The sea was flat calm, and there was no wind, so motoring was the only option on the way back. The first half hour showed Shane trying desperately to explain and show Helen how to use the new digital camera to take a photograph rather than fuzzy, unfocussed mess or a ’snap shot’. This once again was a pointless exercise as once again it was like trying to see one end of a 25 metre swimming pool from the other, whilst being underwater, and if it wasn’t blurred it was too dark because the flash was off, or glowing because the flash was on and reflecting off hull or reflective clothing!

This last photo, if your eyesight is good, shows Mystere trying to exit the harbour.

As soon as night had fallen Shane got Dave’s new ‘toy’ out to experiment with….a night scope! This he proceeded to ‘play’ with looking from wake, to water, to houses on the coast etc etc! Apparently it was really good and worked really well. It must have done too because no one else got to have a go!

After dark Karen was the first to go inside. This was proven to be her biggest mistake of the trip. The worst possible place to be on a yacht when it’s underway is down below and Karen, who is not quite the hardened sailor as the rest of the crew was no exception to this general rule! The seasickness tablets taken two hours prior to the trip didn’t really stand a chance, and unfortunately the smell of the stove and Dave making hot drinks was just enough to tip the balance. Tip the balance probably an understatement as she proceeded for a further 3 hours to begin the task of filling a storage box (there were no buckets or sick bags available!!).

Half an hour later, and the cold was a little too much for Helen (despite the fleece, ocean jacket, sailing trousers, wellies, ski socks, scarf, woolly hat and gloves) and she scuttled off into the aft cabin to snuggle up amongst the bedding to warm up a bit, the warning of Shane still ringing loud in her ears. “Go straight into the aft cabin to warm up and don’t look at anything…Karen has been sick!”. This was taken literally and she raced down the hatch and past Dave, much to his amusement! To say she has a weak stomach is more than an understatement, if there had been any hanging around down there with Karen being ill and there would be two casualties!

A securite announcement was heard over the radio stating that Lower Heads light was extinguished, this is one of the markers to look for on the way in so as to obtain some baring in the dark! It was out with the night scope once again in an attempt to find it…this proved an impossible task! Dave was examining the surrounding area, boat and crew with a few mutterings of annoyance… finally he asks ‘How do I turn it on?’ after Shane explained the intricacies of using the device and Dave arguing that he had tried all that, Shane sorted the problem by taking the lens cap off!! Although infinately better, no definate sighting was made and reinforcements were brought in…a 3.5 million candle power torch! This was more useful and the marker sighted, so it was relaxation time for the crew again now that they had confirmed their position.

At just after 1:00 am Mystere was moored on her pontoon once again. A brisk walk in the cold followed for Aidy, Dave and Shane to bring Shane’s car-which was parked the other side of the harbour. This is normally a nice walk in the daytime, but at 1:00 am, in the cold and with sailing gear and wellies on it’s a bit of a different matter!

With the car back, Karen now feeling much better and Helen woken up after falling asleep in a tangled mess of duvet it was adventure over and back to the various houses for a well deserved and decent nights sleep in a proper bed…all except Dave who hadn’t had enough of a wild time and proceeded into town to begin warming himself up from the inside out…alcohol!!