It has been very pleasant to spend some time with old friend and fellow sailor, Ben. We hatched a bank holiday sailing trip with two boats in company, his three sons and their dog, but the weather was rather cold and windy for much beach fun, so sailed up the Fal to Turnaware for a pontoon party.

The original plan was for a barbecue but the weather hadn’t seemed good enough for that, though it was very sheltered at Turnaware and we had a lovely burst of sun as it set behind the oak trees that line the river bank.

The eldest two boys took the dinghy ashore to walk the dog, whilst we cooked aboard Molly. It was a lovely evening and the first time we’d had more than two eat aboard. The galley and saloon were more than adequate for the five of us, and we had a comfortable and sociable time on what would have been a rather chilly evening.