8th August – Monday
The morning began dry, bright and breezy and as our trip across into Weymouth was very short, we had a relatively lazy morning. We had already called Weymouth marina and booked ourselves in for a few days, so we had no worries about finding a berth. The only thing we had to take heed of today was the bridge opening times and we had decided to leave Portland by 12.30 to give us plenty of time to make the 2 pm.
We slipped our lines and headed out of Portland harbour. Carole just rolled up the fenders on to the deck ready to roll back down once inside Weymouth harbour. The harbour was quite busy so we proceeded slowly under engine and tied up on the bridge waiting pontoon. The seductive smell of hot chips tempted us into sharing a portion for our lunch, which we had just finished in time for the bridge opening. We located our berth and with a bit of juggling with our lines on a bouncy finger pontoon, we were soon settled nicely for our few days’ stay in Weymouth.
After a tasty, but not so healthy lunch, we enjoyed a nice salad for our supper and after tidying away, we watched some of the Olympics on the TV until bedtime. Tonight Weymouth was well sheltered from the strong winds that had howled through Portland marina; the only noises outside were of the passing traffic, which gradually decreased as late evening turned to night.
9th August – Tuesday
We awoke to another nice sunny morning. Perhaps Summer has finally come! After breakfast and a shower, Carole headed off to the laundry room to take advantage of the best priced machines on the trip (£2 for a super sized wash and about £1.50 for the tumble drier). Three wash loads later our cupboards were full of nice clean clothes and towels ready for the coming week. During this time, Chris hadn’t been bored as he had been taking some work related calls and sorting out some problems.
After some lunch, we took a stroll round the town centre, which had a Debenhams and many of the usual high street shops. We bought some mugs to replace a couple which had taken a battering in the sink on our trip from Plymouth to Salcombe and a small saucepan with lid to replace one that should have been binned last year. We then found the harbour fish shop as Chris had a craving for spider crab. The fish shop had an amazing selection of fish caught that morning, but they only had brown crabs, cooked and ready for sale. However, on enquiring with the fishermen out back, we were told that there were some spider crabs just in which would be cooked first thing in the morning and could be reserved for collection after 10.30. With a smile, Chris put his name down. We walked back to the boat and on the way noticed a bar that had its Tapas evening on a Tuesday (£9.99 for 3 dishes + a large glass of wine). We decided that we would return here for our supper and when we did were happy with our choice as we enjoyed both our meal and wine. Before bed, we again watched some of the Olympics on TV. Team GB are doing really well.
10th August – Wednesday
We were up a bit earlier today as we were expecting visitors. Vikki, Colby and Elise were coming from Wells in Somerset to spend the day with us. After breakfast and showers, Chris went to the harbour to pick up his crab and get some bread for lunch. On his way back, he met Vikki in the marina car park (the marina had very kindly given us a car park space for the day) and then they all came on the boat for refreshments. We hadn’t seen Vikki and the family for some time, so we all had a good chat. Chris then prepared his two crabs (one was for Vikki to take home for Roy and Kaylem) while Carole laid up the table with other choices for those who didn’t like crab. When we were all full, Carole cleared away and we then took a stroll along the harbour to the seafront where we all went on the Jurassic Skyline which is a viewing platform which rises to 53 metres and gives you a 360 degree view of the Dorset coastline. It was OK, but exciting it was not and although not much was said, I don’t think any of us were too impressed. To make up for the disappointment, we walked on and bought some rather nice ice creams which we enjoyed in the rapidly cooling breeze. We all returned to the boat for a nice cuppa to warm up. Soon it was time for supper and we headed to a reasonable looking pub which offered a good selection of food. We all had a good meal and then it was time to say goodbye to Vikki, Colby and Elise before settling down for the night to watch some more Olympics on the TV.
11th August – Thursday
We had another warm, bright start to the day. After breakfast and showers, Carole got on with some cleaning and laundry, while Chris did some work. After lunch, we walked into the town centre and got haircuts, then bought the ingredients to make a nice curry. Once back on the boat, we had a cuppa then settled down for a quiet hour with our books. Chris then cooked some curry and rice while Carole updated our blog. After clearing our plates (it was delicious), Carole then washed up and tidied away. We spent our last evening at Weymouth watching a bit more of the Olympics, then the 10 o’clock News before heading to our beds with our books. Tomorrow we would be off to Poole.
Our Passage Plan to Poole
