Falmouth on 18.08.2019

The weather report for Saturday wasn't great. Wind from the west to southwest at 4 to 5 Bft. On Sunday, the wind would be even stronger. So, I (he!) decided to leave on Saturday morning and somehow make my way to Falmouth. I hoped for wind protection along the coast. As planned, we left Plymouth at 8 o'clock sharp. A decent fresh wind (5 Bft) right on the nose. With the ebbing tide and in the harbor, we still had 5 knots. Once we passed the harbor entrance, we were hit by the full wave height of 2.30 meters. The spray drenched us. We hoisted the reefed mainsail to beat upwind out of the bay with the engine. With the ebbing tide, we even reached 5 knots. Mile after mile, we fought our way forward. At 10 o'clock, the wind decreased a bit, but not the wave height. With the tidal current, we continued to average 5 knots. At 4 o'clock, we passed Gorran Haven 1 nm starboard abeam. The wind was a moderate 15 knots and the sun was shining - but there was no wind protection as the wind was now coming fully from the southwest. We set the sails, shook out the reef, and sailed the remaining nautical miles to Falmouth. Beautiful sailing with 7 knots according to the log. So, we reached Falmouth around 7 pm. The approximately 40 nm direct distance soon turned into 65 nm - but we happily reached the harbor and immediately drove to Falmouth Marina, where we luckily got a berth. We fell into the bunk totally tired at 9 pm and slept until 8 o'clock the next morning. We then explored Falmouth on Sunday, a beautiful city with a long shopping area. We then prepared everything for the Bay of Biscay crossing: The Aries was adjusted, water was filled up - who knows how long it will take us. The shopping has to be postponed to Monday morning at 8 o'clock, as today, on Sunday, the supermarket closed at 4 o'clock - which we unfortunately missed. So, tomorrow we'll do more shopping, then refuel, and then set off. The weather report is moderate. For tomorrow and the day after, west to northwest at 4. After that, in the Bay of Biscay, decreasing to 3 - 4 Bft, veering to the right. We would need about 4 days for the 425 nautical miles to La Coruna. Alternatively, we could continue straight to Cape Finisterre and one of the four river estuaries on the Galician coast. It's not far from there to Porto. From Porto to Lisbon, it would be another 2 or 3 days. There, I would want to put the Taishan in winter storage. A skipper told me that an acquaintance of his has stored his sailing yacht in Almada in a private shipyard for relatively cheap money. I would also have the engine overhauled there - if it holds out that long. But we want to sail, after all.

How did I like England?

My stay in England was marked by some repairs. But it also gave us the opportunity to visit many gardens and mansions. Southern England truly has a beautiful landscape. In every village, there is still a pub where young people also meet. It seems that functional village communities still exist. Families have known each other for centuries. Occasionally, new residents from the Greater London area also come, who can no longer afford the prices for housing there. But they are quickly assimilated - often through sports associations like cricket and football, increasing the gene pool.

The typical English person is a polite person through and through - this applies to both men and women. So, every passenger of a regular bus personally thanks the bus driver when getting off with a nice 'Thank you - have a nice day '. Just for fun, I bumped into some English people to see how they react. Every time, the person who got bumped into said Sorry.

Then these Brits have a special affinity for dogs and for fish and chips. This love for their pets leads to absurdities such as dog strollers (like baby strollers) in which their darlings are pushed around - even if they are healthy dogs.

However, there are also children. They grow up with the family dogs and can thus immunize themselves against all kinds of germs. The dogs - or the family dogs, to be precise - have all the rights just like the other members of their pack. So, the dogs sit at the table on an equal footing - I even observed in some pubs how the dogs licked the table - or rather the plate - with their snout. Now, I didn't look into the bedrooms, but I bet that their darlings (and by that, I mean the dogs) also have a fixed place in the marital bed. So, in every pub, there is a jar of dog biscuits and in front of every shop, there is a dog bowl with water, so that the pets don't get thirsty.

But their children are also treated well - during my time in England, I never saw a child being hit. There were also no bruises on children at the sandy beaches.

The English also seem to be quite prolific, as several women were observed with a big belly. However, the eating and feeding habits of the English have serious consequences. In contrast to the men, many, many sexually mature girls and young women are overweight. So, you see many beanpoles (who probably play football or cricket) strolling hand in hand with ton-heavy girlfriends (who sweeten their chips and five o'clock tea with cake) through the streets. It's difficult to tell whether they are pregnant or just fat. Both men and women share the many tattoos. The male English person's ideal of beauty seems to be somewhat eccentric. They must love fat women with tattoos, who often wear such tight and short dresses that leave nothing to the imagination.

Otherwise, it is very clean here and slightly more expensive compared to Germany. The pound is currently declining and approaching an exchange rate of 1:1, due to Brexit. But that doesn't bother most English people. They would also accept economic disadvantages - if it means they can keep their pride in themselves and in the Empire.

One can already tell that many arguments of the media, which are consistently eurosceptic, have had an effect on the average Brit. They see the EU as a purely economic union and believe that their payments to the EU bring no benefits. Everything negative was attributed to the EU! Well - it remains exciting, as Boris Johnson wants to go through with Brexit on October 31st - come what may.

Nevertheless, the British remain very lovable. They can be proud of their nation (after all, they have won all the wars ;-)) and their beautiful cities and landscapes. If it weren't for the weather - it would be an ideal country to emigrate to, if the English people still allowed it.

Annette's P.S.:

Allowing the skipper to publish two consecutive contributions from fellow crew members - besides in the logbook - without comment or objection automatically raises concerns and touches on my journalistic ethics and my innate need to communicate. However, fundamentally, we agree - as elbow-experienced, clumsy Germans, the kindness, unexpected helpfulness and endless politeness of the English reminded us how much nicer life can be with a nice, friendly word. How much smoother does a day go with an extra chat, which every English person is up for at almost any time in almost any situation. How wonderful it is to have shaken hands with all these incredibly lovely Jamies, Jordons, Mirandas, Michelles, Edwards, Catherines, and Mikes. For a moment - and then you part ways and wish each other a good life.