Day 97 Mon 20 Aug Lowestoft

Vega
Irving & Cate Benjamin
Mon 20 Aug 2012 08:31

Gentle rise and shower and off to town across the lifting bridge in search of the chandlery to buy Imray Chart C1 for the new passage plan south to Kent and home. Found the very small shop with directions from a retired fish gutter, and got both chart and East Coast Pilot, then parted company with Cate, bound for the shops, and returned to the RNSYC for a coffee and use of the WiFi. Incidentally, the Yacht Club is one of the more splendid examples of the species, with a long history and associations with many illustrious sailors, impressive cabinets of silverware and a formal dress code in the Members' Bar in the evenings. We were pleased to see an RCPYC pennant hanging in the lounge Reunited for lunch at the Harbour Inn (good butternut squash soup, and very disappointing scallops), then home to do the chartwork. I had found there is a tiny cinema near the marina, showing The Bourne Legacy, so booked for the 2000 show. While we were having EPs, we were approached by a wiry sailor in his 60s from Evergreen, a Freedom 27 berthed behind Vega, asking for information about Dover. He was in need of a Tiller Pilot for his onward journey, though on further discussion it was strange he had not had one long ago: he had sailed his little craft (not in the best of nick to our casual inspection) from Poland, via Sweden and Denmark, single handed with no autohelm, snatching 5 minutes sleep from time to time in storm conditions through the North Sea oilfields. We invited him aboard for a beer and heard his story. He is a Czech national who was relocated with his wife and children in 1985 as a refugee, sent to Australia, where he worked as a computer technician. However, he has spent most of the intervening years, sailing and doing boat deliveries all over the world, including Malaysia, the 'Caribbic' (he spoke in broken English), Venuzuela and almost anywhere else you can name. We gave him advice and information about Dover and where he might get his Autohelm, and the new genoa he also needs,  exchanged email addresses, and told him to be sure to visit the RCPYC in Dover. It was clear from his questioning that he knew absolutely nothing of UK ports, and it turned out he has no almanac and only electronic charts, so we donated him our UK marina guide, which he accepted reluctantly!  Off to the truly miniscule East Coast Cinema, where we watched the Bourne Legacy with 4 other customers.  On the way back there were still young kids playing in the illuminated fountains in the pleasant square outside the yacht club and Family Fun arcade, running around, screaming with delight  and enjoying getting soaked in the warm evening. Off to bed, where Cate explained the plot of the movie to me, and a good night's sleep ready for almost our last lap, starting at 0700 the next day.

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