The Isles of Scilly

We left the fishing harbour of Newlyn at the sensible time of 0930, giving Nic just enough time to pelt down to the local bakery to buy two authentic Cornish pasties. 

Departure was aided by the fact that two of the bulkiest, most loudly coloured trawlers had gone off during the night, leaving more room to reverse and turn.

We were expecting to motor most of the way, given a weather forecast of light variable winds. How wrong we were. A fantastic sailing wind sprang up which kept us going for most of the eight hour journey. It was northwest, force 3 to 4. The sun shone from a blue sky, the waters of the Channel merged with those of the Atlantic as we scythed our way through green waves, past the southernmost tip of the UK mainland. After all our huffing and puffing about not enough or too much wind, we finally had the perfect conditions to let Sirena pick up her skirts and run. 

The Isles of Scilly (never call them the Scilly Isles, according to the natives) were visible as misty shapes from 10 miles away. They resolved into low islands of grass and stone, with buoys in the water marking the many rocks and shallows.  

Having dropped the mainsail we motored into St Mary's Pool, the pretty place which is the most popular mooring spot for yachts. There are no marinas, no electricity or soft living on the Islands. The best you can get is a mooring buoy or a place to anchor, where you blow up your dinghy and row or outboard it in to shore. Nic picked up a mooring buoy in St Mary'sPoolwith a boathook, and later we took the dinghy into Hugh Town, to visit the Pilot Gig, a fantastic restaurant in a 300 year old building with 8-foot thick stone walls. There's only one spot where the card machine can get a signal, the walls are so thick. 

Now we are back on board, a little dazed because we have done what we planned. In just over 2 weeks we have sailed from the Medway all the way down the south coast and to the Isles of Scilly. Now, it's time to slow down a bit and chill out.