Beating to the Lizard
Our 4th dawn at sea brought the Scillies in to view as we rounded the Bishop light and set off for the Lizard. The wind is NE and due to back N or even NW, but as ever the time is unspecified. Neptune and Mr Grib have thus set us these nice little problems : do we point and get on the left hand side of the beat , or foot our way through the typically disturbed seas that always exist hereabouts. Option one puts us in the right place for the wind shift , but the wrong place for the foul tide at the Lizard which is strongest inshore. Option two gives us better speed and less tide , but at risk of being hung out to dry if caught offshore when (if!) the wind backs.
As you can imagine Chris and I are wriggling our toes with delight about such arcane mysteries and the mood on the boat is one of happy , obsessive delight . It makes me wonder about our sanity as most sensible folk would prefer a straight run in, but this little scenario is the hand we have been dealt and it will do just fine.