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Ahoy Shipmate!
Checking the VHF...Well, last weekend we took Ozzy 2 on a sea trial round to Exeter. We were warned off due to a forecast of fairly strong winds and rough seas, but chanced it and found the crossing smooth and pretty much flat, taking a mere 3 hours to get from Dartmouth to Topsham. once in Topsham we celebrated the birthdays of Marian and Zoe at the Turf Locks with a delicious BBQ cooked by my own fair hands (you'll be pleased to know that none of it ended up in the water as the huge gas barbie was very securely fastened to the ground!). It was a glorious evening finished off with beautiful sunsets (see the pics) and we got to spend time woith our families and marvel at the developing genius of our little niece Lillie and the tummy growth of my Sisters. Made me realise I'm going to miss a lot while we're away, but will then have all the more to catch up on when we return!
The next day saw a lovely lunch at The Passage with Gem, Jodie and Nicky D, followed by our Goodbye drinks at the Imperial and elsewhere in Exeter. Well over 60 people
calm seas
...no need! Look how still it was out at sea! turned up throughout the day/night to wish us well and sink a few bevvies, most of them resplendant in Nautical themed fancy dress. We saw a shoal of sailors, a pride of Pirates a lick of lifeguards and Popeye and Olive Oyl even put in an appearance! Top marks go to Rogers though who came in full shark costume! Brilliant, but I imagine (well, I didn't have to imagine as he mentioned it often enough!) that he was very hot in there! The night ended in Vaults then back at the good ship Ozzy 2 with subways all round!
On sunday we tried to get back to Dartmouth but with no success. We thought this may have been the case when we saw a couple trawlers heading back in! Nonetheless we headed out of the Exe and out to sea amid much rolling and bouncing and a little panic from the skipper and myself. We joked about potential news headlines of 'Drama on the High Seas as teacher kills former students' as Ozzy was also carrying the precious cargo of Aaron, Leanne, Sam and Tay and then decided that the joke may become a reality once the boat leapt
birthday girls
Zoe and Marian at their Turf celebrations over a few waves and landed with a heavy crash and splash so turned back.
It was then a case of 'Dad's to the rescue' - Pete drove up to get our passengers and my Dad drove me to Dartmouth to collect my car so I could get to workk on Monday. Monday arrived and Mikey got Ozzy 2 back safely, having discovered that she had covered the distance to Guernsey in just over 6 hours and a quarter tank of fuel! Good result!
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