This is our boat - Gerrit de Veer, named after an old Dutch sailor. During our stay here in Falmouth, we were moored to a bouy about 100m out from the town. There were strong tides and we swung around the mooring, gently turning with the ebb and flow.

The autumn gales blew up before September was finished and we had severe storms up to force 10. Even though we were in the reasonably sheltered estuary the spray flew off the water and looking out of our windows reminded us of blowing snow back home in Iceland.

It got pretty chilly once October arrived and we were impatient to get started and sail south. We were worried that we might be too late. Few people leave once September arrives and settled weather rarely lasts more than two or three days. Not quite long enough to ensure a pleasant voyage over the notorious Bay of Biscay.

We were in Falmouth for a month waiting for paperwork to arrive. As you can see, it's quite a nice place to be. The weather was not so good until the end of our stay, when we found lots of grand hotels, a sandy beach and rocky coves.

A Nicholson 32 at sea.

The Nicholson 32 Association has a site with a great deal of information about this type of boat. You can visit it here: http://vancouver-webpages.com/N32/