11 May 2019 – Penarth to Mumbles

Day 1 – The adventure begins…

After too long in the yard and not long enough to make her insides look pretty, it was time to push on and do some sea trials.  

We had sailed her before but with changes to the running and standing rigging and a new engine, there where lots of unknowns.

Cardiff Marine was considered a reputable Yard and despite the significant overrun on time and some concerns about jobs not being completed we needed to test the boat and identify what needed to be rectified. We a=had dropped off the Yard’s interest level and I think they where more interested in just leaving the boat as she was rather than finishing the detailing and giving a full and final check over as was promised. I already had a defect list which I’ll put online for those interested.

The Bottom Line is”Trust but Verify” as the list of defects is growing already.

Departed with the high tide (1230 local) at Cardiff and motored in light winds to the Bristol channel to benefit from the falling tide. The direction was towards Ilfracombe. Light seas and warm sun made the early part of the trip pleasant but as we rounded the Barry and Penmark the true wind became Northerly and the trip was more of a beat up the channel. 

A North wind would have made anchoring off Ilfracombe unpleasant and potentially dangerous so we sailed and then motored into The Mumbles at the Western end of Swansea Bay. The new engine seemed to struggle at times with potential fuel contamination. Further investigation showed a slightly close fuel tap which solved the problem. Thanks to Team Marine in Penarth for the last minute checks of the new Beta Marine.

The Mumbles was a calm enough anchorage and although sheltered does have a strong tidal influence so the anchor alarm kept me up every 30 minutes or so.

 

It had been a tougher first day than I had hoped but a good shakedown. The snag list is starting already.