PART4
After making the switch from sail to power with the purchase of a Nelson 38, Dave and Cas Peace capitalise on it by moving house to Devon and cruising their boat along the South Coast to Brixham
For many years, we had been thinking about moving closer to the sea. Having recently retired, holiday haunts such as Brixham, Dartmouth and Salcombe were calling to us. After spending most of the winter searching, we finally found our dream home in Stoke Gabriel, a lovely village just a 15-minute walk from the River Dart. One of our initial concerns was finding new moorings for Sea Hound. We all know the Dart is popular, so we didn’t think it would be a viable option, especially as we needed a walk-on mooring. We looked at Torquay and Brixham, and found that Brixham Marina has a lot going for it, including good shelter most of the year, easy 24/7 access and no tidal restraints to worry about. You can also walk into Brixham with all its varied delights, as well as being able to explore the Dart and take day trips to Dartmouth.
And so, as the new season dawned, we were all set to move to our new home, taking Sea Hound with us. We were full of plans for longer cruises to new areas. However, moving into our new Devon home was proving problematic and it was mid-March before we were ready to go. Or so we thought. A last-minute phone call interrupted our packing to inform us that lock-down was imminent and that due to Covid, we wouldn’t be going anywhere for at least three months! All visits to Sea Hound were banned, as we couldn’t travel to her home marina in Portsmouth. Three months passed quietly, with far too much beer and Scrabble, but we were safe and healthy, which is more than many people were at the time.
June beckoned, lockdown finally eased and we were out of the house and heading down to Devon faster than a sardine being chased by a pack of tuna. It was so good to finally be there, even if life still felt very odd with the streets very quiet. By July, we started to think about moving the boat from Portsmouth to Brixham and, when a week of calm and settled weather arrived, we took our chance.
Travelling by train through England’s gorgeous countryside to Portsmouth Harbour was an absolute delight. My trusty crew was waiting at the station and we hopped over to Gosport on the ferry in the afternoon sun. Finding Sea Hound just as I had left her and looking great was a wonderful relief and we stepped aboard to relax with a cool beer or two before going out to have supper on the Lightship in Haslar, which had just re-opened. Despite strict Covid rules, we had a nice evening before retiring to the boat for a nightcap and some sleep. It had been a long day and tomorrow was going to be our first trip of the year.
FREED
