Best of British
It’s no accident that out of the five UK based Sunseeker offices, Torquay is one of the chosen locations (alongside London, Southampton and Poole). The self-styled English Riviera enjoys a temperate climate, palm trees, sandy beaches and a certain joie de vivre missing from the vast majority of the UK that makes it a perfect base for a Sunseeker yacht. Its accessibility is another bonus, Torquay is an easy run down the M5 from the Midlands and a little over 3 hours by train from London.
But it’s what you discover when you leave land that really sets this location apart. Torquay Marina is a sheltered deep water marina run by MDL Marinas and is ideally set up for high-performance luxury boating. There are over 20 Sunseekers currently berthed here, enjoying open access to the sea with no locks to bypass or rivers to navigate. And you will find out that there is some of the finest boating, not just in the country but, on the right day, in the world.
You don’t have to go far to find the magic. Head east past Thatcher’s Rock then swing to port around Hope’s Nose (Devon is famous for its quirky place names, a nearby park is called Daddyhole Plain) and you’ll find yourself heading in toward Babbacombe. About a 15-minute jaunt at 20 knots, it’s still part of Torquay but it looks for all the world like a sleepy Mediterranean village with its tiny harbour and white-washed houses set among verdant greenery. A funicular railway transports tourists to the small beach and the Cary Arms 5-star boutique hotel and spa owned by Peter de Savary offers a great place for lunch if you want to run ashore in the tender. Head the other way, south from Torquay across the bay past the seaside town of Paignton and beaches with sheltered anchorages, and you’ll find the charming fishing port of Brixham. Another high-quality MDL marina offers short- and long-term berthing (Freedom berthing allows berth holders at one MDL marina to use others free of charge) and the Breakwater Bistro offers the finest views and best breakfasts a short stroll from the marina, which you can walk off along the breakwater - to the lighthouse and back is precisely one mile. Stretch your legs again for a scenic evening harbourside stroll to Rockfish seafood restaurant (owned by celebrity chef Mitch Tonks) for more spectacular views across the fish quay and the freshest seafood – the restaurant claims that landed catch is in its kitchen an hour or so later.
You could while away a summer in this idyllic boating playground without ever leaving the bay (and some owners do just that), but you’d be missing a treat. Cruise around Berry Head (home of Britain’s highest, yet shortest, lighthouse) and head south west past spectacular unspoiled scenery and quiet coves for about five miles until you spot the daymark high up on a headland. Erected by Charles Seale Hayne, the founder member of Dartmouth Harbour Commission, it’s an 80ft octagonal tower built in 1864 to mark the entrance to the River Dart, an estuary set so deeply into spectacular high banks that it’s almost invisible until you get close inshore. For over 600 years Dartmouth Castle has silently guarded the entrance to ten miles of fantastically varied but always beautiful river. From the bustling towns of Dartmouth and Kingswear at the entrance to the wooded banks of the twisting narrow upper reaches to Totnes, it has something for everyone. About half of it is accessible at all states of tides, including Dittisham village, roughly halfway up. Pick up a swing mooring and tender ashore to the Ferry Boat Inn for dinner or climb the steep hill to the Red Lion Inn, a pub cum post office with its quiet terrace at its rear for spectacular views of the river (strangely, locals like to gather at the front of the pub in the lane on warm summer evenings).
Start Bay lies west of the River Dart, a huge sweep of granite cliffs and long sandy beaches shelving so steeply that you can deep-water anchor just yards from shore. Beware the clothing-optional stretches of beach if that’s not your thing! Yet again it’s an area steeped in history. In 1943, Slapton Sands was taken over by the allied forces to use as a rehearsal area for the D-Day Landings. Further on, the ghostly remains of Hallsands village are all that remain after a vicious storm in 1917 breached sea defences and destroyed the houses.
Start Point, treacherous in poor weather, benign in calm winds, marks the end of Start Bay. From here it’s a short passage to Prawle Point, the southernmost tip of Devon. The busy but beautiful Salcombe Estuary on the other side is well worth a visit. Choose from a swinging buoy off the town to watch sailing dinghies dart like butterflies through the moorings while water taxis and tenders churn back and forth. Or head further up the estuary to The Bag and the relative peace of the visitor pontoons. You’ll need a tender or the yacht taxi service to go ashore.
If city life and marinas are more your thing, Plymouth is an hour’s cruise further on. With a wealth of marinas, this naval port offers all the facilities you could want, wrapped up in yet more great maritime history.
And having come this far, it would be a shame not to push on one more hour and visit Fowey. Anchor for lunch and a swim in the crystal-clear waters of Lantic Bay just to the east, then mosey in to the river late afternoon and let the harbour team find you a buoy for the night. Head for the Old Quay House hotel and restaurant for some fine dining and quiet reflection on how the south west of England offers some of the very best boating in the world.
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