Southern England and home again

Phew, it’s December already and we still haven’t updated the website. Better do it now, if only so that in 10 years’ time we can read back what on earth we got up to this year.

Back to last summer… After a night at anchor off Tresco and a night on a mooring buoy in Hugh Town on the main island of St. Mary’s, we found two more anchorages off St. Martin’s. The weather was perfect for some proper “hanging out”: not too much wind, sunny and a very pleasant temperature. We also had some lovely walks on St. Mary’s and St. Martin’s.

On 13 August it was time to move on after all. Off to Falmouth, the largest natural harbour in the UK. In the days of sail it was a much sought-after port because you could get in safely even in bad weather, and it has an enormously long history. There are spectacular forts at the entrance to defend it. But first we had to get there… All afternoon we’d seen a Border Force vessel cruising around; it was calling all sorts of boats on the VHF asking about their intentions, where they were heading and whether they’d registered with the new electronic arrival system. They skipped us. But of course, they had to be home in Falmouth by five, so there was just time for one more boat: us. And since it had been too lumpy further out earlier in the day to send the RIB across to boats, now was the perfect moment.

Madam, may we come aboard? Yes, of course. Though we’re only 10 minutes from the entrance, and we still have to drop the sails and navigate. No problem, just carry on, do your thing. Meanwhile firing dozens of questions at you just as you’re making your approach. Extremely awkward, especially when a Code 0 sheet gets jammed while furling the jib. Not unpleasant lads, but really no idea about seamanship. Anyway, just inside the entrance they were done and off they went.

Odd, there are Tall Ships everywhere. Rang the first marina: do you have a berth? Errr, yes, but it’s the Tall Ships Races! Oh, how fun. After one more call back there was room for us on a really nice pontoon with “small” tall ships and a very friendly New Zealander, with whom we polished off a lovely bottle of Marlborough wine. We were moored right below the “Small Ships” museum, which we visited, and there was a sort of outdoor square with lots of little restaurants. Not terribly authentic, but tasty (and touristy). Falmouth was rather full of tourists anyway. Quite understandable, because it’s a lovely little town with lots of nice shops. A fair amount of knick-knacks, cheeses, sausages and above all books were stocked up on here.

Arnold took the train from here to visit friends somewhere in the UK, so from here on it was just the three of us. After one more night anchored “up river” on the Fal, we were off again early.

The plan was to head for the river Yealm, but halfway through the day a warning about sudden bad weather came over the VHF. On the ocean we’re very focused on the weather, so we’re never caught by surprise. But here, coastal sailing, I can get a bit lax about it. Luckily there’s still the VHF, so quickly head for shore. If the weather’s going to turn anyway, better go somewhere we know what we’re getting: back to Fowey then. A wonderful spot.

The floating pontoon at our favourite spot just below William and Arne’s house was still free. The next day was still a bit unsettled, so a good chance to explore the town again. There’s a wonderful butcher here, so another big shop. With Ella along you can go to some of the posher restaurants, so we tried two of them in Fowey. The Italian was fantastic and very convivial; the trendy one was a bit disappointing, especially the organic wines: sour and musty. Well, now we know.

Then on to a few other favourite places, first Lymington. A nice wander around, the ladies off to look at art, Kees off to the boat jeweller (another boat dollar gone). And then on to Cowes, where we end up almost every time we’re in the UK. It’s the English sailing mecca, so there’s always something going on. Sadly the Spinlock shop is now just an office, but Musto had my favourite trousers in 42L, unheard of! Since we’d bought a 10-day pass for English Heritage Sites in Falmouth, I managed to drag the ladies along to Osborne House. I’d always wanted to have a look there, but you first have to take the ferry across and then the bus or an hour’s walk. The weather was glorious and the house is truly impressive. It was built by Queen Victoria and her husband Albert, because she thought George IV’s little country retreat in Brighton was rubbish. It’s a fairly modest house for someone who ruled a third of the globe… Funnily enough, history repeated itself: her children didn’t want to live there. These days it belongs to a trust that keeps it as beautiful as possible without financial support from the Royal Family. The garden and the view over the Solent are especially gorgeous.

The next day on to our friend Janet, who runs the King & Queen pub in Hamble. Marion met her in 2015 when the boat was at the Southampton Boat Show. She’s done loads of sailing and has fantastic stories about famous sailors, including some Dutch ones, which we won’t repeat here, but above all she loves white wine just as much as Marion does. Very compatible, then!

After that I’d arranged a visit to the B&G engineers, who these days have an office on the waterfront in Southampton. We’d barely tied up before they came to pick me up for a visit to their office. Came away with a new sail computer to test straight away. They’re incredibly nice guys, and I try to help them wherever I can. Normally you wouldn’t go to Southampton itself, but it wasn’t bad at all: there was a nice craft beer pub (recommended by Ben and Matt) and we had some pretty authentic Turkish food.

The next day onwards again, and because of time constraints we sailed through the night once more. We carried on to the entrance of the Walton Backwaters. We’d been here in 2010. This time we dried out at the entrance in fine weather.

Then up the river Orwell to Ipswich. This time we chose the other marina, where they had a berth for us that was an “exact fit”. On closer inspection Ipswich is a very English town indeed, with all the typical features: lots of poverty, odd little shops and blokes in souped-up cars. But also some rather nice bits in between, including a beautiful museum (Christchurch Mansion) with lots of paintings by Constable and Gainsborough, who were both born nearby and painted a great deal in the area.

One last night passage brought us back to Harlingen in the early hours. We were quite looking forward to getting home, because Ella was about to get the keys to her very first house, and I could finally, after two years of waiting, take delivery of the “key” to the Lucid Air! Hooray!