After a couple of very nice days in Falmouth we have chosen last Friday afternoon to go on a new adventure for the last three weeks. So on Saturday morning we left early to sail back to Bruinisse via Scotland (and the Caledonian Canal). Still 1100 miles to go in three weeks, instead of 300 miles of quietly hopping along the south coast of England and via Belgium to Bruinisse. It's a difficult decision ... on the one hand, a new adventure to a beautiful area that cannot just be sailed in a summer holiday ... but that also means leaving our friends, sailing more miles and perhaps encountering more difficult situations. In the night from Friday to Saturday, I am especially doubtful ... do we have to want this (while I was the initiator of the idea the afternoon before)? But as often happens after the start of an idea on my part, it's Toine who perseveres when I start having doubts and makes sure we're really going to execute the plan.

So this is how we said goodbye to the Barbarossa and Valentine (sob sob) and are now sailing north between Ireland and England to arrive tomorrow at the island 'Mull of Kintyre' in Scotland in the course of the day. The weather is good with very light winds and that is how it will stay for the coming days. On our way to a new adventure ... we are looking forward to it and we are very curious how overwhelming the nature of Scotland will really be!
Back to the last few days in Falmouth ... that's a real English sailing town. Beautiful old houses along the waterfront, lots of activity on the water and nice shops and pubs in the town itself. We extensively celebrate our arrival with homemade apple and chocolate cake and in the evening we have dinner in a pub and drink on the last long crossing. (Now we know that for us it will not really be the last one because we will have a trip of about 500 miles to go from the east side of Scotland to Bruinisse). Very cosy and we laughed a lot. The next day is all about cleaning up ... washing, cleaning up etc. In the evening we had dinner in the pub. The children play a lot with each other again, also on the jetty and on the waterfront with skateboarding and soccer. We are next to the Anna Sophia, which is a 'departure boat' with Jan and Annelies who have just left and followed our blogs over the past year. Funny enough they know exactly who we are while we don't know them yet.
The day after we rent a car to drive to Lands End. You must have seen that and we also feel like taking a nice walk after all those days at sea. We are lucky with the weather ... it is a lot cooler here than in the Netherlands, but dry and regularly sunny. We make a nice hike of about 3 hours over the coastal path and the high rocks with a view on the Scilly Islands. Afterwards we visit the 'Telegraph Museum'. Between the 16th century and the end of the 20th century there was a large telecommunication centre on this building which has been the largest in the world for a while. From here the start was made with underwater cables to other countries (first Spain and Azores and so on and later India). The center played an important role in the 2nd World War and before that there were also escape routes built that we can see. It is an hour's drive from Falmouth, right through the beautiful Cornwall. The vegetation reminds us very much of the Channel Islands, and there are even palm trees here!
The day after (last Friday morning) the men go karting. Last year in Tenerife especially Toine, Koen and Giel did very well and we already agreed to go again in England during the crossing. Another promise that dates back to last year has also been kept ... the girls have slept one night on the Barbarossa. Big party ... Marinthe in the bunk bed under Giel and Eline next to Koen in the tip. For the girls one of the highlights of the trip.
Yeah, and now the four of us go on to an unknown area. That feels great again and also a bit exciting. And it's just that combination that makes sea sailing so beautiful for us!