Greetings to all the members of the Yarmouth23 Owners Association! My temporary escape from the deluge in Spain to attend the Yarmouth23 Owners Association meeting at Gins Farm (on the Beaulieu River) was a real treat, and the ‘icing on the cake’ was being awarded the Bill Boyall trophy. Eileen of Avoca; being Bill Boyall’s [...]
Hurray! Eileen of Avoca is insured for yet another year of wandering. No mean feat because insurance companies usually don’t like little boats venturing too far. I have to stress that a Yarmouth23 is no ordinary 23 footer, but the efficient staff at Velos Insurance (www.velosinsurance.co.uk) pulled through yet again and I now have comprehensive [...]
A little gymnastics is required to get on and off Eileen when she is moored “Med. style”. I have to haul on the warps to get the bowsprit to within a meter of the quay before making a proverbial “leap of faith” as the boat swings back into position. Not so easy when loaded with [...]
Eileen of Avoca was not where I had left her! The momentary surge of panic only subsided as I spied her mast among the local fishing fleet. I’m only just getting used to finding myself relegated to the local fisherman’s pontoon. Eileen’s 23ft stature and shoal draft are to blame, but at least I found [...]
It was a pleasant flight from Brussels to Athens, and the hot meal served on my Olympic Airlines flight was memorably delectable. What I’d rather not have remembered was enduring the subsequent six hour wait for my connecting flight (obviously set as penance for daring to enjoy the trip). Conspiracy theorists will claim that poor [...]
I cringe every time I have to hear this. Family and friends, with absolutely no knowledge of sailing have rallied to harangue me incessantly on the absurdity of my impending travel plans. They would all rather I find a new job, settle down, and be responsible. Ha! No chance of stopping me now, but you [...]
For several years I have been collecting all manner of nautical books to wile away the hours of my quasi-life between sailing adventures. Unfortunately, lugging my treasured library around the world in a tiny boat isn’t feasible, so I have recently set about sorting through the clutter in order to reclaim some space for provisions. [...]
In two weeks I have to kill my best friend and I’m devastated. After 14 years of selfless companionship Chester my Old English Sheepdog will be put to sleep. All this time he has either traveled with me or patiently held the fort back home, but there will be no more sailing with “ye old [...]
If I were to list all the virtues of owning a small boat, not only would it make rather dry reading for the non-boating enthusiast, but inevitably it would spark an argument between those who hold to “bigger is better” vs. “small is beautiful”… Now where have I heard that before? I guess it all [...]
It appears that I will need drugs…. lots of them…. My currently nebulous itinerary has me traveling through parts of the world where Malaria, Yellow fever, Typhoid, Amoebiasis, Chagas disease, and Leishmaniasis are endemic. For the not so squeamish do some Google-ing… The search results are better than watching a horror movie! My local doctor [...]
It’s 8am, as I listen to a chorus of nose blowing from the train-load of commuters traveling to Brussels, I am miles away in my thoughts. I loose myself in the pleasure of anticipation, mentally manipulating potential sailing itineraries. It helps block the revulsion I’m feeling for the passenger opposite me as he starts mining [...]
