End of the first leg (Ipswich, England to Falmouth, England)

We arrived in Falmouth on Sunday afternoon. After 2 days of celebrations in Plymouth and an 8am sharp start on Sunday, when we reached Falmouth we were absolutely knackered. The sailing had been exhausting too, as the wind was not quite from the right direction for easy sailing. One of us had to be at the helm most of the time to keep Mehalah’s sails in the wind. But how many opportunities a passionate sailor has to set off alongside the famous Suhaili?

Leaving Yacht Haven Marina behind Suhaili

We picked up a buoy close to the marina where the Golden Globe boats were moored. When we woke up the next day we headed straight there. Sir Robin, who had dropped anchor for the night in St Mawes Bay, had arrived too. There was some agitation and a gathering of reporters interviewing him. The participants to the race were all busy with getting last minute jobs done. We had brief chats with some of them and the general feeling was that they were eager to start. The preparations and all the ‘fuss’ ahead of the impeding start seem to have been an exhausting business… 

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston aboard Suhaili
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston chatting with reporters

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the town square catching up on emails in the sun.

Ana making the most of the sun in Falmouth town square

We spent the following days chilling, visiting Falmouth and the surrounding castles, exercising and going back to the Golden Globe boats on several occasions.

View over the bay
Falmouth prepared for the GGR celebrations
Love at first sight!
Sorin and Keith – boat builder who refurbished Suhaili
One more picture of Suhaili
Ana wishing Susie, the only female contestant, good luck!
Ana sharing philosophical thoughts with the Indian born contestant

Of course, all this time we kept an eye on the weather to assess feasibility of our departure at the same time as the Golden Globe boats. The odds did not look very encouraging initially; however, the bad weather fronts are very likely to clear by tomorrow morning, so we are currently very hopeful.

Next stop for us – A Coruna, Spain; for the Golden Globe contestants – Les Sables D’Olonne – the official start of the non stop solo around the world Golden Globe Race.

6 thoughts on “End of the first leg (Ipswich, England to Falmouth, England)”

  1. Hey, you’ve written this well. It’s readable and the photos of Falmouth are good. A bit of name dropping never does any harm either. I think Sir Robin is a good omen. My hat to you both and wishing you a fairer wind for the next leg.

  2. Astept noi vesti si poze peste 4 -5 zile cand ajungeți la Coruna. Va pup si sa aveti o vreme si un vânt care sa va ajute sa navigați cat mai usor. Sori iti pregătesc cu tata o surpriză .? Cand o sa ajungi in Spania sper sa fie gata. Va iubesc ! Sa aveti grija de voi. Sunt cu ochii pe voi de 3-4 ori pe zi. Punctul meu roz de pe mare ?????

  3. Hi guys, Ive finally caught up with all your blogs. Good luck with the next leg to Spain. Also thank again for the music, we will think of you both when playing those tunes on the boat when sailing in the Sporades in 2 week…..Sorin we will miss you as flotilla leader. xx

    1. Sporades? Fantastic! Sorin and I chartered a boat in Sporades – our first sailing week on our own. Enjoy the tunes, have lots of fun and send us some pics. xxx

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