Five days away from the boat. Two days of surprisingly good train journeys between Devon and Cumbria, plus three full glorious days with Lesley's sister Mary and family in a luxurious manor-house built in the 1560s. We relished soft white sheets, proper bathrooms and fantastic food. Now it's back to hard tack, the odd shower and washing up with a cupful of kettle water.
This morning we left Brixham marina at 7am. We had thought about leaving at 3am to get the very best tide with us when we reached the tricky headland of Portland Bill, towards the end of the 56 mile journey. However we decided to risk going later because the tides are neaps right now (ie they are weaker than later in the month) and there was little wind forecast.
It was a scorcher of a day and there wasn't even a tiny zephyr of wind. We motored with no sails up, hour after hour, across Lyme Bay meeting only the odd trawler or motoring yacht. Nic got so hot he stripped down to a shirt, trousers and lifejacket while helming - no sailing jacket: almost unheard of. Lesley meanwhile started with five layers on and went down to two. This is an ideal situation to use our autopilot. Unfortunately, it was playing up and we couldn't figure out why. It wasn't possible to tackle it while we were on the go, with a pressing deadline to round the Bill before the tide swung against us.
So we helmed by hand for much of ten hours. Just as we turned around the Bill for the last leg to Portland Marina, a lovely sailing wind sprang up but it was too damn late. Once in the marina, it was time to get a taxi to Tesco for the last big food shop of the trip. Both of us are really tired tonight. It must be the sudden transition from the soft life on land to the comparative privations of life at sea. But then again, we do love it.
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