Another big dolphin day + fog

Joanna Spencer-Smith

Left about 11am. Started off with WSW wind of about 15kt. Overcast. Weren’t sure if we were going to stop at Plymouth (meaning we probably won’t get back to lymington in time), Salcombe (sand bar meaning we need to arrive 2h before /after low tide) or Dartmouth. At about 14:15 we were outside Plymouth. Seemed a bit early to stop. Timing was terrible for Salcombe (we would arrive at low tide). So we decided to head to Dartmouth… immediately the wind got up so we put in a reef. Immediately after that the fog rolled in and we started questioning our choices. Based on our channel experience we knew what we were doing, so on went the radar and so did we. Going past Salcombe the dolphins came out to play and they were loving the waves and 1-2m swell. Had to gybe to avoid getting in front of the slowest moving tanker (3kts) As we went round Start Point the SW wind started to increase to 20/25kt. Considered another reef but made it to Dartmouth in the daylight (and ongoing fog).