Arthur's crew woke up at the anchorage of Porth Cressa, on St Mary's, after a difficult crossing of the English Channel. The sun is there, the sea sickness and the fatigue are forgotten, we are finally in Scilly !
Formalities for entering the United Kingdom
We met again, by chance, a neighbor we had met in Bono in the Gulf of Morbihan. He informed us about the formalities to enter the United Kingdom, which we had not yet done.
We send the completed entry form by email to the authorities who answer us very quickly by the same means. We still have to wait for the local Border Force authorities who have to contact us in person, by phone or by email. The customs' semi-rigid regularly passes through the anchorages. Meanwhile, we are not allowed to go ashore. Hard, hard for the children.
No matter, we take out the fishing rods and the hammock. Guillaume tinkers and moves the rear navigation light, hidden by the dinghy, so that it is more visible. We keep ourselves busy. But the next day, still without any news from the customs, we decided to go ashore anyway!
First stop at St Mary's
Hugh Town is a very pretty village that serves as the administrative center for the archipelago. It is located on an isthmus with St Mary's pool to the north and Porth Cressa to the south. There is a grocery store, a pharmacy, the medical center and a tourist office.
Second stage in Tresco
However, we did not linger too long and headed for Old Grimsby, a very nice anchorage well protected from the west wind. The boat was soon anchored near Tresco Island. This was a good timing as the Queen's Jubilee celebrations were starting.
Local festivals and visits to the island
On the menu of the festivities, a huge blaze is lit at nightfall on the highest hill of Tresco. The whole population was there, champagne in hand, to toast the Queen! During the following days, the children participated in a drawing contest about Elizabeth II and in a party on the beach of New Grimsby, in the great Anglo-Saxon tradition: cakes, Pimm's and a bicycle parade
We also visited the ruined castles of the island, the bird observatory and the numerous beaches of Tresco! Time flies and the wind finally blows north so that we can reach the Irish coast. Let's go for another 48 hours of sailing to reach the St Georges canal!
