It's All Gweek To Me

 

Having made the decision to have the keel bolts checked we had the tricky task of navigating our way up the Helford River to Gweek Classic Boatyard.  The Helford is a drying tidal river so we needed to get the tides right in order to ensure sufficient water for our pilotage.  But I’m running ahead of myself.  First, let’s talk about the best laid plans of mice and men!

 

We had booked our lift-out for the morning of 1^st April.  The tide would be two days after springs but there should still be sufficient water for us.  However, as the day came closer the weather forecast was starting to look dodgy.  The entrance to the Helford is well sheltered except if there is any easterly component to the wind.  Sure enough, for our planned day the forecast was for a Force 5-6 wind coming direct from the east.  Everyone we spoke to told us that we would be fools to try, particularly as we had not been there before.  So a quick call to the Boatyard team and we were able to bring our lift-out forwards a day.  This would avoid the wind and give us a little more water in the bargain.  The only downside was that we would have to be at the quayside a little earlier, a small price to pay.

 

The next point to consider was whether to leave Mylor the evening beforehand and pick up a mooring buoy in the mouth of the Helford for the night.  This seemed like a sensible idea and would de-risk our passage up the river the following morning.  So that was decided.  But here’s a lesson learnt.  Don’t let the kind offer of assistance lead you to rush and miss things.  As we prepared to slip our lines from Mylor a fellow boat owner kindly offered to help with the rope work.  This lead me to rush as I didn’t want to keep him hanging around.  So we quickly slipped our berth and headed out for open water.  I had forgotten two things.  I had left the galley porthole open which resulted in sea water coming in and soaking our stove and other things.  Thankfully it was only spray, but it could have been much worse.  Secondly I had intended on switching off the water pump before leaving the harbour.  Needless to say that one of the plumbing pipes came off whilst we were at sea and the entire contents of our fresh water tanks dumped themselves into the bilge.  Not a good outcome to a couple of hours at sea.  However, all of this was soon forgotten when we picked up a mooring buoy (first time Bridget) and settled into the tranquillity of the Helford River.  What a special place that is.

 

The following morning was an early start.  Gweek is about 5 miles up the river and we needed to be there for 8:30, just after high tide.  We awoke to thick fog around us which was going to slow our progress, although slow and steady were the watch words for this pilotage.  I had studied the charts, wrote copious notes and watched the Boatyard’s video several times in the previous weeks, but I was still very nervous.  When the tide is in there looks like there is a huge body of water, but in actual fact most of it is far too shallow for us.  There is a very narrow and winding deep water channel which needs to be followed closely so as to avoid mishap.  Thankfully the upper reaches of the channel are buoyed, but they can be disconcerting.  Some of them appear very close to the riverbank and, had it not been for the words of the yard staff the day before telling me to trust the buoys I would not have believed we would make it.  We even had to contend with a boat coming down the river but we managed to pass each other without drama.  We were almost there when we were met by the Boatyard team in their rib coming to guide us in.  They were fantastic, and really gave us the confidence that all was well.  We were soon tied up alongside the boatyard quay.

 

As soon as we had tied up the yard crane burst into life and Wendy Woo was lifted up out of the water and settled into a cradle.  Now the stripping out work can commence.  I’ll talk about that more in my next blog.  Until then, keep the easterlies to yourself!