Another view of Poole Harbour before moving on

Last Tuesday we decided to move further into the harbour which meant passing through the two lifting bridges. The second of these, named Twin Sails (for obvious reasons, see photo below) was completed only a couple of years ago, and against vociferous local opposition. The problem for boat owners keeping their vessels up-stream of the bridges is that, of course, the bridges do not open simultaneously, so if one bridge is passed through successfully, the boat is inevitably trapped in the 'holding pen' between the bridges, at the mercy of the bridge operators. As we were the only boat going through on Tuesday afternoon, we were careful not to say anything to upset the operator, and  just glad that we were not negotiating these bridges on a hot sunny summer weekend morning or afternoon when we gather the holding pen is packed and totally chaotic!

Twin Sails bridge, Poole

Having negotiated both bridges, we arrived into Cobbs Quay Marina and received a right royal welcome, partly I think because they receive very few visiting sailing yachts (bridge issues, see above, and because most of their 'residents' are flashy motor boats), and even fewer visitors on the 'Passeport Escales', a scheme from our home port in Brittany whereby participating marinas provide visitors with 2 nights free berthing (very attractive to us of course!). Our welcome included a bottle of red wine and a burgee advertising their marina (not absolutely sure we will be flying it). The only snag with this apparently generous scheme is that you have to leave the marina for at least one night before you can claim another two free nights. This we did on Thursday evening, knowing that we would probably touch bottom as Poole Harbour is notoriously shallow except where the recognised channels are dredged to maintain their depth. And with our lifting keel (see many references in previous posts) the Skipper was quite happy to drop anchor just over the drying ground area ... suffice to say we did not end up like the unfortunates shown below but there were a few scary moments when we might have done, as we weighed anchor to return to the marina berth on Friday morning in a very strong wind!

High and dry at low tide

On Friday we were joined by our Cabin Boy (aka Jim lad) who quickly got into cahoots with the Skipper. Delivered by Wendy his wife, he/they came bearing all sorts of goodies, including not one but two fruit cakes (intended for Biscay crossing next week but doubt if they will last that long) and the wherewithal to bake bread and cook at least two main meals - great news for the quartermaster (me) - plus a fantastic Boat Cookbook. 

And on Saturday, former crew members and not-so-newly-marrieds Laurel and William arrived for the day and to pick up our car which they will be looking after for us whilst we are away.

Sunday dawned and although the weather forecast for the next few days was not encouraging, there was a 'window' of about 12 hours as the current bad weather cleared away East and before the really high winds would come through from the West to our part of the coast. Besides which, we really needed to start our journey West towards Falmouth from where we will be embarking on our Big Adventure across the bay of Biscay, and collecting two more crew members. So once back through the Twin Sails and the town bridges, the good ship Follyfin carried us out to sea, south past Anvil Point, past St Albans Head and then west-North-west towards Weymouth. Wind speed was mainly Force 6 (classified as 'Strong Breeze' by the Met Office) with occasional gusts up to Force 7 ('Near Gale'). The sea was correspondingly lumpy and with the sails close-hauled and well reefed, Follyfin was routinely heeled at about 30 degrees. Needless to say, it was not a comfortable ride but it was reasonably speedy, despite having to tack several times. Maximum boat speed recorded was 9.0 knots ... pretty good! 

Arrived into Weymouth just before the wind really got up, and once safely berthed, tucked well inside the marina, we headed out for a well earned meal of fish and chips at 'our' restaurant right beside the Town Quay. This was the scene of my 'baptism' back in 2011, the first year we had Follyfin, when I accidentally lost my balance when jumping off the boat to moor up on the waiting pontoon beside the town bridge, and disappeared into the drink - in full view of the Saturday afternoon crowd watching from above. Very embarrassing!

Waiting pontoon in front of Bennetts Fish and Chip Restaurant

Now it's Monday, and the weather forecast for area 7 where we are is dire:

So discretion being the better part of valour, we have decided to stay put in Weymouth for a day or two until the situation improves.