Blog Posts

 

The Tamar river is navigable for many more miles above Weir Quay. My sister came to stay last week and, as both wind and tide served, it seemed like a good opportunity to sail as far north as we sensibly could.

 

Diana and her family first sailed Sagitta shortly after launching. Now, 32 years later, Diana was alone, but still enjoyed the sail.

 

As we sailed/motored north the river shallowed and narrowed, while the countryside became ever more rural and inaccessible. So Weir Quay marks the end of the moorings. However a mile or so further on is a waterfront house that's very familiar to fans of the BBC TV series "Beyond Paradise".

 

Then, a couple of miles north is the dockyard, and workshop area for Cotehele House, not forgetting the Shamrock, a Victorian sailing barge built for trading on the Tamar river. Cotehele is a famous Tudor house, naturally steeped in history, see here https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/.../history-of-cotehele

 

The first time I sailed to Cotehele was in 1983 on our 25ft Gwahir catamaran, and we did SAIL there - Gwahir had no engine. On a later visit on my 28ft Gypsy catamaran we spent the night tied to the quay wall. As we've found, the National Trust often welcomes visiting yachts as they add "atmosphere".

 

However Cotehele is not the "Furthest North". A couple of bends further on is the waterside town of Calstock with its imposing Victorian railway viaduct, built to connect north Cornwall to Plymouth. Although its possible to go on a few more miles to the weir at Morwellham we thought the viaduct would be a bit challenging for a 20ft wide boat, so we turned round and headed south again.

 

A great day out - it didn't even rain (much)! And a real contrast to the Round the Island race a few weeks earlier.

 

More on Sagitta here https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/3-25ft-to-30ft-catamarans-designs/171-sagitta