Goodbye... and hello...
Scott-Free’s blog
Steve & Chris
Sat 19 Mar 2011 19:24
Saturday 19th March
2011
We set off
on Monday morning for Falmouth Harbour as planned, and
stopped in Carlisle Bay on the way, for lunch and a swim. Well, for
lunch anyway. As we arrived a huge black cloud began passing very slowly over
and so we passed on the swim. Serafina was already anchored and
Sarah was enjoying a leisurely read in a hammock strung across the
foredeck. Every so often a swell came into the bay, and as
Serafina rolled from side to side,Sarah was swung none too gently in
the hammock. Steve looked up from his book on one occasion, to see the
empty hammock swinging, and panicked that she had been jettisoned into the
sea! His mind was put to rest however when she apperared in the
cockpit shortly after.
Sarah relaxing
in the hammock on Serafina's foredeck, Montserrat in the
distance.
We arrived in
Falmouth Harbour a couple of hours later and got the anchor to bite on the
second attempt. Rob & Sarah then arrived in the rib on their way back
from organising the hire car for tomorrow and as it just happened to be time for
sundowners,joined us on board for a rum punch or two. We were told in no
uncertain terms that we were to be treated to supper the following day at a
local restaurant, as they would be heading south on Wednesday and our paths are
not then likely to cross for a year or more, and we accepted on the condition
that they join us for dinner tonight onboard. When they returned to the
boat later, they presented us with a bottle of champagne to be opened
only on a specific special occasion:
Looking forward
to popping this cork within sight of Liberty.
Tuesday morning we
set off early to collect the hire car, and spent a very enjoyable day touring
the island. We had the best coffee in the Caribbean so far at Harmony Hall
and enjoyed browsing round their art gallery. Devil's bridge was quite
awesome as the Atlantic sea rolls in and breaks against the rocks, blowing out
through cracks in the rocks with some force and noise! The rock itself is
worn away by the water in a very distinctive pattern.
The sea forces
its way up through blowholes in the rocks.
We stopped at Long
Bay for a swim in calm, clear water where you can see waves breaking on the reef
not far away. We drove briefly through St.John's,mainly to let the 'boys'
see the statue of VC Bird that Sarah and I had enjoyed seeing on our visit,
and returned to Shirley Heights to see the sun go down.
The statue of
V.C. Bird in
St.John's
Sunset over English & Falmouth Harbours from Shirley
Heights
We had a very nice
meal at Johnny Coconuts that was tinged with a little sadness at saying farewell
to our friends, and were delivered back to the boat, where Rob was
easily persuaded that they should join us onboard for a coffee and
nightcap. The following morning we waved them off as they weighed
anchor and set off for Guadeloupe and the beginning of their trip south to
Grenada.
Wednesday evening
Ian from Celtic Spray joined us on board for drinks and supper, and on
Thursday we set off back to Jolly Harbour. We had a lovely slow sail around the
coast and really put our forward-looking sonar to the test as we sailed through
the reef. This clever piece of equipment shows where the sea floor is
ahead of the boat rather than where we have just been, which we get from the
usual echo sounder.
By early afternoon
we were bows to in the marina in Jolly Harbour, and set about getting the boat
ready for our guest, which involved clearing out the forecabin and finding space
for everything usually stored there, so that James would have somewhere to
sleep! Steve also did an oil change on the engine and I replaced the
coloured markers on the anchor chain. All the markers before 30 metres had
come off and this made anchoring in shallow water a bit difficult as I had no
idea how much chain I had let out until the 30 metre marker appeared! It's
not a job that can be done whilst at anchor!!
James arrived safely
late afternoon, heavily laden with all the things we had asked him to bring out,
but timing it just about right for sundowners and his first rum punch of
the holiday.
Cheers!