Well here we are, back in the Helford River Sailing Club, having been caught out by the tide. We went out onto the jetty only to find that the outboard stuck firmly in the gloopy mud. We tried to free it but eventually we came to the realisation that we had to await the incoming tide. So, tough as it is, we may have to have another drink! Over the partition between the tables the locals are waxing lyrical in an accent that reminds me of cider. We have been in and out of the yacht club since about 11am. It has been one of those Sundays… chilled and needing to get the mind to slow down to the pace around you. Our ins and outs have been punctuated with walks along to Frenchman's Creek, the setting for the famous romantic novel by Dauphne du Maurier but in reality, no more than a muddy trough in beautiful surroundings. Such is romanticism! The pilot guide advises that to visit here without reading the book, is to sell yourself short. Perhaps we should start looking for it or download it when we next have fast enough wifi?

We have been studying the weather and trying to decide what to do next as we have been here 3 nights already and it looks like it might be another 3. It is tough because we so want to go to the Isles of Scilly but the weather is not looking good. Sadly it is looking like we may have to give it a miss, but we will make a final call in the days to come. On Tuesday and Wednesday there are two 35 knot hooligans passing over Scilly and to a lesser extent here. To be stuck out there in a 35 knot gale for 2 days is by all accounts not going to be a pleasant experience. Particularly as the 35 knot hooligan goes through 180deg during those 2 days so the thought of having to up and run to the other side of an island in the middle of the night is not for the faint-hearted or short-handed boats with a lot of windage….(us!) This thinking was vindicated when we walked into the magnificent solarium balcony of the yacht club to find ourselves amongst other yachty types charging devices and wearing a certain type of garb. Sooner or later the conversation turned to, well where are you going? They were all planning to go to Scilly but, to a man, had decided, “No way, Josè. So looks like we are sitting out a few days of wild weather here and on Thursday, we may head for France, 100 or 120NM depending on whether we go to Aber Wrac'h or around to Brest. The delights of the shipping channel and tidal streams that run like rivers in the Chenal du Four (not a perfume) await. If there is some miracle change in the forecast, Isles of Scilly may still come back into the frame.

We had a great sail from Fowey (pronounced Foy) to Falmouth, where we used up our last 3 days of credit on the Premier Marina one week deal we had bought in Gosport. After sending Jeffa a video of the struggle to get the autopilot motor to disengage, they immediately said send it in. So we took it off and paid the £26 to courier it to Copenhagen. I had taken one look at the exploded engineering diagram that they had sent that showed about a 1000 pieces with springs, planetary gears and the like and decided not a damn am I going to open the casing myself. We await the prognosis and in the meantime muse about the excellent timing of having installed the Hydrovane, although we have not had a chance to test that in a full range of conditions, notably off the wind conditions.

Falmouth was great, and to boot, there was a huge Sainsbury about 1km from the Marina. So we eagerly trotted up there, Veronica relishing being in a proper shop again, and like a bunch of errant kids, we manhandled a full trolley of groceries 1km down the hill. Unlike the errant kids we took the empty trolley back. In most Marinas the visitors get the most distant location on the floating pontoon network but this marina took the cake. It reminded me of one of those maze games that you traced with a pencil in kids’ comics and with no signage on the pontoons either, not what you need when the morning movement is calling.

Veronica did a run to Pendennis castle and we explored town, with its narrow pedestrian alleys along the ancient waterfront. On one of the days there was a cruise ship in town and it was swamped. I explored the beachfront on the sea- facing side as well as all around the castle and Pendennis point, on the bicycle. The entrance to this ancient port was always protected by the armaments located on this point. They existed since the time that Henry VIII built the castle until the 1960s. Many famous voyages started from Falmouth including Darwin’s trip aboard HMS Beagle. On the fourth day we ventured up the river Fal to the Truro River. We picked up a visitors mooring at Smugglers’ Moorings. The pilots guide said it was a fine watering and grub establishment, so we rowed ashore salivating, only to find that it had ceased being a food and drink place 2 years ago. We trudged up the road, which was this massive wide cement road in a deeply wooded setting. This could not possibly have been built just to serve the little cottage. I said to Veronica that this is for tanks, which seemed unlikely in such a pristine place but blow me down, I was right. The river Fal and the River Helford were both where the Americans practised and left for the D-day landings and in fact parts of the movie, “Saving Private Ryan” were filmed in these locations. Spare a thought for the many who never came back.

We made our way over the not insignificant hill and then caught the King Harry Ferry over and climbed the hill to see Trelissick House. It is a National trust property with fantastic gardens that reminded me of Kirstenbosch. It has stunning infinity views over the Falmouth estuary. Meantime, Tayo was being our proxy in the Brexit referendum.

The next morning we awoke in an idyllic setting and turned on the BBC on the small radio to hear the shock news that Britain had voted to leave the EU. This is not the place for political commentary but suffice it to say it added a sombre overlay to the morning.

We went back to Falmouth Marina on the way to the Helford estuary. We were waiting for some bits and pieces to be delivered from MEI. Tayo had also kindly posted a spare shock for one of the fold up bikes. We also took on 250 litres of fuel as this might be the last chance for discounted diesel for a while. Of course all the bits and pieces did not arrive before noon as advertised by the courier, so we spent a frustrating 1½ hours circling with the depth alarm going off (it is set at 3m) and hanging out on a rusty central river pontoon.

Finally we left for the Helford River, which is only about 10NM out of Falmouth. The wind was pushing 20 knots we were reefed but it was gusty and for some reason, we just struggled to get the boat sailing in a settled way. It had been quite hectic so after the 2nd tack up the river mouth we succumbed to the motor. Little did we know then that this would be our home for a few days as wind direction and strength conspire against our quest for a passage plan to the Isles of Scilly.

On the positive side the next morning I layed the saloon table and every available horizontal surface of the boat with tools once again, and installed the replacement regulator for the one Solar panel, installed and configured the replacement OP40 controller on the port helm and not least of all went to the top of the mast to replace the wind strut. This was quite hairy stuff but luckily it is a clip-in fitting but even that was a bit of a juggle and managing not to drop anything. Anyway, despite trepidation, all these things fixed the problem. So now we have the power balance on the boat back to normal. I am a happy bunny when, the sun is shinning and the amp-hours are climbing.

Today looks like a visit to the famous Durgan garden, on the opposite shore we are yet to visit: the Porthnavas/Helford Passage side. I should also get the water-maker re-commisioned as it is still full of antifreeze and membrane preservative and has not been operated for 9 months. If plans hold, the next post might be from France. If anyone wants to join us as crew, send us a private message.