Homeward Bound
Adventures first mooring line, one
of four, was safely secured to the pontoon at Poole Yacht Haven at noon today.
It had been a long old night, with
wind holding steady from the South West at Force 7, occasionally going to a
Force 8 with a big rolling sea and the odd breaking wave into the cockpit. The last 36 hours have been a long old
slog! The relief on some of the
crew’s faces was evident, if not dismissed as just being tired. But the little smiles soon shone on
their faces as they were back to normality. Breaking waves in a Force 7 – Sporty
as the Skipper calls it! All the nice fresh food has long
been eaten and our big freezer has been emptied and cleaned. Every meal for the last couple of days
has been made up of tinned food, slightly bland but warm and wholesome. The hours ticked by as quickly as the
miles and when the call came for all three watches to be on deck to help get the
yacht ready to come along side, a hive of activity was seen as the crew burst
into life. We were to come along
side port side too and all the watches attended their station, be it bow, stern
or mid-ships. It is now that we can
see all the training has been worth while as very little voices are used to
direct the scurry and ‘Touch down’; we are on Not long till
home!
Admin is the order of the day from
now on in, cleaning, showers, emptying two weeks worth of rubbish (Stu is not
happy with the skipper as he is now minus a deck shoe after being told not to
leave it on the galley floor, and it found it’s way into the bin!), and all kit
accounted for. Everyone has now had
a nice warm shower, and we are all going out for a crew meal where we do not
have to cling onto our bowls and cups at the same time, and only have 20 minutes
to eat it! Poole to A Merlin off Lands Ends conducting
exercises – the RADAR can deceive you! |