Up at 06:30, leave the aire an hour later and slop out then up the hill for the long-face mile to the port. Check in is smooth, Douane comes in but without his gun this time and we are last on except for a broken down vintage MG-TC towed on by a port tug.

By the time we get up on deck the lines are being cast off and Pont-Aven shudders her way off the quay with loads of vibration. A few minutes out we are passed by Armorique and Ali exchanges 'your ship' pictures and 'we see you' messages with social media friend Julie Wright who is arriving as we leave.

As land recedes we go for breakfast, an excellent buffet of cereals, fruit, ham, cheeses and pastries, all you can eat for £8.35

It's a smooth, sunny crossing, easy disembarkation and little delay at Border Control and by 14:00 we are crossing Tamar bridge. At Saltash services we top up with fuel, using the 'ultimate' higher grade diesel.

Traffic is light and Mary*Lou is running as well as she ever has. Perhaps the bumpy roads and slow speeds a few days ago shook up some muck, or maybe the problem will recur another time but for now all's well.

We arrive home to the usual unkempt garden and huge pile of 50%-junk mail.

But it's been another very enjoyable, educational and memorable trip, starting in the snows of March and ending with weeks of sun and mid 20s temperatures.