Our 3-week holiday from work was approaching, and we’d originally planned to stay in Malaysia, perhaps to visit Borneo. In the end, however, we headed to Thailand. This decision was largely based on the desire to scuba dive, and finding a good first place for Miki to experience it. So it was that we landed …
Activities
Bangor to the Isle of Man to Maryport, by sailboat!
Having arrived in Bangor, Northern Ireland, on a Saturday we had all of the following day to relax and explore. Early Sunday morning we headed away from the sea, hoping to leave the cold sea wind behind for a while. After wandering for about an hour we came across a vast park, green grass sprawling …
We Left Largs!
The day that we would set sail from Largs had finally dawned. (For real this time!) We’d moved our starting date back by a day due to around 20knots of headwind which our experienced sailing friend, Ollie, had advised against if we wanted to keep our growing love for sailing intact. We’d decided to heed …
Time to Leave
Now that we were in the water, we were of course immediately impatient to be on the road. Or on the sea, to be more precise. If ten long months in the boatyard weren’t enough to spur us on, the marina fees that were the same price as the flat we’d rented in Manchester definitely …
The Big Splash
Ten long months after lifting out of the water and ‘splash day’ had finally come around. In the first few months of the year we’d fit in a break in Italy; come back to spend a couple more months in the flat in Largs; done our Day Skipper Practical course; and packed up our belongings …
A Week on the Water – completing our Day Skipper Practical
(April 2022) We had booked a week off work to do the Day Skipper Practical course. It was a very exciting moment as, although we’d had many days on a boat over the past few months, the boat had never been floating. Our first evening was a brief affair, we met the other people doing …
Part 2 of 2021: lessons from the boatyard
Little did we know when we hauled out at the end of July, that we wouldn’t be heading back into the water until April the following year. Nor did we realise all that was yet to unfold over the coming months, had we known, we would likely have made different choices. Although we faced many …
Part 1 of 2021 – the beginning of a life-changing venture
Our time in Italy was cut short due to the looming Brexit deadline. We discovered in mid-November it would be much easier for Miki to stay for a longer period in the UK if we arrived before 11pm on 31st December 2020. So bags were packed, notice was given at the flat in Genova, and …
From the UK to Italy
(August 2020) As I’d mentioned in my previous post, we spent the majority of the lockdown with my parents and saw a couple of friends and other family members along the way. The time had now come for us to travel south to Italy, to visit Miki’s family. We had decided to cycle to Italy, …
Spring and summer 2020 – lockdown in the UK
After our stressful exit from Sri Lanka, we were very grateful when we finally touched down in the UK. This was Miki’s first time in the country and was most likely a very strange way to experience it, when most things that help create the culture and atmosphere are closed or off-limits. We had flown …