Well, it’s two weeks yesterday since Struan flew home and again no blog for two weeks. So what have we been doing?

The day after Struan returned to the UK we had a pleasant motor back to Falmouth Harbour, there being no wind for the first time in weeks. We then had the tiresome process of reporting our lost cards to our bank. Unfortunately our credit card company, The Royal Bank of Scotland couldn’t find us on their system and this took three separate phone calls. Funny how they can always find me at the end of the month when the payment is made.

Since then we have all been working on the boat. Bev has been baking, sewing and cleaning amongst a thousand other things while John has cleaned the hull of weed and sanded down a lot of the woodwork to be varnished. I have serviced the main engine, the generator and the outboard as well as sanding, bailing out and washing bilges. It’s not all sun and sangria here you know! In the afternoons we generally go to the beach for a swim then back to the boat for tea.

The fun events that we’ve attended this last fortnight have been the twelfth annual model boat race held at ‘Archie’s Dock‘, Falmouth Harbour and a ’Cruisers barbecue’ on the beach.

Cruisers traditionally attend the model boat race with their dinghies and outboards. Pilots of the model boats sit in the dinghies which then follow the models around the course which is one to two miles in length. About the size of the smallest racing course in Campbeltown Loch. We arrived in ’Doody’ with the trusty 2.3 Honda raring to go. Wind conditions were about 20 knots and when the models went out to practice it very soon became clear that ’Doody’ wouldn’t be able to keep up with the model boats on the downwind legs. In fact I saw one dinghy on the plane trying to keep up with his model boat.

The decision was made then to be spectators only and after a greatly drawn out and belated start, we followed the boats around the course. The model boats are built from scratch and on speaking to one of the competitors we learned that his boat cost about £400 and one-thousand hours to build. We had a great day out and lots of fun was had by all.

We attended the cruisers barbecue as well and met loads of people who have now become friends.

We also met up with Martin and Roma whom I had last met in Bayona in 1998. It was great to renew old friendships and we later had them on board one evening for tea. There is a Wylo convention on here at the moment with the designer of that famous cruiser, Nick Skeets, being here in his own very famous Wylo II. The original Wylo being wrecked in the South Pacific about 1978. Martin and Roma are in their new Wylo called ‘Apple’, so-called because they built it at the bottom of their garden under an apple tree. Their tender is called ‘Blossom‘ in the same vein.

I’d better go now as John and I are crewing onboard a 1925 John Alden schooner in Classics Week, and we have to report for varnishing and racing practice. More about that in the next blog.

Douglas.