So this is it, our final post as Silhouette is now in the care of new owners. Mixed emotions all round for sure but what an adventure we’ve had in the last 8 years together. Of course Silhouette’s will continue as the new owners are moving onboard full time to explore the Mediterranean, we know with love & care she will do her duty of taking them wherever they want to go in safety and style.

Back in 2015 our plan was in general to not have a plan except to step outside our comfort zone and explore parts of the world we would never normally see. Together with our daughter Charlotte (who didn’t choose this life) we did just that & haven’t regretted a single moment. There’s been highs & lows of course, crossing the Atlantic Ocean on our own yacht as a family will be something we’ll talk about for years to come whilst at the other end of the spectrum seeing Charlotte so unwell due to her medical condition has been simply horrific. Her strength and will to continue to explore the world with us despite her limitations should be a message to everyone that positivity and a will to push on when others around you disagree is what makes you stand out from the crowd & we are so proud of her.

One of the many highlights for us are the friends we’ve made along the way, from all walks of life, but with the same goal & that is to simply be there, have fun & help if/when needed.

The cruising life is such that you make friends but may never see them again as we nearly always end up sailing in different directions, there’s been so many we couldn’t list you all but we have to do a few….

Dr Simon Ashley & Nina on Yacht Safina for introducing Charlotte to your colleague Dr Martin Sadler, “you have changed her life forever”.

Steve & Helen Houssart on Yacht Allegrini, together our yachts have covered over 10,000 miles & we have left our mark in many bars, I’m sure we still owe you a round or two 😉

Nick & Carol Bullen on Yacht Sea Spine, our friends of some 30 years and Atlantic crew in 2018 ….. Nick & I hand steering all night every night for 3000 miles, what an experience.

Christoph & Angela on Yacht Ithaka, together we set up “International Rescue” in St Lucia. Who knew Germans had such a great sense of humour?! 😉

Jeremy Gassman on Yacht Right Turn who we first met on the Algarve in 2018 and have sailed in company with since. You’re “not happy” vhf call in thick fog will make us laugh for years to come 😂

Lastly a huge thank you to Nala for continuing to look after Charlotte. Incidentally she is quite the celebrity now on British Airways!!

There are of course many more, we wish you all fair winds & calm seas ahead. For us we’re going to take a couple of months “land cruising” through Europe as we return to our home in Dorset, England. Once there it’s time for Charlotte to carefully spread her wings & gain some independence which is so important for her. In due course we plan to buy a villa in Spain, not too far from the Houssart’s so the partying will continue!

Thank you to the thousands who’ve read our blog over the last few years, if you get the opportunity to do something extraordinary just do it as life is too precious & short to miss out.

“This is yacht Silhouette standing by on channel 16”…….

Since we arrived, the weathers generally been great with blue skies and temperatures up to 26 degrees. This time last year we were hunkered down on the south coast of the U.K. with the heating on full 🥶 . We know into the new year the temperature will drop a bit but still way better so smiles all round. Christmas Day looks like sun & 19 degrees…. That’ll do nicely 🥂

We’ve had Beth & Harper (2nd daughter & granddaughter) onboard for a week. Charlotte & Beth went off on their own leaving us with grandparent duties which was lovely as these moments are so precious & fleeting. We felt so lucky to be together again❤️

The next week Carolines sister flew in so together we explored the Rock, leaving Charlotte onboard to get on with her university coursework.

The official tour is definitely the way to go which takes you up the Rock to the big 4 attractions. St Michael’s cave is simply amazing, and the history surrounding it even more so. Skywalk including the “locals” was next followed by the great siege tunnels and World War II tunnels. The engineering feats of the original great seige tunnels really does need to be seen to be appreciated as these were made by hand. These photos will never do it justice, you really need to go!!

World War II tunnels whilst smaller in length , are much bigger in volume presumably due to technological advances in demolition etc and can accommodate thousands of people for months. Their strategic importance is well documented & it’s clear to see with the view out over the straits.

We’ve settled in nicely and have found ourselves a couple of local bars within the “village” who offer happy hour drinks….. our favourite prices 😂. Despite Silhouette being on the market, general maintenance continues. The fresh water pump started to sound a bit dry so we’ve replaced it with a new more powerful one rather than mess about with a repair and I’ve replaced the toilet outlet hoses. I had the spare hose in the locker and it was on my list of things to do anyway…. Still not a nice job though 🤮

As I write this, Silhouette is under offer with deposit paid & survey booked for the 12th January. Interest was as we thought it would be & we always felt the first to view would fall in love as quickly as we did back in 2015. We hope the buyers come down during the survey as they’ve actually only seen Silhouette via a video link & a recommendation from a friend who came to look for them! We know the surveyor will be there to do a job (be nice!) but we’d love the buyers to take the helm from the berth round to the marina on the Spanish side where she’ll be lifted out and watch the smile on their faces for the first time…. Which would be something special for them!!

Of course it’s Christmas so Silhouette is suitably adorned with lights as usual, my mother has also arrived for Christmas & new year staying in a hotel nearby.

Caroline, Charlotte & Nala flew back to the U.K. briefly to bring my mother back, Nala is now quite the celebrity with British Airways having flown with them 4 times in the last few weeks & everyone falls in love with her….. she even has her Boeing A320 license. Fortunately the passengers didn’t know who landed the aircraft😂😂

A huge shout out goes to British Airways who are truly amazing.

A very merry Christmas to you all !!🎅

We were warned the bay of Gibraltar was very busy with commercial shipping, when the bay opened we were amazed how many ships were there. Some were at anchor but many were moving slowly and they were all really big! On top of this there were ferries darting about too so we concentrated on our route across to Ocean Village marina. As our mast was above a certain height and we were heading towards the airport runway, the pilot book states that we must call ahead on the vhf to request clearance to transit the area. This proved to be a bit of a joke as shipping we’re calling non stop. Eventually we got through and the reply was spoken so quickly we actually had no idea what they said!!! In the end we just followed 2 yachts who looked like they knew what they were doing 🤷🏻‍♂️

We were allocated our winter berth at Ocean Village which was attached to the new super yacht pontoons…. All very very smart and a great location under the bow of the Sunborn a 5 star yacht hotel!

First impressions are that this is a wonderful place to spend the winter with good warm weather and plenty to do. Jeremy on Right Turn started this trip with us and was due to winter in the other marina at Queensway but quickly changed his mind and managed to secure a winter berth literally next to us.

When we left the U.K. this time we had a plan to spend the next 2 years or so cruising the Mediterranean before making any further decisions. Well, planning on a cruising yacht are written in sand at low water, this is certainly true for us.

Silhouette for sale

After 7 years of live aboard cruising taking us thousands of miles including crossing the Atlantic to the wonderful waters of the Caribbean, we have decided it’s time for us to return to land permanently. Silhouette is now for sale here in Gibraltar which is the perfect place for her as she’s ready to sail east into the Mediterranean or west across the Atlantic again.

In the meantime, we have much exploring to do here & will share with you in the next post including our land plans…

Leaving Sines at first light, we once again set our route to the 20 metre contour line (this was getting boring now) and head to cap St Vincente the southwestern tip on mainland Europe. Just in front of us was a Danish yacht that had left about an hour before us, following pretty much the same course. This was an uneventful mix of motoring and some sailing as we approached the cape. In 2018 we rounded the cape in light winds which became 25 knots very quickly, so this time we were prepared & dropped the mainsail leaving a deeply reefed genoa. Unfortunately the Danish yacht hadn’t been here before we thought, & rounded with full sails out. What happened next was pretty sobering as their yacht was caught by a wind acceleration up to 38kts which knocked them over and they were struggling to recover. We rocketed past them in full control whilst keeping an eye on them in case we were needed, as they turned 360 degrees twice in an effort to reduce sail, which they eventually did.

We called Jeremy on the radio to warn him but he was already prepared!

We anchored for the night just east of Sagres in a very windy bay, we love our anchor !!! Then headed off to Portimao which would be our base for 3 weeks as we had family coming to stay and a very special surprise for Charlotte.

Charlottes best friend Beth made a surprise visit & spent 4 days with us. All very emotional and a big moment for Charlotte, allowing her the freedom to spend time with someone her own age.

It was then turn for our cousins Lee & Julie to visit to do some socialising (drinking) & sailing along the Algarve. a great week was had, taking them to Lagos, Culatra and Vila Real de Santo Antonio on the Portuguese/Spanish border. The last place having the most difficult entrance we’d ever negotiated. Timing our arrival at the entrance in the river just before high water was supposed to be easier, however the tide was still screaming in. Apparently we made it look easy but it didn’t feel like it at the time!!

Having said our goodbyes, we headed off again with Jeremy on Right Turn, to Mazagon marina for a night then straight to the 3000 year old city of Cadiz where we stayed for 2 nights giving time to explore. The marina was “basic” to say the least and not a very nice walk in, however once in the old city it was lovely and well worth a visit.

Our last stop before Gibraltar was Barbate, generally acknowledged as the first/last marina before/after Gibraltar & where many yachts stop waiting for favourable conditions to enter the straits negotiating the infamous waters of Tarifa. Bearing all this in mind, we were disappointed to find yet another “basic” marina, well it was more a concrete jungle with no atmosphere at all. Luckily we found a weather window 2 days later, so with a forecast of gusts to 25-30 knots to push us towards the straits we left Barbate.

The wind at Tarifa blows in excess of 30 knots for 300 days of the year so its reputation is well deserved. We’d secured everything on deck and down below in preparation…. As we rounded the point with 3 knots of tide helping us, we were hit by 5 knots of wind😂😂😂.

Gibraltar next & big decisions…

Once out past the headland just to the west of Baiona we started our journey south ensuring we were at 20 metres or less as much as possible. Sometimes this looked like we could touch the shore but was in fact at least a half mile offshore. The prevailing winds down the coast are from the north and so close in meant any breeze was very light… you guessed it more motoring!

Our first stop was Póvoa da Varzim which we first visited back in 2018. Back then the marina was scruffy and in need of major renovations but it was extremely cheap due to an ARC discount of 50%. There were plans for a new marina right next to the casino and we were interested to see how it looked 5 years later. Having called on the radio to ask for berthing instructions, the marineros came out to meet us and guide us into the new marina…. With fingers of about 7 metres meaning half the boat was stuck out. The berths were very tight indeed & our beam meant another boat couldn’t have shared the same space. The marineros were very helpful speaking excellent English and once we’d tied up and settled in he said he’d come back in his boat to take us to the reception. It then dawned on us that the office and facilities block were still in the old marina, this brand new one had nothing AND was a good 20 minute walk away!!! All the staff were extremely helpful and embarrassed at the setup hoping every visitor would complain. I asked who I should complain to and she laughed and said “the Mayor” 😂

We stayed for 2 nights giving us the opportunity to do some provisioning & pick up a unlimited data SIM card for the router (40€). There’s been uncontrolled wild fires in the area and the smoke filled the horizon. On our first night an air raid siren went off which after some research was a call for every retained firefighter in the town to attend their fire station!! I told Charlotte that the siren took me back to my childhood when our local air raid siren would be tested. This was sadly at the height of the Cold War between the west & the old Soviet Union 😳

Having sent an email to the Douro marina in Porto to check for availability for us & Jeremy (Right Turn) we booked in for 4 nights. We’d not been here before & having read about the strong currents in the river on approach to the marina, were a little apprehensive. In the end it was a piece of cake as we were given a hammerhead berth!

Whilst there Jeremy and I had a boys day out including a free port tasting session at Taylor’s house courtesy of the marina, a few drinks & dinner in the old fishing village which was amazing.

Saying goodbye to Porto we continued south stopping briefly in Figuero da Foz, Nazare & Peniche. Nazare was a surprise, we didn’t stop there in 2018 but decided to this time to break the trip up. Very helpful marineros, great holiday town with a lovely Irish bar together with live music made it well worth the stop over. Climbing over the security gate to get back to our boats at 11pm wasn’t ideal though. Our access cards wouldn’t work !!!

Oh & Nazare is the place where the tallest wave in history ever surfed is. Over 85 feet high 😳

Peniche was as expected in that it was and is only good for (in our opinion) the shortest possible stay. We arrived on a holiday so there was no way to actually leave the marina… such as it was, as nobody was there to check us in!! We left at 7am the next morning & as there wasn’t even a security guard on duty through the night, we didn’t pay anything.

Back in 2018 we spent almost a week in Cascais using it as a base to explore Lisbon. Once again we wanted to spend a few days in this very upmarket resort. As we rounded the final headland before Cascais the promised wind arrived and screamed along at at steady 9-9.5 knots which was very exciting.

Cascais didn’t disappoint & we stayed for 6 nights feeling quite at home anchored just outside the very expensive (too expensive for us) marina. The day before we left, fog hit and boy was it thick. We couldn’t see yachts anchored next to us, so used the app what3words and a compass to get ashore!

Forcing ourselves to leave Cascais was a 43 mile sail to stop overnight at Sesimbra. It should’ve been 30 miles but due to Orca activity increasing we had to stay extra close to the shore meaning we had to go around the bay. We didn’t go ashore as we were leaving early in the morning so can’t comment on the town but it was certainly a tourist town & very busy too.

Waking up early in the morning we were greeted with thick fog. The forecast was for it to clear within 2-3 hours so I was quite happy to get going to reach Sines, the last stop on the west coast of Portugal. This was the first time we’d had the radar on continuously as visibility was extremely poor. Radar picked up “targets” and displayed them on the chart plotter giving us time to alter course as necessary. It was quite bizarre because most targets were actually small pleasure boats with locals fishing….. in the fog !!! As forecast, the fog lifted after 3 hours, but not as forecast it came back in earnest about an hour before we were due to arrive in Sines, a huge commercial port with a very small harbour for yachts to anchor in.

Together with radar, chart plotter & straining eyes, we slowly passed the breakwater at 50 metres (not that we saw it) & turned into the huge commercial harbour en route to the anchorage. Luckily as we were about to enter & as we were saying “how are we going to see yachts anchored?” The fog lifted and we had a clear approach in…. Phew ! Jeremy followed within 10 minutes and declared he was not happy with the fog 😂.

Next stop would be the Algarve…

Leaving A Coruna with dark clouds brewing behind, we sailed around to Ria Camarinas in mixed conditions meaning it was a case of motoring and sailing in only 10kts of NW breeze for the 51 miles, where we anchored for 1 night. Having done this back and in 2018 we know the trip south is going to be a mix of motoring & sailing especially as we’re going to be sailing “very” close to the shores where the prevailing winds are light. We have no choice though because of the risks of contact with Orcas.

The Rias are stunning & you could spend an entire season exploring yet still only scratch the surface of what’s on offer. However we’d decided to keep moving south, so the next day we sailed 39 miles to Muros where we anchored, again for only 1 night as our sights were set on spending time in the next Ria called Arousa which is also the largest.

There’s 2 routes into this Ria, the challenging route (in poor weather) is through a narrow rocky channel requiring some pilotage skill but this route saves over an hour & the weather was good so we went that way & Yep lots of rocks. We wouldn’t have taken this route if there were wind and swell present!

There’s plenty of anchoring opportunities throughout the Ria to shelter from any wind direction which we love as anchoring is free, those of you who know me know how tight I am 😂

We ended up spending nearly a week in the Ria including a couple of nights in the marina at VilaGarcia which made it easy to do a big food shop in the local supermarket which was extremely well stocked and cheaper than the U.K. by at least 20%. Interestingly going to a cafe and drinking coffee or beer was less than half the cost of U.K. prices too ….. great for us but questions now being asked as to why the U.K. is so much more for the same items 🤔

Our next Ria was Pontevedra, again only stopping for 1 night at anchor before moving onto the last Spanish Ria called Vigo. This is probably our favourite of all with quiet anchorages and party ones too if that’s your thing. We initially stopped in a small cove called Limens close to the beach but the north wind was blowing through the valley behind making for a very rolly anchorage. Charlotte wasn’t happy as it was making her feel sick so we moved to Cangas a short trip of 5 miles to a very calm anchorage again just off the beach.

Cangas is a busy town with direct ferries across the Ria to Vigo city and tourist ferries for sightseeing, which run from 7am-11pm every day. This causes some swell but it only lasts for 15 seconds every 30 minutes so worth putting up with for the view alone…. And oh so quiet nights!

Eventually we pulled ourselves away to head south to the final town in the area called Baiona which was our favourite place to visit back in 2018. This time we anchored just behind the very posh & expensive marina which, yes was free. Tying the dinghy up to the fisherman’s dock wall was a mere 3 minutes away and we were in the centre which was totally packed. We asked in the marina if we could tie up there even offering to pay but the simple answer was no! The Spanish love their fiestas and we’d arrived for yet another 4 day weekend of live music and fireworks.

Jeremy on Right Turn rejoined us here as he’s been doing his own thing for a week with his partner Julie who’d flown in. Sadly he arrived just too late for the Saturday night firework display which was simply huge & very loud. The side streets where so many bars & restaurants were, was almost impossible to pass through due to the volume of people, especially with Nala so Caroline picked her up to save her being trampled on.

So now it’s time to leave Spanish waters and begin the journey south through Portugal which means sailing VERY close to the shore in under 20 metres keeping a close lookout for the ever present fishing pot markers. Jeremy will be sailing in company with us now for most of not all of this section, buddy boating can be fun 🍺!

Having waited (not very patiently) for a window to cross Biscay, finally one “appeared” to arrive. The plan was to leave Salcombe and head west/southwest out into the Atlantic and after 24 hours turn south for À Coruna. There was a small low pressure developing in Biscay which I’d hoped to sail just north of and then grab the breeze down the back of it all the way south. Jeremy on Right Turn had the same idea and duly left from Plymouth at the same time. I say at the same time but he sneaked out an hour early… boy racer!!

Unfortunately there had been some strong winds from the west a few days earlier which had created big seas and short swells. Once we’d left Salcombe we were hit hard by this and quickly realised our proposed route was impossible. After a discussion onboard and then with Jeremy we all decided to change course and head towards Ushant on the northwest coast of France and enter Biscay from there. Having a better wind angle we sailed very quickly, in fact too quickly as we crossed the very busy shipping lanes arriving at Ouissant 4 hours early and met the spring tide in full flow against us, meaning very slow progress for 5 hours until the tide turned.

Then the wind died off and we began motor sailing which was to be a long motor south. The seas were very confused with swell and waves from any and all directions but no wind to stabilise the boat. Our 2nd night at sea was with full cloud cover, no moon and yet more confused seas. In fact it was so black it was impossible to see anything at all. Very eerie indeed, thank goodness for radar !

À Coruna was reached after 481 miles and 78 hours, were we ready for some beer and tapas.!!

Nala was brilliant, having been taught not to go to the toilet onboard she finally gave in and went on deck after 28 hours… relief for everyone including her I’m sure 😂

We stopped in the marina Coruna for 3 days (53 euros a night) which was enough time to relax, catch up on some sleep and look around the lovely town, which was so busy every evening. As the U.K. is no longer part of the EU (😡) it was necessary to sign into the Schengen zone and have our passports stamped. This gives us 90 days in Europe at which time we have to leave for 90 days…… all very annoying so thanks U.K. voters for messing everything up 🤷🏻‍♂️

The marina staff told us the check in could be done at the port authority offices but when we went there they had absolutely no idea what we were talking about. Eventually we visited the police station who did stamp us in, so we’re all legal now.

Together with Jeremy we left À Coruna and headed into what is now known as Orca alley, the start of a very nervous trip south to Gibraltar with all eyes on the seas looking out for these killer whales who are eating yacht rudders for fun. The recommended route is to sail under 20 metres depth, unfortunately until we reach the Portuguese border this is impossible due to rocks on the Galician coast. So we’re back in the beautiful Rias….

June was full of north easterly breezes which would’ve taken us across Biscay easily. By the time we got to Salcombe the winds began blowing from the south west and got stronger. Every time we looked at the computer models, Biscay looked dodgy, & that is a place you don’t want to get caught out in.

So we’ve been in Salcombe enjoying the beautiful area making the most of the lovely walks for Nala along with socialising….. a lot. Visits from our “honorary” daughter Bethany & “honorary” granddaughter Harper, cousins Lee & Julie who sailed down from Beaulieu (24 hours well done guys) & my brother Steve & his wife Becky, has kept us busy.

We also got back in touch with a lovely local gentleman called Peter who we met last year, so he took us out in his RiB for a blast… Nala as usual just slept only waking up for a photo opportunity!

Caroline and I also celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary last week & some of you will realise this is a “coral” anniversary. Now buying anything for Caroline is problematic in that within reason if she wants anything she buys it. Time to think outside of the box! Every time I took Nala ashore for a walk I began collecting sea shells and then made a necklace ….. well it was kind of coral in that it came from the sea. Presentation went ummm as planned & I’m still here to talk about it 😂😂

Jeremy on Right Turn has been with us, for the last few weeks along with his partner Julie, he’s now in Plymouth patiently waiting for weather too.

So finally there seems to be a window of opportunity to cross Biscay and head to À Coruna in Spain. We are leaving Wednesday lunchtime & Jeremy is leaving from Plymouth at the same time too. We’ll converge before the shipping lanes off NW France and sail in company as much as possible, staying in contact through the SSB radios as VHF radio might not have enough range. We may even end up motoring a fair bit, but we could be waiting weeks for another chance. Biscay can throw all sorts of weather and it’s reputation is legendary, so we’ll take no wind any day!

Those of you that want to track us, we’ve switched on the satellite tracker and you can see us by clicking on this link which is updated every 4 hours.

https://my.yb.tl/moors

We should arrive in Spain Saturday afternoon having sailed about 500 miles, where we’ll begin practicing our Spanish again, find a tapas bar and visit the rias!

Having spent almost 3 weeks hanging around the Isle of Wight catching up with cousins Lee & Julie who are also keen sailors, & a 2 day visit to Portsmouth once again to catch up with friends Lesley & Graham and Jeremy on Right Turn, it was time to head down to Lymington and take our place in Berthons marina ready for the ARC blue water open day on the 10th June.

As mentioned previously, this event brings together like minded cruisers, some dreamers, planners and those getting ready to cross an ocean who can chat informally with those that have actually done it.

We were advised by Jeremy Wyatt from the world cruising club that it would be a busy day (7 hours) but Caroline, Charlotte & I were amazed just how busy it was !!! The girls started off in the main marquee with other skippers and unbeknown to me they had a non stop flow of visitors eager to chat including a couple who were hovering about waiting to grab a chair as soon as they could. It turned out they had just bought a Beneteau 473 and were very excited to see us there having done exactly what they are planning! Their enthusiasm was great to see and I’m sure we’ll see them in the future around the Mediterranean!

I stayed onboard to talk and show anyone around Silhouette, which for the first 20 minutes was slow with only a couple coming onboard. Then the floodgates opened with streams arriving to look at the “Open boats” and the queues to get onboard began. In hindsight I think I should’ve made a note of some names etc so we all apologise if we don’t mention you personally in this update. I was so happy to meet you all & discuss things with you where you shared your stories with me and showed genuine interest in our story. Both Caroline & Charlotte tried numerous times to get back onboard to give me a hand but the queues were such that they couldn’t 😂

To finish this section off I have to tell you all about a couple who came onboard who in my opinion epitomise the desire to be blue water sailors. They told me that they wanted a better life so have sold everything, house etc, & ordered a new Lagoon 42 catamaran which is a beautiful boat. They were living in a Travel Lodge hotel for the last 4 months as it was the only place that would accept their cat & are now in an Airbnb until they are handed their boat next month. In my opinion they are inspirational in that they have fully committed to the life. Once again I didn’t get their details (🤦🏻‍♂️) but hope they get in touch again so we can see their journey begin.

A very busy but thoroughly enjoyable day ended with a few drinks & another chat with other very interesting visitors including a young couple just beginning their journey. “good luck to you all”.

So now with this our only commitment ended it’s time to head off west & south to look once again for blue waters…..

The 22nd May saw us leave our winter berth at the Port of Poole marina. We promptly motored 300 yards to Poole quay Boat Haven for 1 last night to catch up with our old Atlantic crew & great friends Nick & Carol. Caroline also had a wisdom tooth removed on the same day so we decided not to leave Poole for 24 hours to make sure nothing untoward cropped up as a result.

Before we move on we wanted to tell everyone reading this how good the marina manager Kerrie, assistant manager Tom and the team at https://www.poolequayboathaven.co.uk/ have been to us over the last 3 years. Ever helpful & always going that extra Mile to make our time with them as relaxing as possible, we will miss them.

Saying goodbye to family (especially my mother) & friends again is always hard, this time though as we’re only ever going to be a 2-3 hour flight away it was more a case of see you soon as we shall regularly return to the U.K. especially once we’re in our winter berth in Gibraltar.

As I write this, we’re currently up the river Medina at a place called Folly reach at a very peaceful (until tomorrow) mid river pontoon. A dinghy trip is required to go ashore where there is a delightful Inn serving good food and drink. This weekend is a U.K. bank holiday, together with the fine weather the Inn will be packed so not for us. By Monday afternoon next week it’ll probably be just us here again 🙂

So why aren’t we sailing west yet? Well, a few weeks ago we had a meal with Suzana & Paul the owners of World Cruising Club who organise trans ocean sailing events like ARC & World ARC. During conversation we spoke about an event they hold in Lymington each year called “ARC Blue water open day”. This event brings together sailors either dreaming of, preparing to or ready to cross an ocean in their own boats with skippers who have already done so for informal chats on what to expect etc. The result being that we’re delaying our sail west until the 11th June and taking Silhouette in as an open boat so people can see what we did to prepare. Not to tell anyone what to do but perhaps give them an insight into what has and hasn’t worked to date for us.