Morning posed the problem of how to extricate ourselves from the inside of the raft! Number 2 wanted to leave at 7am, number 3 wanted to stay for another day and numbers 4 and 5 were undecided! We decided to leave with number 2 (an elderly couple of sailors whose deck was festooned with pot plants – mint for the Pimms they explained!) We left rafters 3, 4 and 5 to jiggle themselves back into position while I spun us out from captivity (praise be to bow thrusters!!) Fine sunny weather all the way to Dartmouth with light winds and all motor sailing. The highlight of the trip was our encounters with a pod of dolphins which stayed with us for a few minutes before heading out to sea. We reached Dartmouth at 14.30 and filled up with diesel on the refuelling barge before heading for the town jetty. I completely misjudged the tide which resulted in us being set at 90 degrees to the mooring as the stern of the boat was pulled round by the current. While trying to sort out the mess, the bow warp got sucked into the bow thruster which resulted in later problems. Just before we met with Theresa and Bert, Jac slipped on the companionway steps falling badly, hurting her back and knocking her head. As a result, Bert, Theresa, Ali and Pete went out for a meal while I stayed to play Florence Nightingale to Jac.
25 Jun 15
In the morning we said goodbye to Pete and Ali who were making their way back to Levington to collect their car. Jac’s back was still hurting so we spent the day in Dartmouth shopping, doing the laundry and looking for a new hosepipe. (The flexi hose I bought at the Southampton boat show had split at first use). At the recommendation of my old friend Pete Philpott we visited the Dartmouth Arms near the lower ferry, a fine old English pub which has been featured in many films. We spent a lovely evening with Bert and Theresa eating fresh crab on Synergy which Bert had bought direct from the fisherman. The crabs were large and tasty but breaking out the crab meat was a messy business with us all wearing some of it by the time we had finished. It took a further 2 weeks before the final remnants of crab had been expunged from Synergy’s cockpit.
Sailing Synergy 