After 3 days in Dover we were eager to get kiting again. We left the marina in light fog and just enough wind to fly our biggest kites, but the forecast was for it to increase so we were hopeful. It was patchy but we were making great progress over Read more…
Today is my 3Xth birthday. I celebrated by having a long hot shower, and doing the laundry. You quickly run out of clean clothes on the boat, so these are a luxury item. For Stew’s 3Xth, he was half way up the world’s tallest mountain. I remember thinking what an Read more…
We’ve been having some issues with the port engine periodically cutting out. For the last 3 days we’ve needed to clean the fuel filters each day. Not just a tedious exercise, but at ~ £20 each, replacing these daily would get expensive, quick. The concensus had finally been reached that Read more…
There were small puffs of wind in the bay on Friday morning, but in the lulls, there wasn’t enough to even get the kite in the sky. We took this opportunity to practice kite launch and rescue with Jeremy. He’s kited before, but picking up kites from the rib is Read more…
We left Ramsgate for the third and final time this morning, motoring to our start point approximately 8miles into the Thames Estuary. Our friend Julia who has waved us on each time we’ve passed was excited to finally see us leave. (Although sad at the same time, as it was Read more…
Ramsgate is a giant enclosed marina built out of stone. When you’re walking along the outer edge of it, it feels as if you’re inside the moat of a giant castle, with the world outside of you completely blocked from view. Even despite this protective surrounding, when we woke this Read more…
Only 6 Miles to go to turn the corner on the East coast and start the South Coast, but it was proving a difficult distance to knock off. Today the forecast was for good winds from the NE. However, nestled in our protective harbour at Ramsgate, it was impossible to Read more…
This morning’s aim was to go from Harwich, across the Thames Estuary, to Ramsgate. A distance of about 45 nautical miles. To put this distance into perspective, the English Channel is only 20 miles across to France. Needless to say we were gearing up for a big day! As we Read more…
The aim for today was to get from Harwich, where we finished on Friday’s epic 100km day, to Clacton-on-Sea, with the aim of getting around to Ramsgate on Monday. With this plan, we left Shotley Marina around 08:30 and headed back to the beach we’d previously finished on. There was Read more…
No wind today, so a day off the water. We got our chores done quickly in the morning – the boat got a wash down; starboard oil filters changed; and gear rinsed. We were rewarded by a lovely afternoon in Ipswich with Stew’s Dad. The highlight, the homemade oatmeal cookiesIn Read more…