Deserted - thanks to an earthquake

Tuesday 1^st. June

We are now anchored in Port Leone, but don’t let the Port bit deceive you. It’s no more than a deserted bay which until 1953 supported a small but thriving village. An earthquake changed all that. The town is now deserted save for a church and a part-time pub…strange how these two establishments manage to survive no matter where in the world. Plus ca change!

Today is the first day we have had slightly iffy weather. The sky is overcast, we’ve had a light drizzle but with a wind out of the North West we had a good sail down here. The forecast is for NW 5-6 and with luck our little deserted bay will give us the protection we need overnight. We are anchored next to 'Makarma', a boat from Plymouth owned by Leighton and Cathy, also CA members. They have a solid boat, the sort of craft you want if caught out in bad weather. It’s all brass and teak but sadly neither Jo nor I can recall its make. They are living on board permanently and are now into year two of their cruising adventure. A few days ago we had two couples from the Cotswolds either side. You come all this way and meet the neighbours!

We hope to get ashore a bit later and explore the ruined village. It reminds me a bit of Imber on Salisbury Plain. The village was taken over by the MoD around 1914 and used for combat training. At the height of the Northern Ireland ‘troubles’ it doubled for Belfast! The church is all that remains and it too is tended. Luckily Wiltshire has escaped earthquakes but the army achieved the same result.

The wind was a bit brisk overnight and we kept waking up to check the anchor. It was fine and didn’t move at all but there’s always that nagging doubt when the wind whistles through the rigging and the boat shears around. Leighton and Cathy had to anchor five times before they found a good holding spot.