Darting about

After a bumpy night on Dartmouth's Town Quay, we had to be off before 0845 when the huge tripper boats were due to take our place.

We tried calling two posh marinas on the VHF radio to see if they had room for us. Both were frankly unhelpful. It seems this place is such a honeypot for sailors, and always crowded, they don't have to be polite.

We ended up on a council-run pontoon just across from the river from the splendid Britannia Naval College. The guys who run this 'Dartnav' service were unfailingly friendly and helpful, the opposite of the marina troglodytes. 

We took a water taxi (£2 a trip) into Kingswear, and then a lovely old steam train to Paignton with its golden sands. (Readers of this blog may remember Lesley adores trains.) 

Many passengers elected to stay on the train until it returned to Kingswear and later, we could see why. Paignton is low-rent and depressing, though the staff at the Jade cafe produced a good baked potato in time for us to catch an early train back. 

As we took the water taxi back we noticed a sleek yacht called British Steel - she is the boat Chay Blyth sailed around the world in 1970, and is being restored in Dartmouth.

We also saw the most beautiful old Paddle Steamer, the last coal-fired paddle-steamer in the world. This is a place for seeing fantastic vessels of every sort.

Now we are having a restful evening on the boat. We saw her from the steam train as it passed by and it's a funny thing - your heart goes out to her when you see her from a distance, so familiar are her elegant lines. She is our travelling home, and for now, all our world.