Plans
So about to go to bed for the second night aboard after a 6 month gap through a Welsh winter. We hadn't expected such a long gap. Back in October we were expecting Wales to restrict entry from Manchester but we hadn't expected the double restriction
Progress
We have arrived at Vida for our first visit for almost exactly 6 months. Lockdown restrictions have eased enough for us to both get out of Manchester and be allowed into Wales. Only problem is that our duvet and pillows were are very mouldy. We would never have left them
Plans
One of the many lessons to learn from the horrors of the Covid-19 pandemic is that event the best laid plans might have to change, sometimes at short notice. That should be obvious for cruising sailors who have always had to adapt their plans according to the weather. However, much
Motor
Watch this Ruby Rose video to see another example of why Diesel engines are not a safety feature as some of their friends end up being towed by a lifeboat due to taking on dirty fuel. Even if you notice the problem still expensive additives and new filters needed.
Environmental
Very happy to see that March has been the first time that we have had more than 1,000 views in one month. That was over 420 visitors. Plus we now have 130 followers spread out between email, WordPress and social media. Good to see some consistent growth. So if
Plans
[Update] In the end we decided not to build chainplates that go through the hull. This is what we have ended up with Final Dyneema Chainplate design[End Update] This is a rewrite/reorganisation of this post (no diagrams yet) to, hopefully, make it clearer. I think this is our
Appliances
There are some things that (nearly) all Sailing Channels on YouTube have in common. One is the significant costs in time, money and hassle of maintaining Diesel Engines. Another is the pain of laundry, that is one I want to look at again. I'm going to group the
Sailing
We haven't seen one of these before. An Amel Sharki 39. Closest boat we have ever seen to our Rival 38. Here is a couple giving a boat tour of their Amel Sharki 39 called Panda. The size, rig and layout is by far the closest we have
Sailing
One of the arguments for switching to Dyneema chainplates has been cost. Today we got a more concrete idea of the costs of replacing roughly like for like. So Cherry Ripe a Rival 38 (but aft cockpit cutter) (see Sailing Beyond Borders) has had to have custom replacement chainplates made
Plans
Last night we decided to make some plans for where we want to cruise when we start living aboard after retirement in a few years time, after all that was the goal right from the beginning of this journey with Vida and Sustainable Sailing. I will be writing those dreams
Plans
So this follows on from our thoughts about Scandinavia since we have been inspired by the YouTube channels who have been there, including the need to burn diesel to stay warm, despite our aims of being at, or close to Zero Carbon footprint sailing. It takes into account the restrictions
Appliances
In Our Scandinavian challenges part 1 I covered the time/permission complications of getting to spend time in the fantastically beautiful (and remote) parts of Scandinavia and the Baltic given the impact of Brexit. I ended with "In part 2 I’ll look at the other key challenges these
