Rudely awakened by the anchor alarm at about 0430. This device records our original position and sounds when we are a pre-determined distance from it. In this case 150 ft.
It had not been a particularly good night to be at anchor. Although little wind there was quite a bit of swell. Perhaps had we got into our preferred location we would have fared better.
I got dressed with the expectation of moving the boat should we need to. We were about 4 or 5 boat lengths away from the rocks against which the sea was breaking with disarming force. The anchor was holding OK, but with the swell things could easily change. David was half up, so I called him up on deck so we could move the boat.
The anchor came up cleanly, and we motored away. To where? With a change in the wind direction, the anchorage on the other side of Sark (la Greve de la Ville) would probably be better. We had the tide with us to take us around the top of Sark so it was an easy and fast passage. We were not the only ones departing, no doubt for the same reasons. We could see the masts of yachts in our preferred location swinging violently back and forth. They were also not in a great spot, but were at least attached to a morring buoy.
The anchorage on the north east side of the island was surprisingly deserted. Just two yachts there. We had our choice of mooring buoys (there are 7 in total here) and David picked up the mooring line with ease. There was no swell; an altogether better spot given the conditions and it was a lovely day, I cooked a big breakfast, and we sat on the deck enjoying the view, drinking lots of coffee and contemplating a trip ashore.
After a very pleasant snooze on deck we prepared to take the trip to Sark. No need for the engine, David was rowing. We recalled a situation on the same spot a few years ago when we had not put the dinghy high enough up the beach and found it floating in the bay when we returned several hours later. This time there would be no mistakes and we put the dinghy well out of reach of any rising tide.
The walk up the cliff path was as unpleasant as ever. Today it was very hot, and the effects of the shower on board wore off in a matter of moments. We reached the top with a couple of stops (to admire the view of course). We headed directly for the Mermaid Inn to see what kind of welcome we would get this year.
We were very pleasantly surprised. Behind the bar was an Irish lady who probably not seen anyone all day (it was deserted) and wanted to chat. We got the full works; with a big helping of vitriol for the Barclay brothers.
We needed some supplies so found the supermarket. It was surprisingly well stocked. David had the idea of a picnic in a shady spot; we could find none, so found AJ's instead. Sat in the garden in the sweltering heat and had crab sandwiches, chowder and white wine. Very civilised.
Back to the boat. No problems with the rib - other than launching into to small waves. A relaxing afternoon on the boat, reading and listening to music. Someone had left their dinghy in the wrong place on the beach, and it was now floating in the bay. They came back, but rather than diving in and swimming to collect it (as David had done a few years ago) they borrowed someone else's rib to go and collect it. No fuss. Why had we not thought of that?
Dinner was paella. Excellent. Listened to some Mozart (lots of screeching of violins as far as I can see) and Sandy Denny (altogether better).
Will provide some pictures when I have some bandwidth...
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