Day 5 St.Ives to Lamorna – 25th May – 23.1 nm
I was nervous about Land’s End.
Some spots have a reputation, but with a little thought and some
good planning these reputations are often something of an anti-climax. Unfortunately today’s planning was not so
good, I had messed up and we were late. The in-van team vibe was suffering accordingly,
the stress levels started to rise.
Wheeling the boat along the back streets of St. Ives,
dodging the oblivious holiday throng was testing enough. Then I got lost. The steam
was coming out of my ears when I finally reached the beach.
But as I put my deck on and slid off the sand, calm
descended. Back in the office now – time to get on with the job.
Pendeen Head came and went with my first fruity, don’t take
it for granted, tide-race.
Cape Cornwall brought a smile as I continued south. I
remember it being my first landmark heading north once again on the 2012 trip.
Then rain and drizzle approached where Sennen should have and Longships
Lighthouse loomed out of the gloom. Land’s End slid by, nicely.
But then the tide-race at Gwennap Head made itself known. Flows
met and the water was confused, chaotic - the swell didn't help. Time to get
sneaky; I headed out, chasing shoulders and looking for gaps. It was challenging
for a while as I surfed back through the smoother bits and headed in wuss-mode into
the eddy. Sod the flow, I was happy to slog it out to a later finish for a
little peace and quiet – geography dictated that it shouldn't be a long day
anyway.
The peaceful haven of Lamorna was a pleasant end to the day;
it would give me a good jump off point to cross Mount’s Bay the next day.
First corner done.
