Trinc 13

   I had arranged for a weeks leave during August and asked round for crew, everyone had arranged other things, so Bob and myself agreed to go it alone. I drove to Bob’s house in Preston on Friday 20th August for 10.00am and we set off in Bob’s car for Milford Haven. Our plan was to let the wind decide where to go. We were soon on the M6 and decided to follow the Welsh border rather than stick to the Motorway. The distance is shorter, but you can’t hold the same speed so the time it takes for either route is about the same. It was motorway until we went around Chester and joined the A484; we then headed south and fairly quiet roads. We made good time until we were approaching Newtown on the Welsh Borders where traffic brought us to a virtual standstill. It took us around half an hour to cover just two miles. A supermarket was spotted and we pulled in after eating some sandwiches we had brought with us we bought some provisions to last us the next few days. We had planned to stay on the A484 but Bob’s Satnav had different ideas and we ended up on the road to Aberystwyth, after taking a couple of B roads to shorten our journey we ended up on the A40 heading for Haverfordwest and then on to Milford Haven. We arrived at Milford Haven Marina around 5.30 in the afternoon.
         After unloading the car and stowing everything aboard Trinculo, it was food and then we headed for the pub. Our first port of call was the Lord Nelson where the Real Ale was not on, so rather disappointed we left and had a look at the Alma and the Trafalgar, both of which were almost empty. We walked up to the Kimberly which is a Marsden’s pub so we expected hand pumps, alas not but the Pedigree wasn’t bad. The pub was a bit noisy for our tastes and we recalled another one by the docks. We walked down to it; it is called the Heart of Oak. The beer wasn’t up to much but it was an interesting pub, with as you would expect as we were close to the docks nautical thyme. We had a last one at Martha’s Vineyard by the marina which had Fullers London Pride on and a couple from Brains.
          The Following morning (Saturday) was wet and we decided to stay in Milford Haven. We spent the day checking out the boat and calling at the shops. I was filling the water tank when a man called Max who is the local RNLI Sea Safety Officer past by and told me that they were doing a free lifejacket inspection on the car park. It was something to do and all the lifejackets on board were taken. Max checked them all and explained how to disarm and arm the automatic inflation device and what to look for, which we found useful. Max also offered a boat safety check and we made arrangements for him to call the following morning. After our evening meal on board we tried the Lord Nelson again, still no Real Ale so we retired to Martha’s Vineyard for the evening.
         Sunday arrived and it was dry. Max duly arrived and we went through the boats safety equipment which we passed easily with only a couple of things slightly out of date. The Pier Head was called on the VHF and after a couple of attempts we received a reply and were on the list for the Lock Out. We were called forty minutes before the scheduled time and told to move off our berth and standby in the basin. This we did and fifteen minutes later we were in the Lock with a small boat rafted up to us. The Lock is slow to empty and it was at least twenty minutes before we were able to move out in to the Haven. We turned east in light winds and soon had the foresail out. The engine was stopped and even with the tide with us our progress was slow. The Mainsail was unfurled and we noticed a slight problem, the sail at the top was creased as the sail had fully come out of its furling. We played around for ten minutes and gave up; it would come out when we had more wind. Our speed had barely increased and we ghosted towards the Cleddau Bridge past Neyland on our Portside and Pembroke Dock on our Starboard. As we approached the Bridge the wind disappeared altogether and the engine was started. We moved on up river to Lawrenny, where we picked up a mooring in a fairly strong tide. After a meal on board we launched the Dinghy and made our way across to the Lawrenny Arms, where we sampled Theakstons XB and the Brains Bitter. The pub was obviously an eating place and was quiet, by ten o’clock we were the only customers in the place. We made our way back to the boat.
         The following morning the wind had increased dramatically from the west and it was raining. We decided to stay put, the rain had stopped by lunchtime but the wind was as strong as ever. We went ashore and paid for our mooring (£10) and then walked in to the village to the community shop where we bought some provisions. On returning to Trinculo a discussion took place and we decided to walk through to Cresswell Quay that evening following the coastal path. The weather was fine but windy and we set off at seven that evening. We expected it to take us about an hour to walk the two and a half miles; it took us an hour and a half. We had a look around the pleasant Cresswell Quay and had a chat with the crew of a bilge keel yacht that had arrived with the tide an hour earlier. We headed for the pub which is called the Creswell, no hand pumps but barrels placed on stillage behind the bar. This is very rare these days, I asked what beer is it and was told “Firewater”. I have to admit it did not taste quite right, but was drinkable. I was a little disappointed when I later learned it was Worthington keg. We chatted to a local man called John who told us that he used to work in Bristol and London, but had decided that there was more to life and moved back to his native West Wales. He offered to drive us back to Lawrenny which we gladly accepted. He drove the two and a half miles back and accepted a pint as payment. He also told us that the locals call the Lawrenny Arms “The Doghouse” and ask us if we had noticed a slope in the floor by the bar, this was so the floor could be hosed down when the Hunting Dogs lived here. He then left us and after finishing our drinks we returned to Trinculo for the night.
         It remained very windy the following day so we took the dinghy to the other side of the river from Lawrenny and walked through to the road. Just over a mile later we entered the village of Cosheston and found “The Brewery Inn” (Good Beer Guide) where we had lunch and sampled the Ansell’s Bitter and the Wye Valley Summer of 69. We then walked back by a different route, we followed a footpath down to Mill Bay where we joined the Coastal Path. A very pleasant woodland and coastal walk back to where we had left the dinghy. Once back on Trinculo a relaxing afternoon followed and then food and an evening trip back to the Lawrenny Arms or “Doghouse” as we could now call it. The Bar was busier than it had been since we arrived, but by ten the number of customers had fallen considerably. The wind had finally eased that evening and we made plans to leave the following morning.
          We awoke to little wind and a cloudy sky, we had breakfast and prepared to get moving, guess what it started to rain heavily. We put our plans to move on hold and decided to wait till lunchtime. Well you have to think positively don’t you. Needless to say at lunchtime it was raining more heavily than it had been earlier, a rather boring afternoon followed. The rain gave Bob a chance to write a list of repairs and renovations for Trinculo to be done over the winter. An even quieter evening followed and we caught up with some sleep.
         The following morning was bright and clear and after going ashore to pay our mooring fees we slipped our mooring and headed out. We sailed slowly back towards the Cleddau Bridge where we dropped the anchor and went to investigate a pub by the bridge. We landed on a Jetty which we later found out is owned and maintained by the Local Authority. The Pub is called the Jolly Sailor and after sampling a pint and viewing the menu we decided to return that evening for food. We asked about local shops and were told that there were none, we then went over to Pembroke Dock in the dinghy for some shopping. We landed at the small pier with a pontoon around it. A short five minute walk away there was a Wilkinson’s, a Liddell and an Asda. We were soon back at the dinghy with our shopping. It was then back to Trinculo for a light snack and an afternoon siesta. That evening we made our way back to the Jolly Sailor for the evening, the food and the beer were absolutely fine.
        The following morning the weather was again bright and sunny. The Anchor was raised and we moved across to Pembroke Dock. We moved on to the Pontoon close to the small pier and tied up. I spoke to a local who was fishing off the pontoon, he told me the fishing was better of the larger pier just West of us, but a ferry hit it several years ago and it was condemned, but nothing has happened since. We made our way in to town and after calling at a couple of shops we had a look at the two pubs in the Good Beer Guide, the first has taken over the old Railway Station and the second is called the Flying Boat Inn with it recollections of a bygone industry. Neither had opened yet so we made our way back to Trinculo and slipped our lines and moved across to the Nyland Yacht Club where we tied up to the pier. There is a bottle bank close by so our empties were off loaded. We asked about the Ferry House Inn (Good Beer Guide) on Hazelbeach and were told that it was at the next pier along. After a look around it was back on board and we made our way west to the next pier. Here we found the Ferry House Inn at Hazelbeach where we stopped for a drink. The tide was falling so we headed back to Trinculo intending to run across to Angle Bay to sit out Low Water and then make our way back in to Milford Haven. Our lines were slipped and we moved out around six feet and then stopped, we had run aground. After around five minutes of engine revving and leaning we gave up. Trinculo stayed upright for a while and dropped on to her Portside and we went for a walk. Hazelbeach is a pleasant little spot and it was around two hours later we returned to Trinculo. The tide had turned, but it was still another two hours before we had enough water to move off. We had a last sail the short distance back to Milford Haven, on arrival we called the Pierhead for permission to enter the Lock, he told us to standby and we waited patiently. We eventfully received permission and we made our way in. We tied up at our berth and spent some time sorting the boat out. It was then food and back to the Lord Nelson, they had some Real Ale on and then back to Martha’s Vineyard. The following morning the car was loaded and we headed for home. Newtown on the Welsh Borders again delayed us and when back on the M6 the signs told us that the Motorway was closed just north of Preston. We stayed on the M6 until Preston East and it looked like the motorway had just been reopened. Preston was in Gridlock and only Bob’s local knowledge kept us moving.


         Saturday    21st. August                                     Milford marina
        Sunday      22nd. August                                    Milford marina to Lawrenny              4 sea mls             3 hrs 20 mins
        Monday     23rd. to Wednesday 24th. August     Lawrenny
        Thursday    26th. August                                     Lawrenny to Burton ferry                1.39 sea mls               50 mins
        Friday        27th. August                                     Burton ferry-Pembroke-Neyland YC-Hazle Beach-Milfod marina
                                                                                                                                         2.6 sea mls            5 hrs 30 mins
       Saturday     28th. August                                     Milford marina


                                                                                                                      Total              8 sea mls