Final Preparations

Final preparations are well underway for tomorrows drive to the south of Cornwall. 

Last night we dropped the car off at the garage for them to hopefully sort out the squeaking exhaust. Liam will pick the car up later, fill it with fuel, check the tyre pressures and the relevant fluid levels before sticking her in the garage ready for the off tomorrow morning.

This morning we have been to the supermarket to stock up on alcohol supplies. The boot of my car is now bursting at the seams ready for the transfer over to the Sierra's boot in the morning. Note to self, do not forget the alcohol!

So all that is left to do is a little bit of food shopping to take with us this evening after work and then we can settle back at home, which is highly unusual for us on a Friday evening, order in a takeaway curry and have a few beers and chill out.

Running Out Of Time

On Saturday morning we are supposed to be jumping into the Sierra and heading south to the Cornish coast, however the Sierra seems to have other ideas.

Some 13 years ago we did the exact same trip, in the exact same car, to the exact same site in Boswinger close to Mevagissey and we had a wonderful two weeks camping. This time we are only going for a week and we have hired a luxury lodge instead of sleeping under the canvas.

Now I'm not sure whether the car remember this trip or if she is just being stubborn but she has thrown plenty of obstacles in Liam's path the last week or so. First the leaking pipework, then the electric fan broke, then the new electric fan didn't work and had to be hot wired to stop the car overheating, then it had to be rewired through the ignition. At the moment the fan is running continuously but we would rather have it this way then the car overheating and it will stay this way until we come back from Cornwall.

The last and possibly most annoying problem is that bloody exhaust again. This time it isn't banging on the bodywork but squeaking in exhaust slings and rubbers. Very annoying so it is back to the garage tomorrow to hopefully, all fingers and toes crossed, get sorted before the long drive south.

Boat Show Bargains

It wasn't all browsing luxury boats at the weekend, as much as this part of the show was fun, we had a couple of items that we could do with purchasing as well.

The show has endless rows of stalls selling everything marine, the trick was to find the right product at the right price.

We wanted some new sail cloth bags. Our current ones are nearing the end of their usable life and were a little on the small side. We eventually tracked down a stall selling the large sized barrel bags by Bainbridge Marine for £30 each, a bargain in itself as these usually retail for around £45 each. As we were buying two we managed to knock them down a little further in price to £28 each, less then we paid for the previous medium sized barrel bags by the same maker!

Liam also wanted a couple of baseball caps, he goes through these like shelling peas. Often they meet a sticky end in the water. He managed to get a good deal on a pair of Muston caps from another stall holder.

All in all we had a great weekend away, found some great bargains and got to see some amazing boats both on the water and ashore. We also got some great technical advice and some great ideas for our future afloat. Well worth the visit.

Southampton Boat Show 2016 - Part 2

 Liam at home at the helm of a Sunseeker.

 Some massive boats.

 Flying Sunseekers.

 The Sunseeker stand.

 After hours on our feet it is time to find a pub.

 The Red Lion is an excellent choice of pub.

 Cruise ships heading out to sea.

 Back on the ferry.

 Cruising through the docks.

 Heading back to Hythe.

 Cars and machinery ready for transport. The car parks are full of Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover and Mini's for export.

 The Hythe pier train.

 Ex munitions transporter now transporting passengers along the pier.

 Lovely park by the river.

 The ferry terminal and pier to the right of the picture and our hotel to the left.

Sitting under a Eucalyptus tree by the river for a few beers in the beer garden of the Lord Nelson in Hythe.

Southampton Boat Show 2016 - Part 1

 Our view from the hotel window at breakfast.

 The long walk down the pier to catch the ferry.

 Waiting room at the end of the ferry pier.

 Heading across to Southampton.

 Looking back at Hythe.

 Fast Cat ferries on Southampton Waters.

 A bit choppy in Marina Village.

Lovely Dutch tall ship in the marina.

A Great Weekend

We have had a great weekend at Southampton Boat Show but the weekend is now over and we have headed back upthe motorway to Sheffield.

Catching the Boat

We have caught the boat to the boat show.

On The Road

We have made it to the rather lovely Boathouse Hotel and have just been shown to our rather lovely room overlooking the square.

Time to hit the bar after a long 5 hour drive.

That's Not My Boat

Rather unusually for us we will be spending the next few weekends away from Naughty-Cal, it will be the first time in the eight years that we have owned her that we have not visited for such a long period!

This coming weekend we will be in Southampton visiting the annual boat show. So a thoroughly boaty weekend even though we won't be on our own boat.

I have booked us in for a couple of nights, Friday night and Saturday night, at the rather splendid Boat House Hotel in Hythe on the opposite side of the river to Southampton. The Boat House is a small independantly owned, 10 bedroom hotel situated in Hythe Marina. More details in the link below:

http://www.boathousehythe.co.uk/

As the hotel is on the wrong side of the river for the show we will have to get there by boat. A half hourly ferry service runs from a pier a few minutes walk from the hotel to take people from Hythe to Southampton and vice versa. 

As I said a thoroughly boaty weekend, just not on our boat!

Goodbye Old Friend

Over the years you start to associate friends with their boats and vice versa. When a friend has had a boat for as long as you have known them, and that is many years then it becomes a sad day when they say goodbye to that boat.

At the weekend it was time to say goodbye to Sole Mate.

 Goodbye Sole Mate

And hello to Kevin and Jane's new boat Sloe Mate.

Hello Sloe Mate

Here's to many much slower years of boating guys.

West Stockwith September 2016 - Part 2

 A lovely morning to be on the river.

 Time to blow some cobwebs away.

 Around the bends.

 Time to slow down beyond Gainsborough. Mind you with the big tide we were still doing 10mph at 1200rpm!

 The river was very brown with all of the mud and silt churned up by the big tide.

 A stunning day.

A spot of lunch comprising a slow cooked cola gammon and a selection of vegetables bought from the West Stockwith farm stall.

Total Miles = 46

Total Locks = 4

West Stockwith September 2016 - Part 1

 Out onto the river.

 Down the lock cut.

 Cruising downstream.

 A grey day.

 Plenty of water in the river on a big tide.

 Through Gainsborough bridge and it's go, go go....

 Bye Gainsborough.

 Leaning in nicely around the bends.

 Moored in the basin for the evening.

 A trio of Sealines on the basin wall.

A lovely sunset to end the evening.