Fri 25th July 2003

Travelled to meet rest of crew (Julian (skipper), Howard, Dave and Ronnie) near our rendezvous point near Chepstow. Dave had left a message on my mobile to say that they had been later leaving than expected - they were just on their way at about 12:30 - so I left later than planned. Encountered heavy traffic on M5, got to Jules' parents at about 4:00. Having phoned them, found they were in heavy traffic in wet conditions, so they eventually arrived at about 4:30. We still had to drive to Swansea in time for a theoretical 6:00 check-in, so we had a quick turnaround at Julian's' parents, and left about 5:00. A fairly good run down the M4 to Swansea meant we checked in at about 6:30 with no problems at all. Boarded at about 7:30, and made our way to the deck to watch departure at a leisurely pace. Amazingly they waited for a few late arrivals, and we could see the last folk speeding through the docks toward the ferry. Set sail at 8:15 ish.

Waiting for the ferry.
(click on photos for bigger images)

Crossing was fairly smooth and uneventful. No cabins had been available, so after much debate chose to claim a corner of an open carpeted area that seemed quiet, with a few others already installed under the stairs. Got probably about 4 hours sleep.

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