9th July 2010

Rose's blog

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Rose
RNLI Supporter
RNLI Supporter
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2009 3:55 pm
Location: Plymouth, at the moment

9th July 2010

Post by Rose »

Ok so I didn't make it back quite as soon as I had intended! I seriously don't know where the time goes some weeks.

It is my triplet brothers' 26th birthday(s)!! Today the sun is shining down but on the day before their birth in 1984 I seem to recall that York Minster was ablaze with flames. An omen perhaps? A warning of something evil about to be unleashed on the land? Three is half of six, and there are three of them.......I am sure that adds up to 666 somehow. Interesting................. (Love them really (you have to say that or they will unleash the beasts of hell on you!))

Anyway on with the recording of events for posterity and such. Where were we? Ah yes Dartmouth. Love it, but leave it behind we must, otherwise our round the UK trip would have been rather lame. So from Dartmouth we returned to Churston Cove for the evening and then on to Teignmouth. We were rather worried about the entrance but preparation prevented poor performance and all was well, despite the very tricky mooring due to strong currents. Only a fishing rod was harmed in the manoeuvre. Teighmouth itself was quite a surprise, a melting pot of proper fishermen, tacky tourism and the odd little gem thrown in. Quite jolly. We even got kudos form one of the locals, who taught Jeff how to correctly dismantle a crab, for visiting as apparently the entrance puts a lot of visiting yachts off. We however are made of hardy stuff! Perhaps the best thing I received from this little town was the gift of ginger and beer or more accurately the discovery of Crabbies ALCOHOLIC ginger beer. Oh my good grief and so on. I am in love with the stuff. A dangerous habit perhaps but since Teignmouth every harbour has been searched high and low for the stuff. Try it, it is good I promise. Also it could be said to be medicinal. Ginger is good for seasickness no?

Leaving Teighmouth we had every intention of staying in Exmouth over night but as mooring and taxi was so expensive we went further up river and stayed at the very hospitable sailing and fishing club for the bargain price of £5. Really friendly and welcoming in there and the meal we had down the road in he pub made up for having to walk there in the rain. Next it was up to the Exeter canal. I was looking forward to this as I went to Uni to do my MSc in Exeter and felt a bit like returning home. Going through the canal was cool and Jeff got a bit over excited about the whole thing and had to call his dad to gloat! Bless them both :) I was surprised to see how many boats where up there and how many people lived aboard. There seemed to be quite a little community going on and they where all very friendly and welcoming to us. The pub there. The Turf Lock, was especially nice with really good food and wine and a lovely atmosphere. I think the only draw back was the 5 or 6 mile walk if you wanted to get to Exeter itself (there is a water taxi at weekends and in high season I think, and a ferry over to Topsham where there is a train) which for some reason I ended up doing 3 times!

For the first time since we set off I left Isabella and Jeff at the Lock and hired a car to drive up to Stratford for my friends hen do. It felt weird to be away and I was a little worried that staying in a cottage would remind me of all the mod cons I was missing and would make returning harder. No worries though. I had a brilliant time with the girls but I didn't feel the need to mutiny or abandon ship on my return. Phew!! We did however end up with a parking ticket for over £400 when we accidentally parked the hire car slightly over a disabled space and they towed it away. Little bit pricey in my opinion but we tried not to let it get us too bitter. The owner of the pub bought us a drink to show camaraderie which was the up side and very much appreciated!

Next stop.....Lyme Regis! Interesting! We were slightly misled about the towns new pontoon and it soon became clear that we would have to dry out, yes dry out, against the quay side. Oh my god. I felt totally sick. I think I was so nervous that my brain just shut down my adrenal system and suddenly I felt quite calm and relaxed as if I were a spectator to the whole thing. The harbour master helped (a bit) and we were left to it. Well it worked, we survived but we both had a sleepless night and I kept walking up in a heap against the wall as Isabella settled at a rather peculiar angle (pics in Jeff's blog I believe)

Despite the relatively small weather and tide window neither of us fancied another night sleeping upright so we set sail to round the infamous Portland Bill. Nervous? Us? Much! Jeff tends become quite animated when stressed and as we we got closer to rounding the headland he was chatty away like mad. I have no idea what he was saying but I am sure it was very relevant and interesting. Another thing about Jeff is that he is a perfectionist and is always planned and armed with all the information he can find or work out and so, perhaps to his surprise but no so much to mine, we time our arrival pretty much perfectly and even let out a little, but respectful, laugh as we rounded and passed through the danger zone. Weymouth was reached and nourishment was had. Very disappointing Mr Whippy in Weymouth. Made the mistake of getting one from inside a dodgy newsagents rather than from a proper ice cream place. Seriously tasted like actual wet cardboard.

The next day saw Jeff triumph over St Albans head though we did get a little taster of how it might have felt if our timings had been a little off. Even as we passed through the sea was chaotic and confused. We had a lovely bank holiday Monday in Poole Harbour just off the town. Lunar went mental in the park chasing other dogs and generally looking rabid and I found a pink and white, I repeat pink and white Mr Whippy. Ah the joy. I felt like I was six again. Brillig! One of the days in Poole we were at a pick up buoy and I stuck my head out to see what all the commotion was, ready to tut and tsk at the motor yacht that appeared to be circling us, only to discover they were filiming some sort of movie. Perhaps Isabella will be famous, though not sure how welcome that fame would be as Jeff thinks it was an actual porn film............hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm (picture on Jeff's blog (family friendly content don't worry))

OK I must interrupt this as Jeff has just returned from filling the petrol tanks and calmly informed me that police think a bomb has been left on this pontoon and we will all be evacuated soon whilst the dispose of it! Right. Um. Well. Nice.

Think I might take a short break
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