Day 5

We've been at sea four days and are now about 400 miles off the Irish coast, just SW of Rockall. We haven't seen a ship, or, heard a voice on the VHF for two days now. Progress has been reasonable given that only yesterday had a decent sailing wind. After a couple of days sunning ourselves on deck, the weather has changed to what you would expect for the North Atlantic: grey, rainy, cloudy, squally and cool. The decent wind yesterday enabled us to put Gjoa through her paces and she rose to the occasion proving to be a good sailor. We had a bit of a rough ride last night as the seas were churned up along with 20 knots of wind, but, today the seas have calmed and the wind has dropped a bit. Forecast is looking ok for the next few days, but, there is a nasty low looming ahead that will be difficult to avoid. We'll wait for a couple of days to get a more accurate forecast. It may then require evasive action to avoid, or, at least reduce the impact of the hit.

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Day5 25/6/2014 12:00 53°22.3'N 018°46.9'W

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At Sea-Ireland to Greenland

Hopefully you are able to read this. As we're now at sea, I'm posting to the blog using our Iridium satellite phone as a modem. Until we have internet access again, I am unable to see what I've posted, so, please excuse any format errors etc. Also, I am unable to post photos, so, will be posting short text entries only for the next while.

We returned from our Irish land travels late Friday and left Baltimore Saturday afternoon heading towards Nuuk, Greenland. Although travelling through Ireland on a large, lime-green bus with cartoon leprechauns painted on it wasn't the most dignified way to see the country, it enabled us to see a lot in a short time. We went through Connemara, Galway, Dublin and Cork. Actually, Co. Cork and the area of the southern coast where we made landfall turned out to be the most scenic. The west and south coasts of Ireland would make a great summer cruising ground, uncrowded, scenic and many safe harbours a short distance apart. We didn't see any non-Irish boats during our week's stay.

The passage to Nuuk, Greenland is about 1,800 miles. We're hoping to arrive in eighteen days (July 9), but, it could go either way by a number of days. Our one week departure delay hasn't seemed to have made any difference. The same high pressure system is still entrenched overhead and we have made discouraging process during our first day out. However, we have enough wind to keep the sails full and we're travelling at 3-4 knots under sail, so, can't ask for much more with such light wind. The sun is shining and it's warm. It looks like there will be a change coming in the next 2-3 days. Nothing horrendous is forecast and we should get more wind, so, we'll just keep plodding along and we should pick up speed eventually.

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At Sea 22/6/2014 12:00 51°40.7'N 011°28.8'W

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Baltimore (Ireland!)

After the previous day's F7, we headed off for Ireland in light winds. After rounding the Lizard (Lizard Point, the most southerly part of the British mainland),

Lizard Point

the wind continued to decrease until we were left with <F3 and then absolutely no wind at all. I have never seen the sea so calm. The sails started to slat, so, we had to drop them and continue under motor alone. Gjoa is designed to sail, not motor, and without the stabilizing effect of a sail develops a most uncomfortable roll. Due to the lack of wind we didn't have the usual overfalls around the Lizard, but, the sea was still confused and contributed to the rolling. It was interesting to read the evocative names, on the chart, of the reefs surrounding us and can only imagine what conditions can be like here to have historical names like The Manacles, Shark's Fin and The Wrigglers.

There was an entrenched high overhead and the no-wind conditions prevailed for the entire voyage. We were only able to sail for about three hours. Performance under motor was less than expected and the weather conditions weren't changing, so, we decided to do a 'touch-and-go' at St. Mary's, Scilly Isles

Sunset at Crow Sound, St. Mary's

and have a good night's rest at anchor. The Scillies are an interesting group of islands that really warranted some additional time, but, we also wanted to spend time in Ireland, so, unfortunately just got a taster of their unique landscape.

A neighbouring boat in the Scillies anchorage with a full moon.

The next night was spent at sea and the motor droned endlessly as we ticked off the miles. The wind picked up a little as we approached the Irish coast, on the nose of course and came too late to get us into Baltimore so we anchored overnight at Castletownshend and moved on to Baltimore the next day. Baltimore is the most westerly port on the south coast of Ireland, so, we thought it was well-positioned to act as the departure point for Greenland.

We had planned for a week in Ireland to do a bit of touring, but, with high pressure dominating over the whole of the North Atlantic, it also seemed to be an ideal week for departure. We went back and forth: should we stay, or, should we go? In the end, we decided to stay and take our chances with a later departure. The high pressure and no-wind was predicted to last all week. We can't motor all the way to Greenland, so, it seemed pointless to depart and wallow offshore while waiting. Also, we don't want to arrive in Greenland too early either. Right now the ice is still hard and fast for about forty miles off the tip of Cape Farewell, its most southerly point and there are many icebergs close to the coast.

First glimpse of Ireland

I'm writing this from Dublin. Tomorrow, we're heading out on a two-day backpacker's 'PaddyWagon' mini-bus tour to Connemara and Galway. A good way to see the west coast when you don't have time to sail there. Back to Gjoa on Friday, a few final preparations and depending on weather, we'll be off.

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Baltimore 14/6/2014 19:30 51°28.8'N 009°23.8'W

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Helford River

We spent nine days at Port Pendennis Marina, Falmouth. Provisioning a boat for a long voyage, from scratch, without a car, is a daunting task and we weren't looking forward to it. It's a lot of planning, list-making, hauling and the continuing worry of whether you have enough, or, have forgotten a crucial ingredient or two. We don't have refrigeration on Gjoa, so, menu planning was a little more difficult to keep interesting as well. Once you've gotten it all back to the boat via, in our case, train, bus, taxi and foot power, the logistics of where to put it all, in some logical order, so that you'll be able to find it again come into play. We stuffed it all in somehow and we even have room to spare, amazing. Hopefully, our planning will prove adequate in the months to come, I'm sure we won't starve.

Even though there was always something interesting to look at in the marina, like the two boats below, it seemed a shame to leave Falmouth without seeing more of it than the inside of Tesco and Sainsburys.

A 53m! American yacht fresh from a refit. Dozens of staff buzzed around on deck for days.

Falmouth Hotel

Combined with a visit to their large Marks and Spencer store, we did get to see Truro, a prosperous-looking market town with a lovely cathedral as well.

We also made the effort to get out our new bikes and ride along the Falmouth waterfront. One of the reasons we wanted a larger boat was so that we'd have room to carry bicycles and dive gear. I'd been lusting after a Brompton folding bicycle since arriving in the U.K., but, we never had the room.

Folded

Now that we were leaving and maybe not coming back, I was determined to get one as a souvenir of our visit. The Brompton is a unique British product with a bit of a cult following. It's the smallest folding bike you can get and is well-engineered.

Unfolded

On the watefront.

Those Victorians must have had too much time on their hands to make a seashell grotto like this one.

The marina bill was getting very expensive, so, we did a last-minute fresh food shop, laundry etc. and departed. It was blowing a F7 on the nose and we knew there was no way we'd make it around the Lizard without a lot of work, so, rather than beat ourselves up, we headed for the Helford River, a good anchorage recommended to us and set out again the next day, bound for Ireland.

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Helford River 10/6/2014 12:00 50°05.7'N 005°06.6'W

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Fowey/Falmouth

We left Salcombe, heading for Plymouth, with another light wind forecast, but, at least it was going to be an East wind, what luck! We made such good progress west that we decided to skip Plymouth and head for Fowey instead. Plymouth is always an interesting destination because there are usually a number of submarines and warships in the harbour to look at. As it turned out, we didn’t need to go into the harbour because they were all outside enjoying the sun and light breeze like us. At one point we were surrounded by four HMS warships, doing some kind of exercises, with helicopters taking off and landing on the flight decks. At least they weren’t live firing exercises which we encountered a couple of days ago off Portland Bill. It was interesting that, while in the live firing area, we experienced a GPS outage for about two minutes. Related, who knows?

Fowey

We were able to sail the rhumb line and with just the outer genoa set and the tide we were doing a comfortable five knots directly to Fowey. Fowey was a lovely town and the sun was shining.

We took the day off  and did some sightseeing which included lots of Cornish pasties and Cornish ice cream. Many interesting literary and nautical historical links were discovered there and enjoyed.

Fowey

This pod of dolphins surrounded Gjoa in Fowey Harbour and stayed all day.

The trip to Falmouth was uneventful. We are in a marina for a week or so where the remaining provisioning and list of boat jobs must be completed before we head offshore.

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Falmouth 01/06/2014 19:30 50°09.1'N 005°03.7'W

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Crossing the Bar - Salcombe

We are in Salcombe, Devon where, it has been suggested, Tennyson wrote his famous poem ‘Crossing the Bar’ while sitting here on a yacht in 1889. He must have been contemplating the formidable bar at the

Salcombe entrance - looking
seaward

entrance to the harbour which stretches almost entirely from side-to-side. Entry is through a tiny opening, which at low water Springs, wouldn’t support our 2m draught. We did the tidal sums, checked and rechecked and held our breath. In the end, it was an uneventful entry and we picked up a mooring right in front of the yacht club. This is a very pretty town, with a high street like Cowes’, but more upscale, must be very expensive to live here. Unfortunately, this week is half-term, so the town is heaving with tourists and the restaurants and shops are packed.

Salcombe Yacht Club - we're moored right in front

Weather has been totally unexpected. Since we set out, there has been a firmly entrenched low which brings cloudy skies and rain showers, but, unusually very little wind. This stretch of Channel normally has strong SW winds, sometimes not changing for very long periods. We weren’t looking forward to beating into it all the way to Falmouth, but, we’ve had nothing over F5 and sometimes just F2-3 or even less. The motor has been getting a workout. It has been a good shakedown for the rebuilt injectors and injection pump we did over the winter.

We made three passages to get here, a short one from Poole to Portland where we anchored in the harbour (where all the Olympic sailing happened in 2012), from Portland to Brixham and then from Brixham to Salcombe. The first and third passages were entirely

Start Point - seen through the murk

under motor. Luckily, the long one from Portland to Brixham, which rounds the feared Portland Bill and crosses forty-five mile Lyme Bay, had wind for most of the way. We enjoyed a really nice sail in 12 knots of NW wind for about 2/3 of the passage. We got a great push from the tide around Portland Bill. All was going well until the wind died. We soon realized we weren’t going to make Dartmouth, our original destination, before dark, so, decided to change course for Brixham instead where we could easily anchor just outside the harbour. It was an interminable motor at just 3 knots (we had a foul tide as well) to get there, but, we arrived just before dark, slung the magic anchor over the side (set first time again) and enjoyed turning the motor off for a good night’s rest in our

newly-created sleeping quarters. It was a very long, difficult project stripping the entire v-berth back to the stringers and rebuilding into large, comfortable beds with above and below storage, but, we’re very happy with how it turned out and are really enjoying the results.

For those of you not familiar with Tennyson’s poem Crossing the Bar, here it is:

Sunset and evening star,

  And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

  When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

    Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

    Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

    When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

    The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

    When I have crost the bar.

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Salcombe 29/5/2014 17:30 50°14.0'N 003°46.00'W

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On Our Way

Finally, finally, we have left the dock! Only three days later than our planned departure date of May 21, we left Cowes yesterday. Last-minute events seemed to be conspiring against us, we’d said our goodbyes, were feeling the pressure and wondering whether we’d ever get away when, five days before departure, a boat went out of control in the marina. It was a large, heavy boat and as it careered towards our stern-mounted and vulnerable windvane,  propelled by the fierce tide that runs through the marina, we had visions of our

Gjoa at East Cowes Marina

departure being delayed significantly while repairs were made. Luckily, with some timely fending-off, we only encountered a glancing blow which rearranged the liferaft and lightly pushed the windvane paddle out of the way.  Further testing while underway is necessary, but, we think it’s ok. Three days before departure, our main computer decided to give notice of imminent failure requiring a quick run to the computer store. On the day of departure, it was blowing 40 knots through the marina, accompanied by torrential rain, so, we decided to delay yet another day.

Finally, yesterday, we and the weather were ready. We joined the traffic jam coming out of Cowes. Maybe leaving on a bright, sunny Saturday morning on a Bank Holiday weekend wasn’t such a great idea. We got some sail up amongst the crush of boats and made way for Studland Bay, near Poole, where we’d planned to anchor. Our sailing skills are very rusty after two years ‘on the hard’ and we hadn’t sailed Gjoa before, but, although not sailing very well, at least we were making way in the right direction. The Solent was full of boats, all heading west with the fair tide. One sleek boat after another, with identically-attired crew festooned on the windward rail, streaked by us until we were almost the last boat to arrive at the Needles. Most boats went south, we went west and after a lovely sail, we were snugly anchored with a beautiful view of ‘Old Harry’ and rolling green countryside.

The 'magic' Spade anchor

Before closing, I have to mention our new ‘magic’ anchor. On our previous boat we struggled with getting our old CQRs to set. When tired and just wanting to get the hook down, it was very frustrating dealing with multiple attempts and we found ourselves avoiding anchoring. We bought a new Spade anchor for Gjoa and we just couldn’t believe the difference. Basically, just tossed it over, backed down really hard and we were set first time! The anchorage is known for poor holding, it was rolly overnight, with tide changes, but, we never budged. Now, that’s a result. We are now looking forward to many more nights at anchor.

Our plan now is to move slowly along the south coast, towards Falmouth, where we’ll spend some time provisioning and then make the hop to Ireland.

Farewell to the Isle of Wight

'Old Harry'

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Studland Bay 24/5/2014 17:30 50°38.9'N 001°56.00'W

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Introducing Gjoa

Hi All! Although we won’t be posting regularly until we get underway in mid-May, we wanted to announce the location of our new blog. We hope you enjoy the map above showing where we’ve been since we set off on this voyage in June 2010. We’ll be able to update our progress on the map once we are moving again.

As most of you know, after the initial intense 1-1/2 years of cruising, we stopped in the UK to top up our cruising kitty, recover and reflect on our choice of the cruising life. We decided we wanted to continue, but, needed to make a few changes. We’ve cast off our land ties almost entirely now and made another big change, a ‘new’ (to us) boat, Gjøa. The original ‘Gjøa’ was the boat that Norwegian Roald Amundsen used to make the first successful transit of the NorthWest Passage in 1903-1906. The boat was named for the wife of the original owner/builder. As a Canadian-registered boat, we weren’t able to register the proper Norwegian spelling,so it is Gjoa.

I’ve written in the past about the fantastic year we spent living on our previous boat in Norway and the part that the Norwegians played in early Arctic explorations of Canada. We’ve long had the Arctic ‘bug’ and the Norwegian visit inspired us to finally plan our own Arctic explorations and transit of the NorthWest Passage this summer. It is hoped that our new boat’s name, along with its illustrious sailing history will bring us good luck on our passage.

Gjoa was first named ‘Asma’ and was built in Germany,  in 1989, specifically for a circumnavigation of the Americas by Clark Stede, a journalist and photographer. Published in 1994, Rund Amerika: Die erste Umseglung des amerikanischen Kontinents’ (only in German) documents his successful voyage along with Michelle Poncini. If we are successful in our transit of the Passage this summer, it, will be the boat’s second time through!

After ‘Asma’ she became ‘Taonui’. As ‘Taonui’, she provided sixteen years and 100,000 miles of adventures for her owners Tony and Coryn Gooch, including visits to Antarctica, South Georgia and a single-handed, solo, non-stop circumnavigation in 2002/3.

We feel privileged to own a boat with such an amazing history and hope some of her sailing success will continue with us. We plan to travel to many places she’s already been and many new ones as well. Pictures and postings to follow…..stay tuned.

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Cowes 29/3/2014 20:51 50°45.07'N 001°17.32'W

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Black Sheep is for Sale!

Quite a dramatic headline to this post, but, we’re not giving up cruising. We’re changing boats! We’d been toying with the idea of changing Black Sheep for some time. Although she has served us well for the last five years (almost three years living aboard now), we found ourselves being increasingly drawn to cold, wild places and felt that in order to do more of that, comfortably, we’d need a boat that was designed to cruise in those areas. Our three primary goals in making the change were: an ice-resistant (steel or aluminum), insulated hull; heat, both while motoring and while sailing and a warm, dry place to spend watches. Ok and maybe we’d like a few more creature comforts as well. How about hot water and a shower, maybe a bit more storage space? Maybe a few more technical items like an alternate battery charging source, a drogue and a good downwind sail plan setup? At the same time, we also didn’t want a boat with overly complex, expensive, systems.

We’d looked at a few boats and even went so far as to put an offer on one in the U.K. It was a compromise, at best, and with hindsight we are very happy we were outbid. Through another cruiser here at St. Kat’s we were put in touch with a very experienced sailor who was toying with the idea of selling his boat after sixteen years of ownership. So, in our usual fashion, in early November, we immediately flew off to the Azores for a week, where the boat was on the hard for the winter, to have a look.

Terceira, Azores

Terceira, Azores

It wasn’t love at first sight, our hoped-for creature comforts weren’t there, but, after weighing up all the pluses and minuses we decided to go for it. A deal was soon arranged, a deposit paid and here we are. We haven’t actually closed the deal yet, so, will leave more of the details about the boat until that happens. She should be arriving in Lymington, on the south coast of the U.K., after the owner has had his last ocean sail with her. Expected arrival is in early June, which seems to be coming up awfully fast. We have been making plans and getting very excited. It will mean another tumultuous year for us, but, what else is new, it seems to be our normal state of being.

An unexpected and expensive hassle soon materialized when we went to put Black Sheep on the market. We’d read about the need to deal with the boat’s VAT tax status, which we had already done anyway, so, that was ok. We’d also read about the need for a CE mark (European standards certification) on all boats imported into the EU. There seemed to be numerous ways around this restriction, but, unfortunately, for one reason or another, Black Sheep didn’t qualify for any of them. The biggest sticking point was that our thirty year old engine wouldn’t meet current emission standards and would have to be replaced. It didn’t matter that the engine was built in the UK originally, or, that there must be hundreds, if not thousands, of boats currently in the UK with the same type of engine (Perkins 4.108), or, that we could take the engine out and put it into another boat already in the UK and that would be ok also. We also found out that boat brokers won’t even list a boat for sale unless it has the mark. So, were stuck, the engine would have to be replaced.

Once the decision was made, we sprung into action. We had heard good things about a rigging shop at Suffolk Yacht Harbour at Levington, Suffolk (near Ipswich). We needed to repair our mast (the detached interior conduit that I wrote about earlier), so, knew we’d have to make a stop there. Then, we found there was an engine shop there as well and hired them for the job. We took their advice and went for the Yanmar 3JH5E engine, 39HP, which is a comparable replacement to the old one. Other Baba35 owners had also re-engined with this model. We were warned that not only would the engine need to be replaced, but, the motor mounts would need to be adjusted and it would probably require a new shaft and exhaust system as well. This all proved true and added to the substantial cost.

We wanted to get the job done as soon as possible, so, despite it being Christmas week, we decided to move the boat to be ready for them to start right after the holidays. We left London on Christmas Eve, even though there was a gale forecast. Otherwise, we’d have been unable to get out for a couple of days as the marina office was closed. We were only going down the Thames to the Medway (Queenborough) the first day, so, would be in sheltered waters. We made it ok, picked up a mooring, and sat there for a couple of days over Christmas to wait out the gales. It was quite enjoyable, with our new diesel heater keeping us cozy and with a proper Christmas dinner cooked aboard. The only negative was our fridge conked out, but, not a hardship as it was cold enough to keep food outside.

To make a long story short, we were hauled out and the mast and old engine were craned out soon thereafter. It took two weeks to replace the engine with them working on it every day. It was tough living aboard, on the hard, at the same time, but, it all got done. On the way back, we motored the whole way to exercise the new engine. We were amazed to see about a 30% increase in speed, a 50% reduction in fuel usage and quieter operation too! Wishing now that we were going to be enjoying this new engine instead of handing it over to a new owner.

There’s still more paperwork to be got through, a surveyor visit, a stability test and the application for the CE mark submitted, but, I think we’re getting to the home stretch now.

Our visit to Suffolk was a nice break, it was like being on a mini-holiday and it felt great to be back at sea again (even though we were very rusty and made some stupid mistakes). Suffolk itself was a nice surprise. It was good to be back in the countryside where you can see the sky and the landscape. There were great walks right from the marina, through protected bird marshes and deer were spotted among the hedgerows as well. A bus ride took us into the town of Ipswich, a mid-sized town that has everything you need in a compact area. After a brief snow delay, we’re now back in London hoping to get the boat on the market and sold, soon!

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July-December 2012

Six months have passed by in a flash. Life seems rather mundane when we’re not out cruising and I hadn’t planned to keep to a monthly writing schedule as there didn’t seem to be that much interesting to say. Looking back, in summary though, we have had quite a bit going on over the last six months, so, I thought I would share a few photos and comments.

A spent the summer and fall commuting to Copenhagen for work. The work was satisfying (after it was all over!) and the customer deadlines were met. For my project farewell dinner, we went to a restaurant in the famous Tivoli Gardens in the heart of Copenhagen. It was a crisp fall night and the Gardens had all been decorated for Halloween, lots of fun and good memories. Our project team was an interesting mix, with English, Scottish, South African, American, Lebanese, Spanish, Portugese and Canadian (me) members. The customer team had Danes, of course, as well as lots of Poles, Bulgarians and especially Swedes. The only common language is English and I continue to be amazed at the multilingual capacity of Europeans. It really makes me embarrassed to be a unilingual North American. In the office, language is never a problem, but, I have heard other cruisers say that they have occasionally gotten flak for not speaking the local language(s). With most cruisers visiting many countries, even within a single year, it just isn’t possible to get more than a few words, let alone become fluent. After a few months of listening to Danish, I was starting to pick up a few things, but, not enough to communicate.

2012 was also the Olympic and Queen’s Jubilee summer for London. We’re not much into crowds, but, I must admit that London had a ‘vibe’ that was hard to beat. Lots of smiles and people from everywhere. Flags and bunting were proudly displayed. Each country had a sort of ‘clubhouse’ somewhere in the city. Amusingly, while A was working in Copenhagen, St. Kat’s marina was turned into a little corner of Denmark with a floating entertainment stage, free hot dogs and cultural showcase pavilions. The marina itself was almost empty, management had tried to gouge with their pricing structure and it backfired when the expected superyachts never materialized. We, however, decided to stay and pay the ridiculous seventeen day premium. To move the boat somewhere else and then have to commute back into the airport for work didn’t make much sense. Commuting was difficult, especially through our local station, London Bridge. Huge crowds were forced to pass through barricaded entry/exit points and a few platforms had to be closed due to overcrowding, but, generally, it was ok.

Albufeira, Portugal

Outdoor escalators from the beach to the street

In December, we decided to take the opportunity for a short trip. We’d always heard about other people going on these really cheap holidays and getting fantastic deals. Somehow, we never seemed able to get one for ourselves. One day, I just happened to get one of those ‘deal’ emails that couldn’t be resisted. We booked to go on a seven day trip to the Portugese Algarve for £268 (about CAD$400). Now, this included both our return flights to Faro, a studio room with kitchen and breakfast and all taxes etc.!! At that price, we thought we could spring for a car as well and rented a car for eight days for only £65 (about CAD$100). The hotel and reviews looked ok online, but, for the price, we couldn’t imagine it would be anything special. To our surprise, it actually was quite good. Location was excellent, right on the beach and a short walk into the main town. The public areas of the hotel were of a very high quality and the breakfast was excellent. Ok, the room was a little shabby and the beds not great, but, it was clean. Albufeira in high season would not be our favourite place as I’m sure it’s very crowded, but, the week before Christmas most shops and restaurants were closed and it was very quiet. The ones that were open were hungry for business and we were enticed into one restaurant with cut-price offers, food was very good and we ate there two nights. The best days of the trip were when we took the car out of town and up into the mountains. We did a circular hike along a high ridge which had spectacular views. On our way back down the mountain we stopped at a restaurant we had noticed on the way up. It wasn’t obviously a restaurant, only the cars parked outside gave it away. It was packed with local people and we had the most fabulous meal. There was no menu. The waitress, luckily, knew enough English and told us, in one-word sentences, what we were going to get. A plate of very thin, dry-cured ham, a plate of thick-sliced, fresh, tomatoes and onions liberally laced with crunchy sea salt, home-baked, heavy peasant-style bread with fresh butter, followed by peri-peri chicken (spicy, barbequed chicken) and home-made French fries. What a feast and what a great trip!

G with new friends

On one of many beach walks

From Albufeira, we also signed up for a day trip to Seville, Spain. This was a great day out with someone else doing the driving and our first visit to Spain. Seville, of course, is famous for its marmalade oranges. All the streets were lined with trees laden with the fruit which added colour to the extensive Christmas decorations. It was a very beautiful town.

Amazing tilework

Seville - Tiled bridge

Seville - street scene

Seville oranges

We got back from Portugal just in time for Christmas. A’s office arranged their first Christmas party this year and it was very special. We were invited to a black-tie affair (our first) and an overnight stay at a 16th century Royal hunting lodge. The lodge was near Windsor and we took the train there. The hotel was absolutely amazing with original carved wood panelling and a warm ambience. We were almost late to dinner due to G’s wardrobe malfunction. His rented tux had a very complicated bowtie that neither of us could figure out. Luckily, the hotel restaurant manager came to the rescue and made us feel better when he said he had just had to assist another guest with the same problem! The evening was lovely and much enjoyed. We had little treats from Harrods placed in our rooms and enjoyed a lovely breakfast the next morning as well. After a stroll through the gardens, we departed for the boat and packed away our finery. There’s not much call for high heels and formal wear in our cruising life, but, it was fun for a night.

Christmas 2012

The Christmas week itself was actually spent in transit, on the boat, to Suffolk! More to follow on that in the next post.

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