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Published: June 26th 2014
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Disco Volante from the water
(With our new waterproof camera) We've been in Falmouth for two weeks now, apart from our quick dash to Bristol, Wales & London to go to the hospital & visit friends & family one last time.
It's given us a chance to finish a
LOT of jobs on the boat..
We've cleaned up the teak decks, finished the bowsprit, scrubbed the hull, keel & rudder (With Snorkel & Mask), sealed the cockpit lockers, fitted bilge pumps, cleaned out the whole boat and various other repairs.. We haven't had a single day off! We have had our fair share of yummy pasties, cream teas, fish & chips. Not to mention daily cocktail hours, which admittedly have started at 12pm occasionally! Rich & Rach arrived on Tuesday evening - so we were focussing on getting as much done by then as possible.
We have used the time wisely to test some canned/dried food recipes!!! We have had plenty of time to cook elaborate meals now we are not working!
It hasn't all been hard work though. We've had a few lovely afternoon swims from the boat whilst waiting for glue to dry! Despite Falmouth being a massive sailing harbour - Chandleries have been of
differing quality and we have found we need to go to a few different ones to get all the things we need. On Monday that worked in our favour as it meant a lovely country walk from Flushing to Mylor Harbour. Flushing is a really cute little place, very picturesque. Rows of cottages, with front doors opening onto tiny narrow roads. Mylor on the other hand is definitely one of the posher Harbours we have visited. The yacht club is very fancy - though we didn't go in. Got the last few items from our boat shopping list in the chandlery - Another £70 spent - boats are VERY expensive!
On Saturday night we decided to have a meal out as a treat for completing a lot of boat work that week. We did our research & found a great little restaurant called Amanzi (http://www.amanzirestaurant.co.uk/). It's actually a South African Restaurant, but using Local Cornwall produce. The staff were really lovely. We had some great smoky South African wine, then some shredded duck on corn bread toast to start. Then I had the seafood special - prawns, Helford Mussels & Local brown crabs, all in a garlic & herb
sauce - DELICIOUS! Mike was craving some meat so he went for the skewer of beef kebab sweet potato think cut chips, drizzled in Garlic butter - YUMMY!!!! Would definitely recommend it! The dinghy ride back was interesting when a little tipsy! Most amusing going out all dolled up only to get into a dinghy, get sea spray blown all over your make-up & then have to climb up slippery seaweed covered stairs once you arrive! I have to say despite the spray I am enjoying travelling by dinghy, certainly beats the car!
I finally decided to have a go at driving the dinghy (Pic below) - I am pretty good at starting it & driving, but occasionally I am known to do an accidental 360 spin!
Just realised I haven't really mentioned Falmouth itself at all! It's a great little town, the locals are lovely and it has certainly got everything we have needed over the past two weeks. I am rather enjoying the chance to shop local - Fishmongers, butchers, cheese shops, bakeries, hardware shops. All the places you don't have a chance to go to when you are hectic or working long hours! I am
very pleased to see these smaller retailers thriving here. It has a great pubs & restaurants too. Loads of quirky places like Dollys Bar (http://www.dollysbar.co.uk/) & Beerwolf (http://beerwolfbooks.com/). It has more cider & ales than you can shake a stick at too... The best thing for me is the fact it really does feel like a thriving sailing town - every evening tons of boats sail past for an evening sail as the sun sets - beautiful! (And apologies for all the sunset pics - just can't stop myself)
Rich & Rach have now arrived, a day later than planned. We have also loaned them the master cabin for their 'second honeymoon' as I like to call it! So they have use of the love saloon for a few weeks. (Hoping Rich's feet don't permanently soil the mattress) We decided to make a special dinner for Rich & Rach's first night onboard. The shiny yacht BBQ we got bought as a pressie for Disco Volantes launch party had yet to be used (http://www.magmaproducts.com/Products/Grills/Marine_Kettles/marine_kettles.html), so we thought it was the perfect time to get the BBQ on! I took myself off into Falmouth to pick up some fish, meat &
cheese. The fishmongers were lovely and gave me loads of tips on how to cook the mackerel, Ling & prawns skewers. Got some yummy burgers from the butchers and finally a selection of Cornish cheeses - Yarg, Brie & Cornish Blue! We also stocked up on booze - I have a feeling the next few days could be boozy!!!
By Weds (25th) we still hadn't got our broken engine mended. A disagreement over whether we can source the starter motor solenoid separately or not via Volvo Sweden. We were hoping to the the Pinders out for an afternoon sail, but then Mike realised he had left part of the rudder with a machinist to fix, so we stayed in the marina instead. Rich & Rach have been learning the hard way that yachting isn't all sunset cruising with champagne! Rich sanded the new bow sprit & cleaned the fenders, while Rach & I scrubbed the boat & tender! Rach also put her artistry to good use by writing the name on the tender. All this hard work deserved a treat - so pasties & a cream tea on board were our reward. So we will be in the marina
The solar shower
Saved us from a week of cold showers when engine broke! for at least another night (https://www.premiermarinas.com/uk-marina-locations/falmouth-marina) while we wait for what now turns out is going to be a new starter motor to arrive. So hopefully we will be setting off on a leisurely hop across the channel to Brest in France (Avoiding Biscay for now). The Isles of Scilly will have to wait for now as we are keen to get to France, Spain & Portugal as soon as possible, so that the Pinders can get some continental sunshine!!! So hopefully my next blog will be from an internet cafe en France!
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Auntie Rona
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Bon Voyage
Sounds like crew morale remains high after lashings of hard work paid off and you are at last shipshape.... Or should that be lashings of cider, piles of pasties and copious cocktails.... Bon Boyage - a tout a l'heure!