“Are you ready?”, he asked, an hour before our launch slot. Luckily we were, and so began our adventures on Molly of Mylor. I had been spending the winter months getting to know our new-to-us Cornish Crabber 26 and learning to carry out the winter maintenance tasks while ashore in the yard at Penryn in Falmouth. We had loaded our gear the previous day, before her cradle was moved from her winter store location to a spot near the slipway. Molly was quickly and efficiently lifted off the cradle and trundled down to the water; I had to remind myself that although this was a first for us, it was very much a routine task for the crew at the yard.
The whole process was reassuringly uneventful and we warped her onto a pontoon and started the engine for the first time. Niki and I were joined by long-time boating friend and fellow Cornish Crabber owner, Russell. He was coming along to help us get used to manoeuvring Molly under engine, our previous boat being much smaller and lighter with an outboard.
The location we chose for our greenhorn boat handling were the pontoons up the Fal river past Turnaware Point. Conditions were ideal with little wind, warm sun and neap tides; it was a most enjoyable introduction to Molly. We soon reached the pontoons and both Niki and I practiced bringing Molly alongside up and down-wind. I was very pleasantly surprised with how well the Crabber 26 handles under engine both forward and astern.
It was now the time to try out the sails and we set full main, staysail and jib in the very light winds prevailing. Motor-sailing downriver, we were passed by Cornish Crabber’s owner Peter Thomas, aboard another ’26 – he took some photos of us and I was able to thank him for delivering a replacement luff spar onto the boat.
The next item to try out was the anchor, so we put into St Mawes and dropped anchor in the harbour opposite the town to munch our pasties. Not much of a test of anchor holding, but good practice deploying and retrieving the tackle.
By this time, the wind had died to nothing and our attempts to sail in the bay achieved little, so we motored in to Falmouth, took a berth in the yacht haven and retired to town for a well-earned celebratory curry.
Meandering Molly 
I found your blog on cruising the Stockholm archipelago. We are planning on taking our Swallow Baycruiser 23 there in mid August into September.
Two questions; how bad were the mosquitos in August? And do you think we will find too many of the shops, marinas etc closed by Aug 18? We were intentionally going after Swedish summer holidays to avoid crowds, but now I am having second thoughts…
PS. We will be attending the Swallow Yachts rally in Mylor July 9-13. If you are around, it would be great to have a drink and pick your brains!
LikeLike
Hi, we did not have much trouble with midges. There is a mosquito hour at dawn and dusk, but outside that, not too bad. We made mosquito nets for the hatches and wore long trousers/sleeves much of the time.
The season is short and early in Sweden, so you’ll find it quiet after mid August. Shops are pretty thin, so you’ll need to plan catering. There was only one shop near our base, though on the mainland you can get basics at petrol stations if they’re in walking distance. When I was planning, I took as much long-life food as possible. However, part of the adventure is “taking a leap”.
LikeLike