Following the refit of Windflower it was time to set off for some family adventures: the kids were itching to try out the new bunks and so were the parents for that matter. After a launch party at Instow quay our first goal was Lundy- north Devon's very own treasure island and a mere tide's ebb from the Bideford bar.
Once we had built up some confidence in Windflower we set our sights on some longer trips. The Scilly Isles were our next holiday, following a trip up the Camel to Wadebridge to see old friends.
After a blissful couple of weeks swimming with seals and camping off St Agnes we came back to the mainland- this time to the South coast where we poked around the Cornish fishing villages for a few weeks before heading up to Devon for a winter in the upper Tamar.
Once we had built up some confidence in Windflower we set our sights on some longer trips. The Scilly Isles were our next holiday, following a trip up the Camel to Wadebridge to see old friends.
After a blissful couple of weeks swimming with seals and camping off St Agnes we came back to the mainland- this time to the South coast where we poked around the Cornish fishing villages for a few weeks before heading up to Devon for a winter in the upper Tamar.
What a fine place Devon is. With Atlantic and English channel coasts! If you go far enough up her tidal rivers you can get to within an hour's drive of anywhere in the county, so berthed at Calstock we were able to commute from home in North Devon that winter to spend weekends drifting up and down the Tamar.. flat water, always somewhere to stop, and the interest of such delightful places as Morewhellam and the overhanging Oak forests of West Dartmoor.
Under the viaduct, Calstock, upper Tamar
Upper Tamar, as far as height and draft allowed
The following summer we were well placed for drifting south to Brittany, where we spent a few weeks replicating our strategy for Devon and Cornwall: take as many interesting tidal rivers as far as draft and height will allow. The children loved the beaches, the castles, the fantastic food and the gorgeous cote de granite rose.Summer came to an end and we had to bring Windflower home again and prepare for the next adventure. This time to Skomer Island on the Pembrokeshire coast, home to thousands of puffins and seals. The ferocious tide races between Skomer, Ramsay and the mainland made for some fun navigation as we sped through the narrows at 12 plus knots! We eventually found our way up to Aberystwith where we left the boat for some mountaineering before returning to Devon again.
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