At least the list of “things still to do” seems to be getting smaller, thank goodness. And, of course, top of these was to get the boat to Plymouth. So Richie and I arrived by train on Friday morning and, by stint of resisting the Cappucino breaks that seemed to punctuate our earlier boat-readying sessions, we managed to get through most of the list.There were a few hiccups, such as the numbers on the hull that had to be changed (too small), but we finally got away from Port Hamble by 4pm. It was a bit of a slog against the tide out of the Solent, not helped by the drizzly weather, which occasionally relented and rained properly. But the wind was fair, albeit a beat and we made good progress, taking turns at three-hourly watches through the night and, although still foggy, the clouds cleared above us, to reveal a star-spangled sky.
Dawn found us most of the way across Lyme Bay, though the wind, which had been fairly brisk through the night, left us so we hitched up the donkey and motored for the final stretch. I even took a couple of sun sights – but the new books and rust on the brain cells prevented me from doing the actual clever bit of calculating where we were. Actually, it wasn’t difficult, with Bolt Head just behind my left shoulder…but that’s not the point.
So, the boat is now safely tucked up in the marina at Plymouth, straining at her lines to be off and we’re back in our respective homes, looking up long-range weather forecasts and trying to think of anything we’ve forgotten… Trev
p.s. Also working behind the scenes, Grace is busy gathering together the ingredients for several cakes, whilst the rest of the food is sorted into day bags. Rich.
