Landsend is a real "tidal gate". You have to time things right so that you round it just as the northerly tide is starting to carry you up the coast.I was all set to leave this morning. The conditions were favourable to go around, but it is where I go afterwards that is the problem There are very few harbours in reasonable reach- St Ives, Newquay and Padstow and all are relatively exposed. A northerly gale is forecast for tomorrow, so none of them would be very comfortable. You have to think a couple of steps ahead.
I was moored close to a small transat boat. The young woman was earning her right to do the mini transat. These are special beasts: both the craft and their users. These long distance loners are a special breed.They have a resilience and a level of skill I can only but admire She had broken a stay ( the boaty kind not the ones you wear).I had come across half a dozen of these boats in Plymouth.
I was mentioning the Padstow Doom Bar yesterday. My pilot book says the local legend is that it got its name when a local fisherman shot a mermaid thinking she was a fish. Cursing him with her dying breath the shrew up a handful of sand which turned into the Bar, vowing that " henceforth the harbour should be desolate". With comments like that it's no wonder I chose to stay tucked up in Newlyn!
On radio Corrnwall they wheeled in Martin Bidney from the Coast Guard to give his update.He reports on the results of distress beacons being set off. One was in a container which git wet on a Russian ship and another was somewhere in Indonesia. They also had a mayday call form a French yacht, which had just heard the gale forecast and had taken it to be someone in distress. They must come across some great stuff!
Was it just me, but on Radio 4 this morning they were talking about Obama meeting the Queen, and later he would be meeting Cameron. I thought I heard the commentator say they would be getting the tongues out. Actually they were planning to have a barbecue! So its not going to be the mutual appreciation I was envisaging!
I spent the morning refreshing the blog in a nice little cafe called Drecklys. It was a new venture for Glyn, a young guy who and been employed in telecommunications and in mining and was on a small retainer for when there was more work, though he was under no obligation to return and was enjoying his change in direction. I said I'd mention him on my blog. I was at last able to upload the pictures and some additional text I'd wanted to include in earlier posts. So if you can bear it it may be worth scanning back to see the changes.
This is the first chance I've had to use my folding bike.Newlyn is a longish walk to Penzance and so a bike is really useful. So this picture shows me on the Penzance front with the entrance to Newly harbour in the background. Bike with laptop on the back is going to be a regular image as I work my way around. The bike creates a lot of attention. Seems like a lot of people are thinking about buying one. Nobody asked me about my shorts though!
No matter where you go its difficult to avoid the itinerant odd combination of Peruvian and wild west musicians. How many must there be in the country? And what would you call the genre?
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