Our flights are confirmed, our bags packed. The boat will be hauled out for a while now for repairs, and Skipper and I will be ready to head to the airport tomorrow morning.
Istanbul is being kind and providing us with torrential rain and dark skies to get us used to our visit to the UK. (Although I’m told it’s hotter than Cyprus in London today.)
It’s been a long and busy season for us, and we are looking forward to a couple of weeks off before starting our new adventures.
There are new challenges back in the Mediterranean over the winter, and one or two intriguing offers further away to consider. Last night we got talking to an Australian couple who shared stories about their beautiful classic wooden boat, and persuaded us that we really need to put Australia on our list of top places to sail.
Now, we could really do with a holiday…
We had a particularly roly night in our berth a few weeks back with strong winds and a swell and Skipper had had enough of the creaks and groans of the warps. (A warp, or mooring line, is a rope that ties the boat to the quay or pontoon.) Every time the warp slackens and then tensions again it creaks. At 4 am, in the dark, in our cabin in the bottom of the stern of the boat, it sounds like we’re living on a big old wooden galleon rather than on a modern fibreglass powerboat.
nt out and bought rubberised shock absorbers that compress and minimise the snatch when there is a swell. They are attached to a cleat on the pontoon with chain and then the warp is attached to the other end of the shock absorber. They work a treat: lovely silent nights.
Galley Girl Tales 