It has well and truely rained overnight....the winds are continuing to lash around us and the rain has not abated. This is in for the day. It's very foggy outside, quite spooky and even the Falmouth seagulls are unusually quiet.
We said goodbye to our French neighbours yesterday who have left to take shelter (if u can call the river shelter) upstream for a few days. They have been on a grand voyage around the uk but the weather has hampered their trip to Wales only thus far. They were great fun....one chap Pierre had the most amazing laugh....deep French from the pit of his soul and always smiling and joking. Another reminded me of my old headmaster, he too great fun as we tried to converse in French with some success.
No sooner had they left then their berth rafted alongside us, then their spot was taken as boats galore looked to take shelter, some were turned away as there is definitely no more room at the inn. We have Dutch, Irish, French and English for company today.
Sailing is amazing for the characters you meet and das captain has a saying ....look there is another one of sailings eccentrics. I laugh as we all have our own sailing eccentricities, be it the way we like our sails set. Tie our lines when berthed or rafted, put up and take down our ensigns etc.
What he means though is the real men of the sea, with sea tales to tell of mad adventures. You see them in most ports but Falmouth as a setting off post for Atlantic sailing gets loads, there are two here currently. The English man in his three metre boat, with what looks like a 1 metre tender on the cabin roof who plays his guitar, drinking whiskey and meticulously is plotting his next travel. He is off to Spain in his bot......braver man than I but I bet he makes it.....he is the image you would have of a wild salty seaman and every time I see or hear him on his guitar he makes me smile.
The other is a young Frenchman that I helped raft alongside another boat last night...his boat too was tiny and weather beaten and had done many sea miles. I sleep now he says....this morning he is gone.
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Location:Falmouth
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