge concrete docks which were used for the D Day landings with 23,000 American Troops departing from the docks to Germany in June 1944. Torquay is also home to the writer Agatha Christie.

Next passage is to Guernsey, Channel Islands.