Back in Mystic

ALICE'S ADVENTURES
ANDREW AND CELIA SHARPE
Sun 11 Sep 2011 10:20
After a very hectic trip home we are now back on Alice in Mystic. George went off to Australia last Wednesday and is in Sumatra at the moment surfing.  My Dad at 87 years old decided to climb a step ladder the day before we came back and the inevitable happened and he fell off the bottom step.  My last evening at home was spent in A and E with him, Mum and Lizzie.  The doctors still cant decided whether he has broken his shoulder or elbow but started to plaster his wrist.  Luckily he asked why they were doing that before they got too far!   He is now home and seems to be fairly cheerful.
 
John and Dennis at Gwenmor Marina looked after Alice very well during Irene's visit.  By the time Irene got here she was "just" a Tropical Storm.  Over 70 boats were damaged in this estuary alone and many people were without power for up to 6 days.  The yard have been kept very busy salvaging wrecked boats as they have got a floating crane.  Sad to see them written off.  They lifted out over 60 boats before the hurricane and put them back in again after 3 days.  Glad we weren't here at the time.  They are also busy mending docks for other marinas.
 
Monday was spent cleaning the cockpit and topsides of all the rubbish that had blown on to the boat - Andrew even found a crab claw amongst the leaves!  On Tuesday it started to rain and didnt stop.  This is apparently the edge of Tropical Storm Lee.  Sandy came down to pick us up and we went to theirs for pizza and then to the nearby school for a classic movie night.  They showed "Our Main in Havana" which was very entertaining.  We also met their friend Pete and an English couple - Andy and Maria on a boat called ALICE. So Sidney said we are Alice 1 and Andrew 1 and they are Alice and Andrew 2.
 
On Wednesday Alice was put back in the water.  The weather is unsettled for a couple more days so we hope to leave at the weekend and head south to warmer weather.  Sidney then called and invited us to theirs again for lasagne.  Frank and Elizabeth picked us up and we had a lovely evening with them and Sidney, Sandy, Alice 2 and Pete.  It was his birthday and Sidney did the honours with a delicious angel cake.
 
Thursday morning it was still pouring with rain and COLD. By the afternoon it had stopped and we finally saw the sun.  Sidney and Sandy and Tom Wadlow (another OCC member) came to dinner on Alice.  Unfortunately Dorothy was away so we didnt see her this time.
 
Friday was a lovely warm day and we caught up on the boat jobs.  In the evening we walked in to town to see the "Taste of Mystic" festival.  It was packed out with people so we had a final visit to Mystic Pizza instead. 
 
Today we were invited to a pontoon party at Gwenmor Marina.  It started with a dinghy treasure hunt around Mystic and up to the Seaport.  The round trip took nearly 3 hours and was great fun and showed us a lot more of the area.  At the prize giving we were awarded a prize for coming the furthest!  A Gwenmor Marina t shirt and hat each.  Lovely.  In the evening there was a pot luck barbeque which was delicious.  Thank you to Carol and Dave for organizing the event and inviting us and to everyone for making as feel so welcome.  Its a very small world as Dave does training on marine electronics and has worked with the BMF at Egham and Southampton Boat Show. 
Lizzie gave us an Alice cake made by her friend Gina
This pile of rubbish was a 35 ft sailing boat which broke its mooring line in Hurricane Irene.
The Mystic Drawbridge