Easter Weekend 2025 – Cruise to Dartmouth
Feelings of Déjà vu as the prospect of a wet and windy passage to Dartmouth loomed on the horizon similar to last year. But the enthusiasm of the Motorboat and Cruising Group to cruise in company was strong enough to overcome this. We had 10 boats, comprising of 3 Motor Boats and 7 Yachts, including Whisper, Yolo, Southern Hey, Mojito, Quintet, Oyster, Jupiter, Far-a-Day, Amares and Piseas.
DAY 1 – To avoid the worst weather we wisely departed a day early to arrive on Thursday with the Rear Commodore for Sailing, Martin Godfrey, organising an advance party to ensure all boats participating were safely berthed. It was a prudent plan. Two days earlier Devon had all its average monthly rainfall for April in one day causing an excess of fresh water and stronger current on the River Dart. This made berthing on the Inner Town Quay on a flood tide tricky and needing teamwork between those onboard and those ashore. Thanks to the Harbourmaster for assisting us with their rib.
DAY 2 – On Good Friday at 0500hrs it started to rain hard with a gusty wind. Quintet’s loose halyards added to the early dawn wake up call. Excursions ashore for breakfast and shopping may have been dampened by the weather but our socialising brightened up with pre-dinner drinks onboard Amares and a lively time of conversation amongst fellow club cruisers. Dinner ashore was disappointing in terms of quality and quantity, so to brighten up the evening some of us met up in the bar with live music at the Dartmouth Yacht Club.
DAY 3 – Saturday saw signs of weather changing as we took the lower ferry across river to the Royal Dart Yacht Club to attend their Boat Jumble and grab some real bargains before having coffee in their modern styled clubhouse. In the afternoon Whisper offered its now traditional onboard hospitality with volumes of champagne, wine, cold cuts and sushi. With nearly 20 people to cater for Martin and Joan did an excellent job.
The evening progressed with pre-dinner cocktails at the 1620 Bar, before moving on to the Dartmouth Yacht Club who had reserved their upper-floor function room especially for us. The Bushell’s Riverside restaurant next door provided generous sharing platters for us and our guests, who included Ted Wilson from the Cruising Association.
Day 3 – On Sunday the sun finally shone down on a glorious day that started with the Easter Bunny placing a surprise chocolate egg on very boat at 0730hrs to supplement breakfast. Then several of us took an early morning ferry ride up river to explore Totnes, learning about the River Dart’s history along the way. The Rear Commodore managed to negotiate a huge discount on the ferry tickets at £6 return !
Back on the Town Quay it was time for Oyster, a 34 foot MCA coded Swift Trawler to offer onboard hospitality using their flybridge. Owners Steve and Chris, and of course Otto their dog, made excellent hosts for the group to make merry.
DAY 4 – Monday saw a well co-ordinated departure by the fleet with a few heavy heads onboard after the night before. Whisper and Yola were last to leave but quickly caught up with an impressive fly-by of all boats. With everyone back in their home port safely the Motorboat & Cruising Group look forward to more adventures in the near future.
A slide show of photos and videos clips taken over the weekend will be shared very shortly.
Want to cruise in company ? Then join us at Happy Hour this Friday to hear more about our plans for 2025.
