Salcombe and Beyond: My Mid-Life Cruise Hits the West Country Coast

Simon Ellis’s mission to visit every harbour between Poole and the Isles of Scilly hits new highs on the stretch from Torquay to Plymouth

My mid-life crisis cruise has seen me get as far as Salcombe, but there was still plenty left to see in my quest to visit every harbour possible on my way to the Scillies.

Day 31 3 June

Today was going to be a big day. Destination Salcombe, the furthest west I’ve ever been with pleasant conditions of calm waters and a dash of early sun. My mate Ben was with me for the next couple of days and we departed Torquay at a gentle 5-knot chug then picked up the tidal stream to push our speed over ground up to 6-7 kts.

When the tide started to change after covering 13 miles in 2.5 hrs, we blasted the final 9 miles into Salcombe. Taking care to steer clear of the notorious sandbar at the entrance and following VHF comms with the harbourmaster, we picked up our allocated buoy opposite The Ferry Inn and tendered ashore.

A quick tour of the shops and a couple of hours R&R looking out over the estuary from the comfort of a local pub followed before it was time to head back to the boat. Only disaster struck! A gentle(ish) pull of the Yamaha outboard engine’s starter cord sparked the engine into life but the it failed to recoil, leaving a metre of cord lying on the tender’s deck.

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Taking great care not to stall as we pottered back to the boat, my mate Ben was just about to step onto the bathing platform, iPhone in hand, when I suggested he leave his phone in the tender until he was safely on the mothership.

Placing his phone carefully on the tender’s deck, he then stepped onto the bathing platform. At the exact same moment, I put the engine into neutral, causing the cord to whip back into place, catapulting the phone straight into Davy Jones’s locker. Oops!

Day 32 4 June

Following advice from the harbourmaster, we relocated upstream to a secluded midstream pontoon in The Bag, where the only noise was the bleating of sheep in the nearby fields. Once secure, we launched the tender to explore Salcombe further, walking to North and South Sands beaches near the harbour entrance.

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In the afternoon we tendered 2.5 miles up the estuary in the other direction to Kingsbridge. We’d been told The Crabshell Inn was a must-visit pub but got soaked heading into the wind and waves. We made it on a rising tide and tied up outside, enjoying a restorative pint or two before returning on the ebb to cook up a steaming plate of pasta and meatballs.

Day 33 5 June

Woke up to glorious sunshine with a stereo soundtrack of baaing sheep from both sides of the estuary. The plan today was to depart Salcombe for Plymouth.

The harbourmaster confirmed the sandbar still had clearance a few hours before low tide at midday, which gave us time to lunch up the River Yealm enroute. A 13-mile chug round Bolt Head and across Bigbury Bay saw us arrive at the Yealm dead on low tide.

Taking advice from the Yealm HM, we waited 40 minutes for clearance over another sandbar before negotiating the twisting channel to pick up a mooring buoy for a sausage sandwich brunch and a couple of hours chillaxing before pushing onward to Plymouth.

I was a bit apprehensive about negotiating this naval harbour with its eastern and western approaches but once there, it proved to be relatively straightforward. Aided by my attentive crew mate Ben, who was due to be heading back home that afternoon, we were soon berthed up on the visitor pontoon at Queen Anne’s Battery marina.

Day 34 6 June

Today I was on my Jack Jones so I could do what I wanted, when I wanted. After spending a poignant few hours watching the D-Day 80 coverage, I reprovisioned the ship’s stores then walked along the harbour seafront.

The Lido redevelopment looked enticing as were the lounging pads in the sea swimming area outside. I enjoyed some great views of Drake’s Island and the Sound and then found myself at King Point marina, where a small fleet of brand new Princess yachts were awaiting delivery to their lucky new owners.

Day 35 & 36 7/ 8 June

My plan of taking the tender out to explore the harbour from the sea took a hit as QAB marina wanted me to leave at noon. I was booked into Sutton Harbour, just 400m away, but accessed via a lock. From previous experience I knew this could be tricky on my own. However, as I was about to leave, a yachtie called Tony kindly offered to help, making the short trip that much easier. Once secure in my new berth, I wandered back to QAB with a bottle to thank Tony for his help.

The following day was sunny but chilly so I left the boat in the marina, exploring the Historic Quarter by foot before walking along the seafront to West Hoe for a fine Chinese meal at the Wet Wok restaurant overlooking the harbour.

Day 37 & 38 9/10 June

I took a walk to the Royal William Yard at the start of the Tamar river in gloriously summery conditions. The development of the old Grade 1 listed naval buildings didn’t disappoint and I even found its small but very beautiful marina. Spotting a couple of empty berths I pinged off an email to see if I could book one but sadly not. I continued round to Devil’s Point on the southwest extremity to enjoy a panoramic view of the Tamar, Drake’s Island and across the Hoe.

Departing Sutton Harbour while the lock was on free flow, I enjoyed a sedate two-mile chug arcing round the Hoe shoreline, past Drake’s Island and into the Tamar towards Mayflower marina. It was another beautiful morning with gentle wind so I had all the covers off to help with solo docking manoeuvres.

I needn’t have worried, the marina staff welcomed me in and took my lines. My new berth was the perfect spot from which to explore the Tamar, so I launched Little Distraction and pottered upstream, taking care to keep out of the way of a French frigate!

Day 39 11 June

The next day was sunny but windy – ideal for all those little jobs I never normally have time to do! After nine years of ownership I had never properly cleaned the tender’s inflatable tubes. So I purchased some RIB cleaner and UV protector and after a few hours of elbow grease the 22-year-old Little Distraction was looking the best I’ve ever seen her. I also made her a proper anchor line with some neat splicing, a skill I had taught myself during lockdown.

The one place I’d missed on my travels around Plymouth so far was Torpoint Yacht Harbour, so with that as my aim for the day, I set off in Little D. It didn’t start well, getting stopped by the police boat for allegedly coming within 50m of the Naval Buildings, but after a virtual slap on the wrist I soon found Torpoint opposite the Devonport naval jetties.

No wonder I missed it, it’s tiny, too small to get a 40-footer inside without a risk of damage. With that ticked off the list, I explored up a marked channel in St John’s Lake only to discover what looked like a boat graveyard!

Back onboard, I amused myself with some fettling, making up beer can holders for the new bow seats using two aluminium holders stored in the bowels of the boat intended for but never used on our first boat. A couple of self-locking screws to some stanchion clips and hey-presto followed by an immediate test of their beer-holding abilities – passed with flying colours!

Day 40 12 June

My next stop was King Point marina, tucked behind two marine basins and the Brittany ferry terminal. The advice was to be through before 1pm when the ferry arrived from Spain. I inched carefully past the brand new Princesses and prepared to solo dock when one of the marina staff suddenly arrived to make life easy.

A spot of paddleboarding around the basins and into the adjacent private Millbay marina, which sadly wasn’t accepting visitors, before my brother-in-law Tony joined me for three days crewing. After some of Tony’s legendary Negroni sundowners, it was into town for a slap up meal at the Barbican Pasta bar, returning around midnight to deathly still waters – which turned out to be the calm before the coming storm.

Day 41 13 June

As predicted the next morning brought driving rain and winds gusting 37 knots. Just the excuse we needed for a tour of the Plymouth Gin distillery – very educational with the added bonus of some tasting and a free G&T in the bar. At £15 it was cost neutral and a very enjoyable hour!

The wind finally abated around 7pm, allowing us to walk the Hoe and listen to Gabrielle playing live on stage at the Summer Sessions festival. Back at King Point marina, sleeping proved challenging as the swell rolled into the marina causing the ropes to squeak and groan all night.

Day 42-48 14-20 June

The weather was brighter so we made the move back to QAB in the hopes of a quieter night. Looking for an adventure, we took the tender up the Plym river. This wasn’t the best decision I’ve made as the weather soon changed and we ended up getting drenched by rain and spray.

The next few days continued in much the same vein. We watched Madness headlining the Summer Sessions music festival on the Hoe, then when Tony departed, I took advantage of the brief gap in my diary to catch up with a few jobs, including a rapid repair of my leaking cover by the helpful staff at Octagon Marine. Two more old friends, JB and Tim, then visited for 24 hours each. One of the joys of this trip was the chance to spend quality time with friends and family.

Before leaving, Tim helped me move back to Mayflower marina via a tour of the Sound. It was during this tour that I noticed my boat’s drives seemed reluctant to get on the plane again.

Day 49 21 June

Not a day I will forget any time soon. I had planned to move back to Sutton Harbour for the weekend with my wife Pamela, eldest daughter Beth and some of her mates. After my previous entry through the lock, I was feeling confident. The wind was moderate and in a favourable direction for tying up inside the lock.

After receiving permission to enter the lock, I eased in and engaged reverse to pull me alongside. Having looped the stern line onto a cleat, I stepped onto the pontoon to sort the bow line out with the remote thruster in my hand. Immediately, I sensed something was wrong.

The bow was pulling away from the pontoon and no amount of thrusting was helping. I’d left both engines in reverse rather than returning to neutral! Jumping back onboard, I rushed to the helm, engaged neutral and thrust the bow back in before tying up.

Mercifully, the low tide meant I was well below the pedestrian bridge so the only witnesses were a pair of swans and the lock operator, who was doubtless having a great laugh. Once on the berth, I was relieved to find the only damage was a black fender mark which would easily polish out.

Day 50 22 June

The last time I hadn’t worked for 50 days solid was after sitting my O’levels in 1985! Pamela arrived yesterday evening as planned and now Beth was here too, celebrating the end of her first year of uni with her friends Ella and Grace.

This was turning out to be the perfect mid-life crisis – three months off work, an extended stay on the boat and a constant stream of friends and family. After another weekend of sunbathing, pottering and frequent trips to the seafront bars, I would finally be leaving Plymouth for Looe and Fowey. There was even the promise of a heatwave expected. At last!

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