October 30th, 2018
Madness
Been a mad mad few weeks what with the Annapolis Boat Show which was great fun but pretty full on from dawn until dusk. The up side was that we met lots of interesting people and got to know the Swiftsure guys well. They are the US agents for Garcia and as a thankyou for our efforts they bought us a drone which was completely unexpected and really very moving so stand by for some good pictures once I master the manual.
The evening of wrapping up the show I flew to Hamburg to speak at a conference so my body didn't know what was going on. The flight out stopped in Iceland where I found myself waiting to board the next plane at three in the morning in driving rain and standing in an inch of water. Three degrees feels bloody cold in those circumstances but it did entertain the ground staff for I was in my shorts, flip-flops and Hawaiian shirt!!!
On returning we motored 'Pearl' to Herrington Harbor North where we lifted her out for a couple of weeks. We are having new Solar panels fitted, changing the anodes and pressure washing the bottom. At the same time, we are having a windsurfer wrack fabricated under the solar panel for we have been pulling all the toys together for our time in the Bahamas, BBQ included. We just can't wait to get back to an open sea with crystal clear water.
The night we lifted her out we flew back to London where Tracey caught the train to Cornwall and I bumped straight back into the air for Italy where I was teaching on a business course. The session went really well and I jumped straight back on a plane for London and the train to Cornwall feeling pretty gaga. Three transatlantic flights in a week feels a bit excessive.
The reason for the madness is that I am teaching in Oxford today and we decided to fit a family visit around the logistics of Italy and Oxford. It's always good to catch up with family but the really exciting thing is that Olivia has got engaged so we are here to help with wedding planning. Where does the time go - the day I first held that lovely little bundle in my arms seems like yesterday.
October 15th, 2018
DEEP SEA TRACEY
I love this picture for when we set sail off across the Bay of Biscay in a gale in December Tracey had only done two night sails. Here she is having crossed the Atlantic and explored her way up to Nantucket covering 8,800NM and all of it two handed. In doing so she has become a proud member of the Ocean Cruising Club and as you can see sailed her way through her first burgee. Proud of her.
October 5th, 2018
Boat Show
The show opened yesterday and what a manic day we had for the boat was swamped. Met lots of lovely people as well as catching up with many Ocean Cruising Club members. The night before I had the pleasure of speaking to an OCC dinner and invited them round. Its a lovely club full of fascinating people for to be a member you have to have done a 1,000 mile passage. They are all serious cruisers with lots of stories and advice.
October 5th, 2018
Last Boat in the Show
What a fun day Wednesday was for we were the last boat to enter the Annapolis Boat Show. They build a Marina just for the Show. In fact they build it around the boats as they are shepherded in. It reminded me of sheep pens as we were were bolted in - there's no leaving.
September 30th, 2018
Sunrise
Its getting darker here and I really notice it in the mornings for I am an early riser. Its also getting colder or perhaps I should say cooler. We put thermal bottoms on for the first time in ages the other day and liked it! That said the day before was terribly hot to the point that one couldn't do anything so we retreated to an Irish Bar. Turned out to be a nice afternoon hic hic.
We left at dawn this morning for Annapolis and as you can see the Chester River was stunning.
September 29th, 2018
Brickwork
Just had to take a picture of this lovely old brickwork laid down by a master who had real pride in his job. It's interesting as you go from town to town for they have distinct architectural influence from either the French or English, it's quite marked.
September 29th, 2018
Bad Alfreds Distillery
On returning to Baltimore we sailed and motored for seven hours to get to Chestertown which is at the top of the Chester River and it is worth the effort. We are anchored in the river and its busy with Crab fishermen plying up and down their line of pots. They whip them up to claim a catch and drop them back to carry on down the line in a seemingly endless cycle. Washington College is here and they are big on rowing so there is everything from singles to eights pulling their way up and down the river followed by noisy coaches with megaphones. This morning we saw the first squadrons of geese arrive for the winter, hundreds and hundreds of them. Amazingly noisy as they all honk away from above - something that I have read about and always wanted to see.
This is Josh who gave me a course on distilling - we had popped into Bad Alfreds Distillery for a pizza lunch as they have a proper wood fired oven. It was from Josh that I learned the best way to taste spirit it to dip your finger and then run it from the back of your tongue to the front - try it, its amazing. Always good to meet someone passionate about their trade.
September 29th, 2018
Fenders
I just had to share this picture from Baltimore marina where there was a line of six power boats with eight fenders between them. Admittedly you could moor the boat to a pontoon either side but it still put me on a back foot. They were all new and this was the best fendered of the lot!
