Sailing to Sutton Harbour

As much fun as we were having in Falmouth, it was time to head out.  We had made plans to keep Terrapin in Plymouth for the winter, based on suggestions from Jenny and TJ on Rocket Science who we met in La Coruna, Spain.  Plymouth sounded like a great place to spend a cold and rainy six months and the beginning of those six months had arrived.

We picked a nice Saturday afternoon to sail the 45 miles east to Plymouth with the wind about 130 degrees behind us - and nice following seas.  We also left at first light in order to time the tides in our favor.  

Sutton Harbor where we were headed has a lock system (think Panama Canal) so that the water levels remain consistent and the low tide that would typically dry out the harbor, does not drop the water levels below a predetermined height.  The locks also help to keep swell from storms out of the harbour.  However, in order to do this, the lock is only opened for three hours before and after high tide (aka "free flow").  It is possible to "lock-in" at other times as necessary, through a series of steps that essentially let you in one door, wait while it closes and then the other door opens to let you out.  

As we motored through the lock and into Sutton Harbor - our slip was straight in front of us.  We secured Terrapin and headed out to check out the town of Plymouth.

Leaving Falmouth at dawn's early light

Sailing past the Royal Citadel into Sutton Harbor

The outside lock at Sutton Harbor

Into our protected marina with the lock behind us

Our home for the winter

The Sutton Harbor lock under the white bridge - next to the fish statue.  Also, you can see the tide level on the rock wall - this is low tide so the lock is closed).  Lastly, the Mayflower steps are on the bottom left where the people are standing.  This is where the Mayflower left from about 397 years ago.  More about that later.