I always get excited at the eve of our summer cruise. It is, after all, supposed to be the highlight of our sailing year. It's also a hectic day: lots of last minute arrangements and logistics.

Guapa lives on a swinging mooring on the Orwell. The means we need a tender to get on/off the boat. We have one: a cheap and cheerful, and somewhat leaky, eBay bargain. When we are out just for the day or overnight we leave the dinghy on the mooring. When we recover it, there's always some water in it (it's a double-hulled craft). Not much of a problem and one we plan to remedy this winter when Guapa is on a pontoon berth, however I am not comfortable leaving the dinghy on the mooring for a week or more. We might be returning to a semi-submerged floating bath.

So, we (Brigitte and me) took the dinghy out to Guapa, took Guapa - with the dinghy in tow - into a vacant marina berth, recovered and stowed the dinghy ashore, loaded Guapa with food and drink for a week/ten days and finally parked Guapa back on her mooring. Brigitte has just had a shoulder operation and I have a bad back. And it was pretty much near LW when we got to the boat. To cut a long story short: at the end of the day I was knackered and we hadn't even left yet.

However, there is no such thing as a bad day on the boat and a lovely meal with something nice to wash it down soon had me sorted. Some time in the cockpit watching the world sail by and early to bed. Alarm was set for 05H00, to make the most of the favourable tide in the morning.

The plan is still to head for Boulogne s/Mer if at all possible. This should cut our usual itinerary by a day and give us an extra day in Normandy or a safety margin should the weather turn nasty.

We'll see, said the blind man.