There was a huge amount of interest in this rally beforehand. Older members rang to tell me how terribly romantic it was and how they would be along like a shot if they were twenty years younger. In the event only two boats turned up, my Tideway and Jenny, a wonderfully efficient-looking wooden Drascombe Lugger. We both launched from Appledore’s wonderfully palatial slipway and spent the Friday night anchored just off the town, out of the main tide. We were up again at the crack of dawn, but there wasn’t an iota of wind, so we motored out over the bar into the wide waters of the Bristol Channel, where the merest of zephyrs tempted us to shape a course to Lundy under sail.

Both boats bobbed about in the long silky swells for an hour or so, as their crews enjoyed the sun and tried to convince themselves that they were making effective progress. At length however we called a floating Council of War. Neither of us had enough fuel to motor all the way to Lundy and back again, so we cut our losses and shaped a course to Clovelly instead. By all accounts Clovelly is a cloyingly pretty village, but the swell on the rocky beach was too fierce to risk a landing, so we saw none of it. Instead of the promised cream tea, we anchored off to eat our sandwiches in an unfortunately timed shower, and narrowly avoided being run down by the inshore lifeboat as it rocketed off its trailer and thundered away on a mission of mercy. But the day ended peacefully with a lovely sunny sail back to the Taw estuary and a pleasant evening at anchor in this delightful and largely undiscovered sailing area.

Sunday was appallingly wet and we both hauled out early. So ended the first attempt on Lundy. But we will be back....

Salcombe 27th-28th September by John Kuyser

In 1996 Rachel a Westray 16, Linden and I had an excellent weekend meeting Roger Barnes on the Dart, so the 1997 Salcombe rally was in the diary for another West Country visit. We drove down on Friday sleeping in our vanette at the lovely Dart Country Park.

Saturday dawned cool and misty so we didn’t get to Salcombe until around 0930. We launched at the superb all tides slipway at Batson Creek. The various charges for two days parking, launching and harbour dues added up to around £12.00. We had hoped to meet up with Roger and others here but we were setting sail before Aidan de la Mare said hello from the jetty. We met up again at the agreed Mill Bay lunch rendezvous. Unfortunately we didn’t see any other DCA members.

After lunch Aidan’s Tideway led the way; with the tide but beating against a light easterly up to Kingsbridge. Despite the mist the upper estuary was a superb sailing area dotted with a wide range of shoal draft dinghies and yachts including the beautiful and fast Salcombe Yawls.

On the return we escorted Aidan up Frogmore Creek where he met up with a surf-ski DCA member. Aidan spent a quiet night alone as we retreated to the delights of Salcombe town and the Vanette for the night.

Bright and early on Sunday Aidan rowed up to Batson and had a cuppa with us as the sun tried to break through. We agreed to meet again at Mill Bay but first rowed out to Starehole Bay. Aidan likes rowing but Rachel is a heavier boat and I rowed because the motor had retired! Starehole was an idyllic anchorage in the sun for coffee and a swim in 17° crystal clear water. A zephyr was now coming off the sea and by the time we reached Mill Bay we were bubbling along nicely. More sun, lunch and a chat before a pleasant tack up with the tide to look up Southpool Lake; another tree lined creek with lovely scenery, no water at low tide and no other boats in the upper reaches —just what the DCA is all about! I left Aidan sailing to the highest part of Southpool and rowed/sailed back as the wind was now too light for sailing only through all the moorings with a strongish tide. Another excellent West Country venue, but where were you?

Notes: — My spare trolley wheel came in handy as a puncture was revealed when Rachel came off her combi trailer. — These Tideways certainly are fast, stable, attractive boats for DCA use.