Good News and Sad News

Closed flood gates at Westminster Underground

On 23^rd June Jeremy and I caught the train to London to attend an evening Reception on the terrace of the Houses of Parliament, to celebrate 175 years since the foundation of Hild/Bede College, Durham University. It was probably the wettest day of the year and many trains to London were cancelled. Ours terminated at Shenfield in Essex. Serious flooding on the line put out signals and we had a stop-start journey to Liverpool Street on a different train. We were worried about the tube but we made it to Westminster Underground Station. The Lord provided a large umbrella, which we put to good use, once the rain water stopped pouring down the exit steps like a waterfall. Arriving at the Houses of Parliament, we passed through airport like security and had 10 minutes to wolf down coffee and cake before the cafe closed. 

Overlooked by Big Ben

Kathy and Jeremy in the Palace of Westminster

On the way to the Terrace, we were enthralled by the building and its long history as we wandered in the corridors of power catching glimpses of the chambers for the Lords and the Commons. Massive tapestries adorned the walls and larger than life paintings covered the ceilings celebrating the union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Kathy and Jeremy on the Terrace

We enjoyed the evening chatting to old friends from our Durham days, sipping wine and nibbling canapés. The journey home was worse than the outward trip with many underground and over ground trains cancelled. After a two hour wait at Shenfield, a train arrived after midnight and took us slowly to Ipswich stopping at every station along the way. We arrived home by taxi at 2.30am. My feet were killing me being unused to wearing high heels for so long.

Walking the Aros Path, Tobermory, Mull

Rainbow over Ledaig, Mull

A few days later we were off to Mull again for about 10 days. This time it rained almost every day. We assembled single beds, worked on the garden and had days out walking. My abused feet objected strongly and large blisters formed on the soles of them.

One new bed in place

On our return, we stopped the night at my friend Pat’s house in Lancashire. Here we received the sad news that our sailing friend, Liz Harcombe, had died and the funeral was to be held in the Lake District later that week.

The cottage in Mull

We had one night at home, booked two nights at different Travelodges and set off north again. On the day of the funeral we woke to absolute chaos on the M6 in Staffordshire. A whole section of the motorway was closed and the surrounding main roads were gridlocked. Jeremy navigated a way through country lanes, partly by map and partly by guesswork until we could join the M6 further north. We made it to the funeral, which celebrated Liz’s life including the time she’s spent with husband, Graham, aboard their ocean going yacht, Ellida. (Sal Darago and Ellida were buddy boats for 3 months on the Sail Indonesia Rally in July/August 2011 and feature in earlier posts on this blog.)

Kathy, Graham, our guide, Juli, Liz and Jeremy

Jeremy, Graham and Liz

Graham, Kathy and Liz in Bali rice fields

Jeremy, Kathy, Liz and Graham with a Komodo dragon

On the way home we popped in to see Aunty Joyce in her new nursing home unit in Brigg. It was good to see her surrounded by her own furniture, enjoying excellent care and chatting about her friends and family.

Teething Troubles

We have continued to be busy landlubbers since March, enjoying spending more time with our granddaughter, Ellie, taking her out on walks in the forest or to community events in village halls, where she was very happy to eat cake.

Ellie and Jeremy

Baby Sophie had a development problem with her hips and had to wear a harness from birth. Unfortunately, after some initial success, the harness did not work and soon Sophie will be having an operation on her hips. We hope and pray that this will be successful.

Painting the roof

Jeremy and I spent a month in the isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, painting, decorating and gardening at the cottage, which is now jointly owned by Jeremy and his two brothers. The weather was largely fine, except for a few days of snow.

Snow at the end of April

Starting on the kitchen

I flew to the Isle of Man to see my Mum and sisters. I was pleased to see Mum looking so much better than she had on my last visit in January. She lives at home with my sister, Sara. A team of carers help Sara to look after her. Mum is walking around the house with the help of a frame and is able to transfer to her wheelchair. Sara or my other sister, Pat, take her out when they can. The three of us took Mum out for lunch while I was over.

Fixing the electrics in the Wee House

Sara, Mum and Pat

Meanwhile, Jeremy was antifouling Sal Darago in preparation for launching earlier this month (June). The weather became unsettled and windy and for the first time ever, SD was launched without sails. We motored down the river to our mooring in full waterproofs and woolly hats. 

On the mooring and still doing jobs

Soon, we were able to put the sails on and have a few days sailing from the River Deben to the River Orwell and up to Ipswich. The bilge pump for the shower had seized up but everything else seemed to be working OK. Jeremy fitted a second station for our Standard Horizon VHF/AIS radio, so we can now access all the features from the cockpit.

New front cabin portholes

Simmering in the background all the time were problems with our teeth. Somewhat bizarrely, Jeremy had started the process of having dental implants when he had his infected tooth taken out. This meant he now had only one chewing tooth in his bottom jaw. One of my wisdom teeth became infected and proved to be too complicated for my dentist to remove. Consequently, I had to be referred, so all the time I was away in Mull and the Isle of Man I was taking painkillers. Two days after my return, I had the infected tooth taken out. The day before, Jeremy spent two hours in the dentist’s chair and had four implants. We were a sorry pair back at home on a diet of porridge and soup. We are much better three weeks on and looking forward to another trip to Mull at the end of the month. This time, we hope to assemble two single beds, hang some curtains and have a holiday. 

Kathy and Guido

Earlier this week we had a visit from Guido. He had sailed over from Belgium in his “new” 34ft Hallberg Rassy. We last saw Guido on his yacht, Hinano, anchored off Union Island in the Caribbean in 2009. He has kept in touch by email and promised that one day he would sail over to see us. His new yacht is lovely and we hope he enjoys many years of sailing her. We had a good time together in spite of the heavy rain.

Boats, Cars and a New Baby

Hello again. Sorry it’s been so long. This landlubber life is very time consuming.

While we were away sailing our son, Simon, and his wife, Erin, moved to California. There were a few extra items of furniture in our house and a car on the drive when we returned home. My car was rolled out of the garage, taxed and serviced. Simon’s car became Jeremy's and was duly MOT’d, taxed and insured. We were a two car family again, but this was to be short lived.

Christmas was great. We stayed with Em and Ben for a few nights and it was delightful watching two year old Ellie shouting up the chimney to Father Christmas on Christmas Eve and opening her presents on Christmas Day.

What's this, Mummy?

A visit to Sal Darago on the hard in the boatyard was tinged with sadness. Her green hull had been complemented with green decks and a green cockpit, not to mention a layer of bird guano. The unusually warm, damp weather had led to a growth of moss and algae. She looked neglected and I guess she had been.

That's a tight fit!

She is having a bit of a refit at present. All of her standing rigging (the metal bits) has been replaced and the guard rails that run right round the decks. A new hot water tank (calorifier) has been fitted and 4 new portholes. The bow anchor chain has been replaced and we’re trying to replace the bow anchor. This is in addition to the usual winter servicing.

Who stole the mast?

My Mum was going to visit us in mid-January but she became unwell over Christmas and New Year and went into hospital early in January. I flew to the Isle of Man to see her and my sisters. That day Mum fell in the ward and broke her hip. She had a hip replacement and was later able to go into respite for two weeks. She went home on the last day of February to be looked after by my sister, Sara, and a team of carers. My other sister, Pat, is helping out as well. Mum’s progress is up and down and she is quite frail but she is happy to be in her own home. Jeremy’s remaining aunt, Joyce, was very poorly in January. She too fell and had a hip replacement. She has only just been moved to a respite home, but seems to be improving.

The outside doesn't look too bad

So, what happened to Jeremy’s car? It set on fire spontaneously at the boatyard. No-one was in it.  The keys were not in the ignition and only a warning by a passer-by and quick action by Jeremy and the boatyard owner prevented a serious blaze. The insurers have declared the 10 year old Ford Focus a write-off. Jeremy had owned the car for only two months, but Simon had owned it for four years and had looked after it very well.

Not so good under the bonnet

During the same week we had a chimney fire, our second one in only a few months of use. Jeremy put it out and a few days later we bought our own rods and a brush and swept the chimney ourselves.

Granddaughter number 2

And now to the best news of all. Sophie Catherine Lloyd Deacon was born in  March, on the same day as Jeremy’s mother. Sophie weighed 9lbs 13oz. So well done, Em. They are now at home and mother and baby are being looked after by Ben and Ellie.

Gorgeous

We hope to launch Sal Darago in the summer. We’ll let you know in the next blog post.

Port Elizabeth to Simon’s Town

We enjoyed our 48 hour stop-over in PE. The Algoa Yacht Club was a friendly place; Spar supermarket was within walking distance; there were two chandleries in the port and good food and beer in the marina restaurant. What more could a cruising sailor wish for? The only downside was the coal loading bay across the harbour, which sprinkled coal dust liberally over the marina when the wind was in a certain direction. Sara II now has zebra stripes on her furling genoa!

We left PE on Wednesday afternoon, 2^nd December. Soon we were surrounded by lots of dolphins, perhaps 100, and many more gannets and other seabirds, all enjoying a feeding frenzy. Regular readers of this blog will know what the dolphins came to tell us. The strong winds arrived the next day, blowing force 7, and it was surprisingly chilly. The following SE wind gusted to gale force and the 3m swell had breaking waves on top, which sent splashes into the cockpit. There were many fishing vessels to avoid and a fair number of ships in the area south of Mossel Bay.

Breaking Bad south of Knysna

 We had no problems rounding Cape Agulhas, which is the most southerly point of South Africa. We chose to pass between the six and twelve mile banks as the wind and swell had eased considerably. We had been goosewinged but as we turned towards False Bay, John took the pole holding the genoa down and we were able to sail on a reach with the wind abaft the beam (apologies to non-sailors). 

Cloud over Cape Point

Later in the night the wind strengthened as we passed between Danger Point and Cape Point at the entrance to False Bay. Here Table Mountain has a local effect on the wind. Jeremy decided to move our course away from a narrow passage inside rocks in order to have more sea room. Fog came down soon afterwards, so it was just as well that we were well clear of rocks and shoal patches.

The end of the line: False Bay YC, Simon's Town

We tied up in our reserved berth in False Bay Marina at 0750 on Saturday 5^th December. John called Bullnose, the South African Navy, on VHF as they operate the marina, which is next door to the naval base. We were welcomed at the yacht club and given free temporary membership. It wasn’t long before we made use of the hot showers, the cold beers and the restaurant. Our passage from Pangkor, Malaysia to Simon’s Town, South Africa was over.

Returning from a hot shower

Jeremy and I left Sara II on Monday 7^th December and intend to do a little sight-seeing before meeting up with Jeremy’s cousin, Barbara, in Fish Hoek.

We fly home to Suffolk for Christmas on 15 December.

Durban to Port Elizabeth

We left Durban at 0720 on Saturday 28^th December. There was a small exodus of yachts as a suitable weather window of NE opened up. Soon there were several yachts calling each other on VHF to ask if anyone had found the infamous Agulhas Current that flows in a southerly direction at 3-6 knots. We followed the example of Wandering Dream and motorsailed seawards. We found the current and we stayed in it, recording speeds over the ground up to 11.9 knots. We maintained 10+ knots for most of the trip.

Sometimes the wind was light and we motorsailed; at other times it was fresh to strong and we sailed downwind goosewinged. During both nights we had to gybe, which involved taking the pole down and transferring it to the other side.

Soon after turning away from the current towards Port Elizabeth, the wind died as though someone had switched it off. We had to motor the last 50 miles. At dawn a thick fog descended, so we had to keep a careful watch, using AIS and radar to assist. Fortunately, as we approached the harbour the fog lifted. John called Port Control and we were given permission to enter. He then called Algoa Bay Yacht Club and we were told a berth was available.

We tied up at 1130 on Monday 30^th November. Checking in was easy – just one form to complete. We were made very welcome and made good use of the hot showers, the bar and the restaurant.

We intend to leave PE today (Wed 2^nd December) and hope to sail all the way to Simons Town assuming the weather stays favourable. SE winds are forecast.