Well, yesterday didn't quite go as planned! We lost the wind early in the morning and ended up fighting a bit of tide, which meant we arrived a little later than expected. We dropped anchor around 3:30 PM and were told the boarding officers had been notified.
At about this point, I started glancing at my watch and wondering what the chances were of actually getting cleared in late on a Sunday afternoon. Turns out, the chances were zero. Around 17.00 they told us they'd come first thing in the morning (i.e., in a few hours).
So, we had a choice to make: leave and go back out to sea for the night, then return in the morning (far safer, but a bit of a hassle), or stay put. The yacht club assured us it was safe to anchor outside the marina and that they have security monitoring the seawall. Which, of course, made me wonder why they have security if it's so safe, and what exactly a security guard on the seawall is going to do if something happens!
Anyway, since we were already anchored, we decided to stay put. We kept all the outside lights on, closed the doors tightly, and did watches all night, just as we would if we were sailing. The sun is just coming up now, and so far, the marina was right – no problems. Still, the sooner we get inside the marina, the happier I'll be!
