Back in Lanzarote.

Christmas Eve at Whispering Pines

Welcome back to another year of reading our blog. Please feel free to leave comments.

Our 10 weeks of being landlubbers passed quickly. Our house was in good order except for a sticking ballcock in one of the cold water tanks, which was soon fixed by Jeremy.

It was good to spend time with our daughter, Emily, son-in-law, Ben and our grandchildren, Ellie, and Sophie. We stayed with them for 3 nights: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It was lovely to watch them open their presents, first of all, on our bed and later, downstairs. Sophie particularly favoured the cardboard gift tags, which were perfect for chewing!

Very soon after New Year, I flew to the Isle of Man to visit my 91 year old mother and my two sisters, Pat and Sara. Mum continues to be given the best of care at home by an excellent team of carers organised by Sara and assisted by Pat, when she is not working. Although Mum is now fully dependent on her carers and continues to have health issues, she is as well as can be expected. She was very pleased to see me and enjoyed looking through photograph albums, even though she could not always remember the people pictured or the places she’d been to on holiday.

Pat, Sara and Mum

Pat flew back to Gatwick with me and stayed at our house. She came to Sophie’s Christening and to a buffet lunch afterwards at Christine’s in Woodbridge. Here we met up with Jeremy’s brothers and their wives: Ritchie, Gavin, Catherine and Eileen. There were many more Deacon family members and plenty of friends with babies and young children. The church service was informal and fun and the buffet was delicious. Thank you, Em and Ben, for organising a delightful day.

The Christening

Two days later Pat flew back to the IOM and the very next day Jeremy and I set off for Stansted Airport. We were glad we were spending the night in an airport hotel when our bus arrived 45 minutes late. All went well for the rest of the journey. We were up at 5.00am on 19^th January and checked in before sunrise! There was ice on the plane windows as we left the UK. Three and a half hours later, the sun was shining on the runway at Lanzarote, where the temperature was 19C out of the wind.

On the way to the party

Sal Darago was in good shape with all lines still attached and no water or mould inside. There was a coating of Sahara dust all over her decks and Jeremy was pleased he had removed the halyards and sheets. The engine started second time as there was a loose electrical connection to the glow plugs.

Yesterday, we provisioned for 2 months and finished recording and stowing everything today. I have another sore throat and hope it won’t develop into a cold. I seem to have been fighting off viruses since before Christmas. Hopefully, the best prescription is going to be sunshine and sailing.

Ellie and Sophie

We hope to leave for Gran Canaria in a few days’ time. It’s an overnight sail of 114 miles. Then we want to visit El Hierro, about 144 miles from Gran Canaria, before setting sail for the Cape Verde Islands. Hasta luego!