Our journey started late on Thursday evening in dark, dark Dittisham. There was no moon that evening so we winded our way through the narrow streets of Dittisham with only our instincts to guide us to the small jetty next to the Ferryman Inn. Thank goodness we had Neil and Jo to help us as we trudge many bags and cases of provisions to Paradise in our little dingy!
The next morning dawns and good news; the forecast is still suitable to cross the Channel. So off we set! Paul, Neil and I took 2 hourly watches for the next 30 hours. We had a lovely crossing with moderate to gentle winds, sightings of dolphins, always a treat; a performance at the bow from porpoises and a visit from the French customs. The customs were very through and searched the whole boat including each cabin, even the one I was taking a nap in; much to everyone’s amusement I slept the entire visit! They seemed quite happy with us, however only after phoning through to check Neil’s passport. He obviously appeared a ‘shady’ character.
Two days later it was time for the ‘big one’ - Biscay! 54 hours at sea and hardly a boat to be seen. A memorable moment of the trip was being surrounded by dolphins forming beautiful phosphorous spray as they danced in the glittering moonlight. We also had a lodger for a few hours; a tired swift who made good use of our TV and lamp as a resting place. He appeared quite at ease with us and enjoyed posing as Neil took several photos of him. A great trip but we were all grateful to arrive in the Lovely Ria de Cedeira and pop open a bottle of bubbly!