We have been a bit remiss for a few days, I fear. We left Falmouth Harbour (too much socialising, not enough work) to head northwards for a few days of peace and quiet, and to catch up on boat maintenance and the laundry! We had a decent sail most of the way, and decided to skip Jolly Harbour (you cannot anchor close in, as the bay has been developed extensively around the marina), and aim for Five Islands Bay just beyond the peninsula above Jolly.

Five Islands bay is wide though shallow in places, and is a lovely anchorage with lots of nooks and crannies to hide away from the crowd. When we arrived it was nearly empty, but 4 or 5 boats came in towards the evening, including a couple of huge yachts with many minions to do the hard work! These boats had to anchor well offshore, and we were very impressed when one of the crew, a young man who was fit as a butcher’s dog, dived in and swam ashore at a pace that was Olympic qualifying standard.

They must have been three quarters of a mile from the beach, but he was there in a blink, and then back after a quick walk up and down the sand. Perhaps it was penance for some mistake (wrong cutlery out, granny knot, burnt bacon, navigation error?) or maybe he is such a good swimmer because he is always the one who loses at cards?

We deliberated whilst we did some boat jobs, swam to cool down, and read some books on the Kindles. We have given Jolly Harbour the once over from shore side, as a potential place to leave the boat over the hurricane season, and thought it pretty good. We felt that it was much better than Baileys in Falmouth Harbour, which our insurance company had recommended. Talking to the guys in the yard, and looking around, however, is not the same as experiencing the boat lift, the care they take over chocking the hull, their safety and security ethos.

Having had a conversation with our insurers, who seemed comfortable with the yard, we decided to take things further. We have been cleaning the hull as much possible, in the clean bays when anchored, whilst swimming around with a scraper in hand. This is not easy, despite Ali’s best inventions (a bow fender with a “sitting” strap, and tucked under her chin!). You cannot really get under the hull without proper diving gear, and the risk of barnacle cuts and scrapes is very high – Ali looked like a slasher victim yesterday, though only from the knee down, having had too much contact with the port rudder when concentrating on the hull. We knew we would have to get a lift out soon, especially when we realised that we had lost a knot and a half of boat speed.

We decided to give Jolly Harbour the opportunity to impress. We booked a lift and power wash at 0800 Wednesday morning (poor Ali), and went round to anchor as close as we could on Tuesday afternoon.

Fingers crossed,

Watergaw