A R T I C L E S

PASAB - Penzance, Around Scilly and Back
by Martin Berkeley

New for 2006, The Petit Bateau Trophy will be awarded to the first two handed entry.

Article below was written after the 2005 race:

Just returned from a great race, the Penzance, Around Scilly and Back or PASAB. Idyllic sailing in crystal waters past deserted sandy beaches, only 40 miles from Cornwall. The original 130 mile non-stop race from Penzance around the islands and back has been reduced to three legs but this does provide an opportunity to see the islands and visit the heart of island culture, The Mermaid Inn.

The 65 mile overnight delivery trip from Plymouth was a good warm-up for crew Dave and I in double handed mode on Alice's Mirror. The wind came down from 7 to 6 during the afternoon leaving a steep swell for the beat to the Lizard. Being too early to get into the wet dock in Penzance, we opted for Newlyn where we enjoyed a very relaxing sunny afternoon's snooze amongst the fishing trawlers with only one other yacht. The area is yet to be developed for yachts with no pontoons and only one shower next to the fish packing shed. It does have the only chip shop that I have seen with monkfish & chips and lemon sole & chips on the takeaway menu.

The 20 or so boats that appeared on the start line where mainly shallow draft cruisers with the notable exception of a Swan 55 and fellow PBer Allen Spencer-Smith in his amazing 'Mercurial Spirit', a Corby 30 originally built for William Mumford in 92 for the Round Britain Race. Currently in fully crewed mode she has her water ballast replaced by enough beer and rum & coke to sink Alice. Her massive masthead rig has radically swept back spreaders and no runners.

Friday night's 38 mile race out to the islands was a circuit of Mounts Bay followed by a 20 knot beat. Having fluffed the start and having to climb halfway up the mast to retrieve the spinaker halyard we were trailing in third as darkness fell. Shipping comes from all directions here with some even using their sirens to indicate an intention to 'hang a right at the Wolf'. Fishing trawlers, frustrated at having reached their quotas in five miutes seem to have perfected the new sport of sneaking up on yachts in the darkness.

Having had the tide turn against me on nearly every leg of PB2005 I studied the times and chartlets in detail and this began to pay off as we rounded the Wolf. The Swan had tacked too early and been swept north of the course behind us. 'Spirit' was staying ahead using their local knowledge of the route to good advantage. As we neared the islands however, the wind became more variable and by tacking on wind shifts we started to gain on them. Under pressure, in the small hours a Spirit crewmember must have accidentally knocked the masthead light switch off but a friendly blinding with Alice's spotlight notified them of the problem and the fact that we were now in front.

A cold front complete with rain and wind shift came through with the dawn and we were able to lay the finish line in front - Alice's first line-honours with her new owner!

I had not been to the Scilly Isles before but found navigation around and between the islands much more straightforward than had been predicted. Distances are short, the water so clear that you can see the rocks and there are so many transits you are sploit for choice. There is no alongside mooring for deep draft boats so when cruising, the advise is to change anchorage or mooring based upon the wind direction. With a requirement to be near the Mermaid we endured the visitors moorings where we soon discovered that there is no water taxi and we were the only ones without a dinghy. We set to work being over generous with our limited beer supply in an attempt to make new friends with slim people in oversized dinghies.

Allen's Spirit however could have been designed for the race as her 2.4m keel with 900kg bulb can be hoisted allowing her to come alongside the harbour wall - right next to the pub!

Having recovered from Friday night's race and Saturday night's pub visit, Sunday's race was around the southern islands and 'all drying rocks'. Sunshine and a good 15 knot breeze provided perfect sailing conditions for a short spinnaker run to Spanish Ledges followed by a close reach out to the Bishop. Scilly lobster fishermen must express their manhood in terms of the length of floating line and number of buoys on each pot - we sailed between two groups of buoys thirty feet apart only to discover, too late of course, that they were connected with floating line. The lobsters must have had a rough ride as they were dragged along the bottom at 7 knots before we could stop the boat and disentangle the mess. We caught some of the boats that passed us in our embarrassment and managed to finish third over the line.

Monday's race around the northern islands and rocks provided baking sunshine and light airs. Retirements, drifting backwards on the tide and a finish just within the time limit were offset by deserted beaches, stunning scenery, dolphins and seals.

Tuesday's race home again saw light winds and many applications of sun cream on the broad spinnaker reach to the Wolf and dead run to Penzance.

This is fantastic race to a great place that I hope to do again.

Full details at www.pzsc.org.uk/pasab.

The run home from the Islands

Martin Berkeley