Brindabella

We left Dieppe as early as possible on Friday morning as the trip to Boulogne is fairy long for Bella. There was no wind so unfortunately we motored again, but the bonus was that it was a clear sunny and very hot day, the water was like glass. This is strange as we knew that by this time tomorrow it would be a gale with force 8 to 9 winds and the sea would be very different from today.

About 3 hours into the trip we heard a VHF call from a yacht which we recognised as being beside us in Fecamp. They had engine problems and the gearbox had seized.

They called Solent Coast Guard to report the problem, saying that they would sail to the Solent. With very strong winds forecast for Saturday and the need to cross the shipping lanes with no motor, we think that we would have turned back to Dieppe.

The coast guard were giving gale warnings of force 8 to 9 for Saturday. With the fact there was no wind at all on Friday morning, they would made little progress under sail until the afternoon and then would have had an 18 hour sail! We hoped that they made it back safely on Saturday before the gale.

Today is Saturday and we have started making preparations for England. First thing today we got the car from the car park in Boulogne. Luckily, it was still there, just covered in dust and cat paw prints! Next we went to the supermarket to stock up with French food for the final part of the holiday in the UK.

Bella has been to the vets for her worm pills which are needed before entry into the UK. The vets we went to was a lovely place out in the country. The surgery was at the side of the vet's house. We walked in, and he obviously knew that Labradors will eat anything as he threw the worm pills over the desk which Bella duly plucked from the air and ate them. He signed and stamped her passport and charged us €36. Good money for a 5 minute visit, but half the price we had paid in Cherbourg last year!

After leaving the vets we stumbled on a farm shop. This was an excellent find, so we got some beef, pork, butter and yoghurts which all came from the farm itself. We now have a freezer nicely stocked for the final leg of the trip back to the river Orwell.

There is a gale here today with driving rain, so we will wait here until it passes and then Fiona and Bella will go to Dover on the ferry and Simon will sail the boat to Dover.

We plan to walk up to the old walled town tonight for a meal and a look around.