Unfortunately Rock Marine were unable to repair the part until Friday afternoon. It now looked like we would be leaving Padstow on Saturday Morning. The wind was almost non existent but we needed to leave for the sake of Alistair’s sanity! Saturday it was……
5.30 Saturday, we headed out of the Harbour on the second leg of our adventure. A number of boats left with us, and for the first few hours, towards Land’s End, we followed in convoy. At Land’s End we were the only boat to carry on towards the Isles of Scilly with the remaining four boats turning South. The first part of our trip had been with the tidal flow and we were getting excited as to the possibility of a very short passage. How wrong we were! The tide changed and we finally arrived at our destination (New Grimsby Sound between Tresco & Bryher) at 19.48. The engine had worked hard and the sails had not! but to arrive in such a beautiful destination was well worth it. We picked up the only mooring left in New Grimsby Sound and settled down for a relaxing evening on a sea of glass
Sunday morning dawned, the dinghy inflated, the out board hoisted down on our new derrick (little crane especially for the outboard motor!) and we were off to explore our surroundings.
Tresco, the largest of the two islands was our first choice. We landed on the small quay, secured the dinghy and headed up towards the group of pretty stone built cottages. On our way we spotted an arranged group of decorated shells with an honesty box to the side, this was to be a common feature as we continued our walk around the island - a number of honesty boxes for various items from garden produce to art deco items popped up in the most remote areas. We purchased mint for the Pimms and delicious home made fudge.
We had stocked up on food products before we left Padstow as we were unsure as to the shopping facilities on the islands. We were amazed to find the most fantastic shop/deli on Tresco with a large variety of high quality items to tempt us, be it a little expensive. No, not Tesco on Tresco!!
We had woken up to cloud and drizzle but by mid day the sun broke through and the sky was blue. We walked from New Grimsby Quay, passed the Abbey Gardens and then back across the middle of the island before returning to the boat for lunch and then heading over to Bryher.
On Bryher we walked up to the small fisherman’s cottage, Dawn Vue, to purchase lobster for dinner but unfortunately it was closed as it was Sunday. We will return! We then headed across to a small, exclusive hotel which overlooks one of the main shipwreck areas of the Island. Hell Bay Hotel. The views were a stunning place to enjoy a coffee before continuing our walk. Why had we never visited these islands before?
This island is smaller that Tresco with less visitors and a number of small hills, hence Bryher, ‘land of hills’. We continued our walk – off road so to speak as we lost the path at one point until we found our way back to the beach and dinghy. One of us was mad enough to take a swim before returning to the boat!!!
As we returned to Money Penny, Suki of Shuna (our neighbour in Milford Marina) appeared in the Sound. We welcomed Jackie, Stuart and his parents and headed back for dinner – not lobster!!!
On our second day we decided to remain in New Grimsby as there were heavy winds forecast over the next 24hrs and this was as safer place as any! We therefore decided to explore the remaining areas of Tresco. We had coffee on Suki of Shuna on passage to New Grimsby Quay and then walked out to Cromwell’s Castle, a lookout post at the entrance to the Sound. We had been recommended to Ruin Beach Cafe at Old Grimsby so we made our way across the headland reaching the Cafe just in time for lunch overlooking Old Grimsby Sound and it’s Quay.
Wednesday
A change of scenery. We followed Suki out of New Grimsby Sound, carefully making our way over Tresco & Samson Flats towards the Cove between Saint Agnes & Gugh. These Islands are smaller than Tresco & Bryher. We anchored in the bay with a number of other yachts before launching the dinghy and heading off to explore.
The flora and stunning views as we walked around both Tresco, Bryher & St Agnes continued to thrill us throughout our time there. A coffee in a cafe in the middle of the Island of St Agnes, followed by a Cornish Troy Town home produced icecream and a quick pint in the Turks Head Pub! plus a quick walk through the most amazing tent site on the waters edge at Troy Town Farm. On the return walk we sighted what we thought was a snow man in the middle of a field. On closer examination it turned out that the snow man was actually a stone man complete with a stuck on carrot for the nose, coal eyes, and a colourful scarf .
We returned to Money Penny for lunch and decided to pump up our Kayak before kayaking to the beach for an afternoon swim. The water was much warmer than in New Grimsby Sound so both of us ventured in. Throughout the day the sea had been like glass and the flora and stunning views as we walked around both Tresco, Bryher & St Agnes continued to thrill us throughout our time there.
Night time arrived and the wind picked up meaning Money Penny was rocking & rolling all night long! Early Friday morning we moved to Porth Cressa, Saint Mary’s, closely followed not long after by Suki of Shuna, before returning to bed to catch up on some sleep!!!!
St Mary’s was not our favourite island. We had arrived on a Friday at the same time as a cruise ship!! The streets were full of people, the weather was not so good and we were tired!! The Island didn’t stand a chance really. We visited the local WI market and walked around Hugh Town before having lunch overlooking a sandy beach and then returning to the boat.
We knew that Vikki and Brett on Questing, had left Milford at 9am on Wednesday on passage to the Isles of Scilly and we had heard nothing since. We finally contacted them at 16.30 on Thursday afternoon, they were 2 hrs out. What a journey! When they appeared in Porth Cressa we certainly let out a cheer! They anchored and then visited us for a quick drink before going to find a well earned meal.
Friday Morning looked good for our departure. We were unsure as to whether to head for Penzance or Falmouth but as soon as we left the beautiful Isles of Scilly, the conditions were perfect for a superb sail to Falmouth.