Visit from Ronaldo (pre World Cup)

Well it’s been a heat wave in the uk with record May highs of 35 degrees plus. Ronaldo with his natural optimism turns up in his shorts straight from the taxi. It’s below 5 degrees here with a nifty 20 knot breeze giving a wind chill that has Ice in the air. The forecast for the first few days on Ron’s visit is chuffing freezing and chuffing windy. Luckily we are somewhere civilised with a bar and heating. There’s a couple of UK boats here and a nice grumpy Shetlander that I met last year who’s always fun to hang out with. On the second evening stuck in port we arrange to have dinner on board with Alistair (grumpy Shetlander) and his boat is 25 to 30 metres from ours. It is so cold Ron and I are not sure we will make it. Hands frozen and a laugh watching Ron trying to climb onto Alistairs boat with his natural optimism. We arrive like Scott of the Antarctic arriving in his tent. Frozen and wind swept. Luckily Paul (alistairs crewmate,) who is fresh from a disappointment after chasing a local girl has cooked a top dinner which is ready to eat. We talk rubbish, as always, for a couple of hours, and agree to accompany Alistair and his Coopemans 55 on a shakedown sail to Carbonear across the bay. In the morning. It’s like a winter sail in Cornwall, but at least Ron and I are up and running. And we have tea and cake with Wally in the local cafe when we arrive, Ron has iced cinnamon rolls as he is watching his weight.. Alistair returns back to base but Ron and I are carrying on up the bay in the morning after a blow passes through,hopefully to see whales and bergs so we get all the boxes ticked.
Last year I was heading north pretty fast and didn’t head into Conception Bay or Trinity bay. Turns out thats where all the sailing happens around here, and where all the population lives mostly in second homes. Its feels wealthy and civilised quite a surprise. We are up at the crack of civilised o clock and point the boat at Baccaleu Tickle our best chance of seeing a whale this early in the season. Ron derives the boat for the full 36 miles just to make sure he not sea sick. We get a brief glimpse of a whale but I’m not sure that boxes is ticked yet. We are definitely gonna end up in Bay de Verde for the night, a fishing port that no self respecting cruiser goes, but is super handy for some wildlife hotspots. When we arrive we go for a stomp around the headland and find a sea eagle and mate on the nest. What a treat. There nest is over looking te bay at the rear of the port which has a berg welded in it. This berg has been wedged for weeks and the locals call it the arse berg as it was shaped like two big cheeks. I think that’s a box ticked. Next day off to bacceleua tickle and island hoping for whales and sea bird colonies one out of 2 not bad Puffins, Ganetts, Guilimotts, Razorbills, all stacked on the cliffs and smelling as bad as you might think. Weather is generally as average as yo might think and we decide to head for Ochre Pit, yet another unknown fishing port with super friendly locals who tell us about las year hot summer again, and how many houses were lost orally to the Forrest fires 200!! Mostly un insured. We have had a pretty cold long day and we decide to test our culinary skills with sausage mash carrots and onion gravy. Total winter food success. Weathers getting worse again so we make a short dash to Carbonear again for relative civilisation while we wait out the weather. After a short walk around town we settle on a pool hall and chicken wings. Felt pretty Canadian to us.
Claire arrives tommorow and we have left a short hop back to RNYC so we can all have dinner together before Ron puts his shorts on to return home.
It’s been great to have Ron here for the week and so pleased he made the big effort although it feels short in time now it’s over. Ron and I joke that I wont have to cook for the next month and probably wont have to make a decision eitherRead more