Moving on Board

Now the adventure starts properly. We have already spent quite a few nights on board Island Girl over the winter including some very cold nights with ice inside the hatches but is now time to make a permanent move and hopefully, the weather is going to get warmer over the next few months.

We have cleared the house and cleaned and scrubbed it and are ready to move out and for a tenant to move in. We have sorted through all our belongings and tried only to keep those things we will want / need when we return and can be stored in the attic. We have sold stuff, given away stuff and taken stuff to the tip. sorted stuff that needs to be taken on to the boat. It’s a bit strange, moving house without being able to take much with you.

We have also been saying a temporary goodby to friends over the last few weeks, and also hello to our new Grandson born on the 14th February

During this time we have also been busy working on the boat. We have had the standing rigging replaced amd the sails cleaned and serviced. We have also replaced the safety equipment on the boat (that we hope we will never use). There will always be maintenance to do on a boat and I expect that this will continue, I have read in a number of books cruising described as “boat maintenance in exotic places”. We have to get the gas cooker checked over as a matter of urgency but other things can be carried out as we go along.

We have a been worshipping at Holy Trinity Church Gosport when we have been down on a Sunday, this is a very different style of worship to that to which we are used to in Leamington but is part of the journey we will be on over the next few years. The for the last two weeks we have had the same message at both St Paul’s Leamington and Holy Trinity Gosport around Jesus calming the storm. We hope this does not mean that we are going to be facing too many storms over the next few years.

During March we will do some more sailing in the Solent during March get confident handling the boat before we head off properly and also check that all the systems on the boat are really operating correctly. We will go over to the Isle of Wight and visit some other harbours on the south coast. If everything is working as it should be and we feel ready we plan to head across the channel at Easter weather (and Brexit) permitting.

This Blog should start to get more interesting and we will try and post something about the places we visit along our journey south.