There the wind blows

I woke to a lovely bright morning but I could see the flags on Nothe Fort on the hill opposite, straining in the wind. It was no day to be even thinking about sticking my bow outside the harbour.

As I was having my breakfast in the cockpit a fleet of yachts who looked that they were heading for a race heading out in single file. Some of the crews look dressed for the north Atlantic and had reefs in while others looked ready for the med and full sail.
I saw the first two yachts heel over sharply once they got out of the shelter of the harbour. I'm sure the 'Mediterranean fleet' soon had second thoughts about the amount of their sail and It only made the smile on my face bigger having decided to stay put.

I decided to visit Nothe Fort on the other side of the harbour. Luckily there was a ferry just a 100 meters away.
The ferries were two lovely varnished clinker rowing boats operated by two gentlemen in their 60's. One would stay on each side of the river and if one had passengers then the other would come across to replace it so that there was always one on each side.

I told my ferryman that I didn't mind waiting until he had a few more passengers before crossing as I was in no hurry but he insisted on taking me across immediately. The cost was only a GB£1.

As I walked up the hill towards the fort I passed through a public garden with a small coffee hut and of course I stopped and continued on with an ice cream.

The fort is a restored coastal artillery fort built in Victorian times to protect Portland Harbour which was a large artificial harbour built to keep an eye on the French on the other side of the channel.
As I walked around I was imagining what Camden could have looked like it if they had preserved it.

Inside the fort was an exhibition 'The Matchstick Fleet', hundreds of models of ships built by one man from matchsticks and matchboxes.
Fascinating but no Irish ships.

I walked back into Weymouth and bought a small radio and later when I was back at the boat I listened to the Cork v. Tipp match, Cork won by a point.
It's strange what you do when you're abroad. I probably wouldn't have listened to it if I was at home.

After dinner I wander off to 'The Red Lion', a pub that had been recommended to me.
A lovely old pub where I found a quite corner, took out my book and read as I sipped away at my pints not bothered by anyone until I was ready to head back to Eureka and put my head down.Lue lisää