Milford Haven life

Well, the staff in Milford were just as friendly as the night berthing master and getting a WIFI code turned into a comic treat with 3 of them enjoying scoring points off each other. Quite a floor show, they could/should be on local radio.

The inner lock gate for the dock area was in trouble - they could only open it for the 2 hours of free flow each day and this (we think) gave the crew of the local fishery protection vessel a nice gentle time. As free flow lasts for only about 2 hours, they didn't bother to take out the big boat. Instead they came down, fired up the generator (maybe for tea?), launched the RIB, went for a drive around the dock area and then recovered it. Then they vanished. An interesting day at work, not too stressful. Guess they are praying for a nice long delay to the lock gate repair!

Actually, that seems to be the way with the fishery protection boats. We spent nearly 2 weeks in Bangor during our 2 visits and the fisheries boat there never moved. It had a little TLC but was firmly tied up all the time. If we are reborn, or have to find a job soon to help the finances, we want to be employed on those boats.

The marina here is fine - with the now typical flats, shops and restaurants built around it:

As the dock area is still in commercial use, there are fishing boats, a dry dock and other interesting "parked" craft about to give the place a real salty atmosphere:

Plus this lovely MFV conversion:

Went for a nice walk along the estuary (until it started raining) and then back via the shopping area. The town is what you would imagine for a port area. Way better then Holyhead though and as there is a Tesco right next to the marina, ideal for those of us without a trolley shopper (yet?)

Since the forecast for Saturday was dry, we decided upon Swansea by train (station is the same distance as Tesco). Sunday - wet and windy, Monday, just windy. So, Sunday we will take the train to Cardiff, stay overnight in a very cheapo hotel and then explore the place on Monday.

We plan to check out the marinas in both places as possible bases for a couple of months. We need to leave the boat for a while to sort out the bungalow in Norfolk if the sale goes through as planned and then we would like to see more of South Wales too. The alternative is Falmouth, a favourite location. Let's see how this works out......... So far the forecast says that it will be Thursday next week before the wind calms down enough to make a trip around Land's End sensible.