We left Neyland Yacht Haven after filling up with fuel and water, and then picked up a mooring buoy at Dale to await suitable weather and tide to cross to Padstow. Dale is a pretty bay, sheltered from all but northeast/east winds just inside the Milford Haven entrance.
As the wind was forecast to be F5/6 with moderate to rough seas off the Cornish coast we decided to spend a day exploring Dale. Dale Flats to the north of Dale is an area of scientific interest. The bay dries considerably, exposing edible cockles, muscles and scallops. I was delighted to see several oystercatchers amongst the hundreds of gulls enjoying this wonderful feast. The oystercatcher has the most wonderful voice and is very clever at digging up cockles with his long red beak then breaking the shells open. Tony and I spent the whole afternoon just wondering the mud flats and then exploring the rock pools closer to Dale. In the warm sunny evening we sat on the front of Moonshadow watching members of the Dale Sailing club race back and forth past us.
Since that day we have been to Milford Haven Marina to seek refuge from the northeast winds, motored back to Dale to get an early start to Padstow, then back to Milford Haven to seek refuge from torrential rain and winds. Just as the weather looked in our favour, we discovered a leak from the engine! At the time of writing the engineer has just left, but rough sea has been forecast on the Cornish coast! Anyone fancy joining us in Milford Haven for Christmas?
Apologies for the delay in up-dating the blog. It has been difficult to get on line.
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