Got crab?

I was dying to get a look at the undersides of the boat now its out of the water.
I didnt get home until dark so I wandered around with a teeny tiny led light peering at the hull and fittings.

I need to replace my seacocks, but I wanted to look at them all the same, just so i can suck in air over my teeth and tutt, poke at the galvanic corrosion and worry about costs.

it was while I was tutting and peering into the gloom, that I saw a pair of eyes peer back out at me.



a small crab, trapped inside the antiweed cage for my engine seacock.

It was quite a feisty little thing, as I unscrewed the protective cover it wasted no time leaping out and landed with a light pebble sound on the floor.
Not at all happy that I was trying to save its ungrateful derier, I forced it to take a ride with me to the waters edge and said ta ta. hopefully it'll grow big and strong and tell its kids of its adventure when it was a wee nipper.

Fog

It had to happen eventually.
I poked my head out of the companionway this morning and wondered which way I was pointing.
The fog was so thick I couldnt see the neighbouring boats.
It soon started to clear though, and by 8.15am I had this marvelous view as I headed ashore.

Food Chain

It was during the trip a few days ago between Ireland and Wales that we hit upon an idea, a very small idea.
The food chain is a large pyramid with predators and prey, each one does its bit for the eco system. While people panic about vanishing tuna, we decided that maybe tuna aren't the beast we should be worrying about. They are quite a large sea creature, not many others higher than it on the predator list, save for the sharks and humans.
The really important ones, are the small ones.
They supply the backbone to the whole eco system. They prop it all up. If you take them away, then countless species would die out; including many land mammals who depend on fish or fruit de mer as their sole food income. Krill. Small but mighty.

So, I'm thinking of making tshirts. Not save a tuna, save dolphins, stop whaling. No.

Think of the krill.

retainer un retained

Finally, after 8 months of waiting and moving and repairing and surveying again, the mortgage company accepted my new survey and have sent me the final sum of money they were holding back.
Its not a lot of money, but it is this small amount thatb makes a big difference to my winter maintenance programme.
The boat is due out of the water in early october.
Ive got a long list of things on my to-do list.
But first... The southampton boat show.

London to Ireland to Wales in a weekend.

As one who had to deal with the expense of being weather bound this summer, I felt for Kieran the owner of a Twister 28 and a colleague. He had gone off to Ireland for a summer holiday and got weather bound.
Leaving his boat there for a month while he waited for the weather window was turning out expensive.

He enlisted the help of Dick Durham and myself to help him bring his boat back.

We dashed out of the office in London on Friday evening, caught a train from Waterloo to Alton in Hampshire where we picked up Kierans car. Drove to Basingstoke, picked up Dick who was fresh from the Southampton Boatshow. Straight down the motorway to Milford Haven. A little walk around and then in a taxi to the ferry port. The overnight ferry took us to Rosslare. Where we had to leg it to the train, just in time as it was the only train that day. We arrived in Waterford mid morning on Saturday.
A quick walk around the town to stock up on provisions and food for a good old fried breakfast, then we were off down the river to wait for the morning tide out of Dunmore East.

The forecast was looking very dodgy with possible 6's and 7's, but it turned out nice again.



we filled our stomachs with irish fish and chips before we set off at 3.30am from Dunmore East, southern Ireland, bound for Milford Haven in Wales.

this is Kieran the captain and skipper of Cleaver II


the dolphins are a bugger to photograph. meat torpedoes flying out of the water every second, but I couldnt seem to catch them on camera. Still, it was a beautiful sunrise.


not the best point of sail, but gull winging all the way, Cleaver II was very well behaved.


we intercepted a massive pod of dolphins who swam with us for hours and Dick had a better go than me at photographing them.


tea break. biscuits are a must if I am to stay sane at sea.


Kieran is a most splendid cook and prepared us a fantastic Irish beef stew for the journey to Wales.



a rough trip guide.

confidence battered

So confirdent was I that the oyster would fly through the survey, with obviously expensive bits to think about... that I had already booked the time off work to bring the boat back.

It was never to be though.

With my car in pieces up north, I had to think fast to avoid wasting any valuable time. It seems time and money are inextricably linked.

I rented a car and went for a drive. A long drive.
I had just 4 days allocated to the next round of my search.

I wasnt going to waste time checking into B&B's, the car would be my home for a few days.

Ever tried a Ford Fiesta? Huh? Have you?
Good job I can sleep on a washing line and I'm not too tall is all I'm saying.



 the long drive to pemborke dock was to see an Etap 38, which I really quite liked the look of. But it didn't have the wow factor.

Etap 38

I drove through the night. back out of Wales

to helford river

to see a Beneteau 405 with a cracked mast...
To another Beneteau first with teak decks... that needed replacing

and then on to a sigma 362 in Brighton, which despite being a tip inside, I really liked.


But one Sigma was quickly trumped by a bigger and far better bad ass Sigma 38 on the Isle Of Wight
I spent hours on this one. I loved it. really.
but one more boat to view before I make any descisions.

 

the feeling, in Holland, after a quick trip on the eurostar and in a little rented fiat 500, I found my way to see this. it was absolutely lovely. really. and the salesman was the hottest, but coolest guy Id seen in a long time.
back to the here and now...

I put an offer on the Sigma 38.

Waited.

waited some more.

then after what seemed an age. the Broker came back to me and said that the owner had just sold it to a friend.
it was the only one that really sang to me.
back to square one.

Flexible assets

What I want wis a boat with pedigree; one that I can sail solo; a good engine, hull and sails, not too worried about the interior needing tlc and not more than £45,000. 

Jeanneau 38

I started in Poole with a Jeanneau Sunshine 38 which had just enough storage for a stoat, 
followed by a Southerly 105 in Ipswich that looked like Beirut in the 80's;

Southerly 105

moody 33

a Moody 33 in Burnham that was designed for pygmies;  

an Oyster 41 in Cardiff that I liked so much I had to have a lay down on the bed, 

oyster 41

 another Oyster 41 in Plymouth that looked like the House of Lords inside, 

tradewind 35

a Tradewind 35 in Fowey that had interior and exterior woodwork so luscious it looked edible, sadly lacking in guest berths though and an Oyster 35 Mariner in Troon that had a master cabin with en-suite boat. 

oyster mariner 35

Both of the Oyster 41's had something special about them. The large semi flush decks; beautiful lines; seriously hefty winches; excellent chart table; ocean-going companionway. They ticked a lot of my boxes.

I made an offer on the Oyster 41 in Cardiff. It's got a slightly tired but willing look about it. The upholstery, so floral and garish that even Laura Ashley might need sunglasses but that part doesnt matter as long as it's basically sound. 

We agreed £42,000 subject to survey after haggling. 
 ---------
Two weeks later, Survey day, I was standing before a boat in slings watching my surveyor earn his living. It was going quite well up until he started tapping along the hull. It went quickly from a bright clack clack clack to a very dull thunk sound. He gave the hull a press by hand and it flexed easily. More people joined in with the cardiac massage style testing. Heads were shaking in disbelief. 
My heart sank. 
Days passed while tests were done. Patches of hull were ground out to inspect for de-lamination. 
The salesman sent me pictures of the boat looking like swiss cheese, trying to convince me there was nothing wrong with it. 

But I had to act with my head and not my heart and walk away. 

It's gut wrenching and a serious blow to my boat fund.

Blow me

this car, it's not just having a rest, it's dead. It has ceased to be.
 

for sale: a 2004 Nissan Cube, high mileage but otherwise in tip top nick. OH, But it'll need a new cylinder head gasket. 

Yes my poor little pope mobile has blown a gasket. All this tripping up and down the country has finished it off. I've called a friend of a friend to come and tow it away to fix it in a cheaper part of the country. It's heading north to join my dog and the rest of my stuff in storage.

I got a quote to fix it in the south £2000. A quote from a garage I know in Derbyshire, £850.

Even including the £100 to get it towed north. It's a no brainer.

second viewing

I asked a friend with a nice car (that works) to come and have a look with me at the Oyster in Cardiff.

She drove, I waffled on about all kinds of shit. When we arrived she lithely clambered down the vertical companionway that had been the subject of much discussion and looked around. "uh huh, yep, looks alright" she replied
and then we started poking and prodding all over again.
It is quite old, build in 1980, a lot of things will need replacing, but every boat I can afford is a money pit, the main thing is, I need to love the money pit otherwise it will all be a waste of time and effort.

So, I put an offer in.

The Oyster 41 I went to visit in Cardiff has the edge over all the boats I've seen.


Im just arranging the surveyor to come down to do the business...


exciting times.

Eject

My airbed seems to have auto eject. By 6am it has lost enough air that my arse has gone numb on the hard laminate floor, so I just get up instead of pressing the snooze button. I guess its one way to stop me being late to work.

Watford is within cycling distance of central London. I think Im going to give that a go next week.

And there she was...

...gone

Honey Ryder cruised away from me, leaving Limehouse basin under new ownership at 1.30pm on Monday the 17th August 2009.

It was a sad weekend, finally packing all my things into the storage cupboard, packing my bare essentials and setting up camp in a friends spare box room. Seeing Honey Ryder with a completely clear roof and an empty insides made my tummy go all flippety flop.

Now I am homeless, Honey Ryder has gone, Mr X is in France, my dog is on holiday at my mums and so it seems this chapter of ditch crawling, chance encounters along the tow path and eye opening moments of madness, anger, death, friendship and compassion ends.

This life of just less than three years has been like a re-birth. A metamorphose of a woman, her dog, her tempestuous relationship and a boat that was a perfect catalyst for the whole process.

Thank you Honey Ryder, it's been emotional.

--------------- Fin ----------------

My airbed leaks.

It feels strange to sleep with a ceiling so far away and such big windows.

Waking up without the smell of the fetid canal wasn’t too bad, but I miss the swans and ducks who used to come and say hello to me in a morning.

Goodbye old life

Glorious sunshine and there I was, standing at the side of Limehouse basin, a jar of fois gras in one hand and some stale bread in the other. A small laptop bag at my feet. Honey Ryder, my 57 foot narrowboat and home for the previous three years cruised away with it's slightly accident prone new owner in the direction of central london. My French boyfriend, recently made an ex, gone back to france and my dog, sent away and being looked after by my mum 180 miles north of London.

As I wandered back to my car that was stuffed to the ceiling with schtuff bound for storage, it finally dawned on me that I’m homeless and utterly alone.

After dropping the remainder of my life in at a storage unit I drove to a friends house in Watford, hoping that he might be in. His spare room has a very small space set aside for me amongst his vast amount of things. Just big enough for an airbed and a chair, this is going to be 'home' for a few weeks until I sort out my next floating home.

the final curtain

 

Six weeks in Watford and I've got itchy feet already. 

I've just finished a nice pair of curtains for the livingroom as a thankyou to my friend who has kindly let me stay in his spare room on my leaking airbed.

There's only so much I can ask of a friend. It's probably time I moved on for a while.  

Another friend in Reading with whome I have shared a house with a few years previously is happy for me to stay in his spare room for a while. Especially since he also has curtains that he’d like adjusting and hanging.

Thankfully he has a car that works so he came and collected my bicycle and couple of bags. I rode my sickly scooter behind him all the way, keeping an eye on the dashboard the whole way for signs of more trouble.

At least Reading is closer to Cardiff so my train there will be cheaper and quicker than from Watford. My Cube wont be ready for a few weeks yet since all the parts are special order from Japan.

14 days

How is it possible I can have so much stuff?

I surely dont need it all.
packing away the contents of the cupboards and drawers has revealed that I am infact less of a minimalist than I fooled myself into believing and more of a creative-tucker-away-of-things-out-of-sight. This will be rectified as soon as I have a moment to contemplate such ruthless skimming of "Schtuff".
Most of my possessions are now tucked away in boxes, stacked 1.5 meters high by 1.5 meters square.
each of these boxes will be quarantined, checked and double checked before I allow any of their contents to move with me to my new home. If they dont pass the usefulness test then off they go to a charity shop or well known auctioning website.
I may even put them up for free grabs on here.

Id really like to get it slimmed down to just one small ish car load. Im sure with a little lateral thinking it can be achieved.

of course, before it gets moved anywhere, I actually need to find something to move it into.

the seach continues, Plymouth, S & NW Wales, W Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands await.

room for a chicken

With a little less than one month left aboard Honey Ryder, time seems to have gone into warp drive.

My mental packing has started, helped along by the booking of a small self-storage cupboard.

I'm currently looking at suitable floors to sleep on as an interim measure of avoiding sleeping out under a bridge, although I do have the advantage that after nearly three years on the canals, I know quite a lot of suitable bridges.

I've looked at four very different boats so far, but all with a mast.

Looking around these various boats brings home how well equipped my current boat is and how much I have got used to it.
The battery charger and battery state readout, the inverter and travel power.
The heating, the hot water, the four burner cooker, the oven big enough for a medium sized chicken...

It seems all too soon this blog will draw to a natural conclusion and a new one will commence in the face of yet another very steep learning curve.
I want to live on a yacht and sail the world.
A couple of small matters to be over come first,
one, I have a full time job and a mortgage,
two, I've never sailed a yacht bigger than a dinghy.

Exit stage left

Time to depart our dark and dusty dry dock cave like place and head back out into the bright world outside.

Heading back across London probably to see Victoria park and Limehouse for one last time from a narrowboat this summer.
Five more weeks of canal time, five more weeks of packing boxes and emptying Honey Ryder.
She is going to a new home this August and I am to be temporarily homeless.

Mr X is going back to France for a while, I am now starting my search for a new place to live in ernest.

Oh, exciting times.