Round the Lizard, Britain's most southerly point

Day 2 - Wednesday 17th May 2017, Mylor to Newlyn

I woke early and looked at the pilot book and charts. The distance from Mylor to the Lizard was about 20 NM and Newlyn about 15 or 16 miles beyond. How long will it take to get there & what is the cruising speed of Wind Song? The forecast Wind direction was 'on the nose' so we would probably have to motor.

The book said the best time to round the Lizard was two hours before high water Dover. It also recommended a call to Newlyn harbour master to find out if they had a berth for us. It even had a phone number just to make life easier. Once the skipper was up, we established the cruising speed was 7 knots, taking about 3 hours to get to the Lizard. So we planned to set off at...

noon, 5 hours before HW Dover. 

Now I could relax and enjoy a healthy meusli breakfast and tea. 

Whilst Erni filled the boat's water tank, I looked at a plan for rounding Lands End for the following day. We'd have to set off early from Newlyn to catch the start of the flood tide off Cape Cornwall. It would be a slack tide at the Longships lighthouse, just west of Lands End. It also made sense to head straight for Milford Haven rather than a detour to Padstow. With the pre-planning done, it was time to get ready to leave for Newlyn. Skip had called the harbour master. He was very helpful, saying there would definitely be room, even if we had to raft alongside another boat. Skip had also done the engine checks and showed me round the engine room.

Leaving Mylor was uneventful. The boat manoeuvres very easily, as a lot of modern yachts do and this boat also has bow and stern thrusters for greater control in tight spaces or on windy days. Fenders and mooring warps were stowed in the cavernous lazarette locker at the stern and we were underway at long last, threading our way through the channel into the River Fal.

We passed a cardinal buoy making safe passage round the Manacle rocks and into the long Atlantic swell, passing ships at anchor along with tiny fishing boats darting about laying pots and lines. Once round Lizard Point we set a course for Newlyn and called the harbour master, as requested, when we reached Low Lee east cardinal buoy. 

Newlyn is a 'no frills' harbour with a myriad of small fishing boats and some large ones. Interestingly, a lot of them had 'riding sails' at the stern, to steady the boat and make their work more comfortable. 

Dinner ashore again, Italian this time, spicy king prawn linguini. Over dinner we discussed the best departure time for tomorrow's long trip and who would be on watch for the duration of this 18 hour voyage. Erni drew the long straw and got to stay in bed as we prepared the boat to leave at 4am. 

Find out what happened on Day 3 soon!