The boat that I sailed accross the atlantic in during the winter of 1988 still belongs to my old friend Michael Walden and on Wednesday he called to tell me he'd arrived in Weymouth on only his second sail of the year, he'd come from Poole.

Needless to say, I was overjoyed to hear that Trimley Maid was in Weymouth and so I discharged my responsibilities and eventually met up with Michael on board in the late afternoon. We had a couple of drinks on board with Mary, Liam and my mother, then went to the Crows Nest for an excellent meal and a few bottles of wine.

Thurday saw Trimley Maid leave Weymouth but not on a long voyage, she only went to Portland Marina where Michael negotiated a reduced night rate so he stayed on another evening, I cycled across the causeway to meet them and chatted for an hour or two about old times before leaving to come home as Mary had cooked a great tea for us.

Michael and Trimley Maid's next port of call is scheduled to be West Bay, just along the coast from Portland.

Whilst there I had a look at some of the great Isle of Portland Hotels.