We're waiting in the River Fal until we can head into our winter home at Falmouth Marina at the end of the week. We've been pretty busy since we arrived just over a week ago with a mix of fun and jobs.
I've been wanting a beach fire all summer but it just never happened, until last week when we had a fire and BBQ on the beach with our friends which was great and the almost full moon and clear sky made it almost like daylight as we rowed back to Emerald.
Colin has been busy cleaning and polishing Emerald's hull and deck - she's looking great. Today the rain has arrived so we're trapped inside on indoor jobs. Colin is currently trying to get the screws out of our Lewmar 55 winches which have been making a fingernails down blackboard type noise when being used. Just 1 bolt out of 8 is defying all attempts to get it to move.
On Sunday We had a great sail out on our friends' boat, a Tradewind 35 - a lovely boat so much easier to sail with 2 people than Emerald. Got a few fish and I had a go at filleting - these are the first fish we've had all year so
I haven't had much chance to practise (must point out we didn't actually catch the fish ourselves - thank you Anne and Marc).
I've tried out my crab pot for the first time using mackerel heads as bait and catching a motley collection of small shore crabs and some good sized velvet swimming crabs. Using the long BBQ tongs to keep well away from
the feistly crabs I was able to pick out four good sized velvets for the pot. I went for the technique of putting them in the freezer first to dull their senses before dropping them into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. I did feel a bit bad when one livened up as I brought it over to the bubbling pot and did its best to resist being dropped in. Just had some for lunch mixed with garlic mayonnaise on toast - yum!
I've also been out making the most of autumn fruits. Blackberries for crumble enjoyed with Cornish clotted cream, a bag full of sloes into the freezer ready to go into some whisky when we get into the marina and apples that are awaiting the great cider experiment. Colin has been busy building a press from a stainless stock pot and various bits and pieces
found on the boat. I've now got to get chopping to turn the apples into a pulp.
I've had my first Cornish pasty of the season on a walk to St Mawes. The combination of pasties and clotted cream will probably mean I have to up my exercise over the winter to combat their calorific down side. But I'm sure it'll be worth it!