In August I wrote about the perils of a houseboat off Newhaven. They are clearly taking some care with the last houseboat: she has been boarded up and ready to leave for a little while, but the weather has not been suitable, and when it has been good, the tug was not available. Her departure will open up a 200-metre stretch on the east side of the Bag for potentially different uses.
By contrast, the Egremont is staying put for a few more months. Two things are now clear: first, that everything hangs on the large Heritage Lottery Fund bid which is being considered as you read this. , Second, as there is no Plan B, this means that the Egremont will leave Salcombe whatever happens next Spring, either for a million-pound refit or to the breakers yard.
The summer has yet again reflected the changing climate. 2015 is on course – globally – to be one of the hottest on record but because the rising Arctic temperature pushes the jetstream south of the UK, we end up with cooler, sometimes wetter and windier weather. However, so far, this has not turned out badly for the Harbour: although fewer boats have visited this season, this has been made up for by the fact that they have stayed longer, but none as the result of being stormbound by high winds. Less movement gives everyone a better experience and the Harbour has not been particularly overcrowded at all. However, those of us who swim are not yet having the pleasure of the water getting up to 20 degrees C, which it often does in September. The heavy rains have kept the temperature only just above 18.
The high winds have kept the lifeboats busy. Their year started off quite quietly but the busy summer season saw a lot of shouts, swelled this year by a number of people getting onto difficulty at sea on sit-on kayaks. That kind of kayak – probably any kayak – is really not suited to rounding Start Point in half a gale, with wind against tide, and you soon get too exhausted to carry on. It’s best to stay in and explore the many creeks of the Harbour.
There has been no movement yet with the Salcombe Harbour Hotel’s proposed large pontoon. This seems to have been shelved not by public protest, nor concern about eel beds or seahorses, but by the sheer cost of it all.
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