Last New Year’s Eve we were in the Cape Verde’s off Africa. I’d been out and had a ‘magnificent’ hair cut in preparation for the all night party in Mindelo. There are photos of me in a skirt and vest top on the marina deck at midnight. It was a balmy mid 20’s.

This year, in Beaufort North Carolina, Grace is on the hard, we have two heaters running and we await temperatures of -10 Celsius at night this week. I have had a hair cut but no great stories to report. Just the usual ubiquitous hairdresser ‘chitty chatty’ nonsense.

There was a pirate walking the plank episode advertised in downtown Beaufort as part of the local New Year’s Eve celebrations. We turned up with about 10 minutes to spare and stood with the baying crowd while at least a dozen people dressed in pirate regalia goaded the crowd. This is going to be mad I thought as snow flakes whisked through the darkness. Imagine our disappointment as a pirate mannequin shuffled along the plank then dropped into the drink. The crowd roared. On reflection it could have been a sketch from Spike Milligan’s Q show in the 1970’s. My head just wasn’t in surreal mode, I was just being a bit too straight-minded.

Life at 15 feet is okay. Our kerosene heater is back from the UK and roars. Backed up by our fan heater, the living space in the boat gets acceptably warm. As I mentioned earlier, with minus double digits this week at night and without the insulation of being in the water, Grace can get chilly. The boat isn’t winterised so we need to make sure nothing important freezes. Like us.

The mast comes off the boat this week. Compression issues apparently. Our list of jobs gets shorter then longer. I have proudly finished my Bimini / Canvas / Velcro / solar panels / sewing project. Only took days of my life sprinkled with a modicum of naughty words. Dave gets to play with cables to wire them in now. Then we need sunshine to see if they work.

This is our Christmas spot. Bock Marine boatyard on the Intra Coastal Waterway just outside Beaufort Carolina.

We have guests for dinner later so this will be brief.

Happy Christmas folks. Make it a good one. Xx

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Am I allowed to be jealous? The Alps and Canada have both had their fill of snow to start the season. Friends have been taunting us with pictures of powder snow. That’s where the jealously emanates from. Fill your boots and have a nice slide chums.

We’ve had snow too. When we set off it wasn’t part of the vision I had for boat life, shovelling snow off the decks. More living in shorts and t shirts and swimming in blue blue water. We had a ‘what if….’ conversation in Cape May. What if we got the boat out of the water, winterised it and went and worked a ski season until April then came back to the boat when winter was history. I even asked the boat yard how much it would cost. Not as much as I thought but still a chunk. It was a mad dream, little aberration for a while.

Anyway, New Jersey is behind us and we’re in North Carolina. It’s warmed up and the forecast tells me it will be 68 degrees on Saturday. That’s bordering on a warm summer day in the UK. We did an overnight 32 hour passage down to Norfolk, Virginia. At times it was bouncy and wet but we sailed with the cockpit tent up which proved to be a saviour as it kept the wind and wet out. I sang Christmas carols for a good hour during one of my night watches to help me awake. Dave luxuriated in our new Bose noise cancelling headphones which meant he didn’t hear any of my wailing.

We’re now on the Intra Coastal Waterway heading towards Beaufort, our planned Christmas destination. Boy what a contrast to the Atlantic eastern seaboard. It’s a series of linked waterways, canals, rivers and lakes. You can in fact travel over 1400 Miles all inland from Norfolk to Key West, Florida and I’d never even heard of it before we got to the States. No need to go out to sea at all.

It’s the end of day two as I write this. We have covered 100 miles, one shorter day of 30 miles yesterday then almost 12 hours today making 70 which started at sunrise before seven and saw us anchoring in the dark. Sunrise and sunset were spectacular today so that was nature’s brucie bonus.

We’ve seen only a tiny handful of other boats in our 100 miles and two of those were big tugs. No yachts. So far, we’ve been through one lock, radioed up 4 bridges to get them opened so we could transit and held out breath at the fixed bridges. It’s almost impossible to judge exactly how much clearance there is above the mast but I guarantee you, its squeaky bum time, even if you know tall the mast is and how much clearance the chart says.

96 miles to go to Beaufort. Should be eminently doable over the next three days. Assuming our anchorage is not as scary as it sounds….the Alligator river just off Rattlesnake Cove.

Winter has arrived. Apparently this little blast is called Benji. So sweet. Benji has been skipping up from Florida to the Canadian border. I know I’ve been rattling on about getting south. It would appear even Florida isn’t sufficiently south this weekend.

The UK has Caroline this weekend I read. Hope this means everyone’s sledges get some pre Christmas action. Polish up your runners.

Last night we walked into Cape May in the snow. It was properly Christmassy. The quality of lights and decorations on the wooden clapperboard houses somewhat dwarfs the efforts of Chesterfield, a town near where we live in derbyshire. A tastefully decorated six foot tree on your porch next to your wooden rocking chair looked great in the falling snow last night.

We stopped in on the free brass band concert, a medley of Christmas tunes filling the space. Surely, everyone likes a brass band, especially Breezy.

Today we spent a couple of hours clearing snow from the boat. We don’t want it to freeze, get ridiculously heavy and impossible to shift. I have a feeling it’ll be Groundhog Day tomorrow.

My confidence for striking up a conversation or following my nose out of curiosity has definitely increased throughout our time in the States. Maybe it’s partly about being a Brit here and playing the ‘ignorance / nosey card’ and being able to get away with it. 😀

That’s how we ended up chatting to the owner of a shop who designs and makes chandeliers. I don’t know if there is a single word from earlier times to describe this line of work, such as a cooper or fletcher for example. Perhaps it’s too specialist as I don’t imagine there is a massively demand for chandeliers. “Ok I’m just popping down the market to spend my doubloons on a suckling pig and a 10 foot tall chandelier. Won’t be long.”

We were walking down the street in Port Washington, a satellite town a short trip from New York. There are plenty of big properties on Long Island that we saw as we sailed into the anchorage. These properties must fuel the demand for chandeliers. I hadn’t considered that chandeliers are still being made today. I had this skewed idea that the enormous light fitting that occupied the whole of the window was an antique. So my curiosity dictated I had to go in and find out more about this gigantic thing.

The guy was quite happy to explain politely that this thing of beauty was in fact brand new and made by his fair hands. He talked about making models as part of his  job to get the size right for the space available. Too big and the thing looks cumbersome and distracting, too small and it’s lost and inappropriate. So much to consider.  I now know more if and when I come to order one in the future! I can advise too if you’re thinking of buying one for only a modest consultancy fee.

I guess I need to mention NYC here too. We went and walked lots. Down to the south of Manhattan to the area where the Twin Towers stood and along the river to suss out our trip transiting the city by boat. Jesus it’s busy on the water. Boats everywhere. Then the next day we met a friend Nell, walked some of Central Park, ate burgers then caught the train back to Port Washington. We have had our city fix for a goodly while now.

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Years ago when I lived in South Wales, (Welsh Wales not Australia) I had a really good friend called Angie. We haven’t seen each other in years but I know if I turned up on her doorstep I’d still be welcomed in. We used to talk about ‘good to be alive days’. You’ll all have had several. Things happen that make you smile on the inside and the outside. An experience, a kind word, an evening sunset, your dog falling in the canal…….we had such a ‘day’ today.

Yesterday’s trip of about 50 miles had the potential to be long and chilly. With limited daylight hours, we wanted to arrive at our planned stop, Milford, Connecticut before darkness. So up at five, off in the dark before six. Motor sailing, we made great time and got to the river entrance about 2.30pm. Option one was to anchor out in the bay and dinghy ashore or option two, proceed cautiously up the buoyed channel, (we were bang on low water and had no local knowledge as to when the channel was last dredged) knowing there were docks to tie up to meaning we could get off the boat easier.

We pressed the button for option two and 20 minutes later we were tied up to the dock at the Milford Yacht Club. Great. Time for a walk into town before dark then back to the boat for beef stew, courtesy of the much used pressure cooker. Tyler, a guy who worked at the club kindly gave us a lift into town and we wandered round the open streets either side of the green. One building in town, the library, caught my eye. A mix of tiles, bricks, stone and boulders. Feeling nosey, I pushed open the outer door, then the inner door. Lights were switched on and a woman, Nell, came to greet us. Ah, she said this is no longer the library, it’s now the local chamber of commerce. No matter, we got chatting and she said she was a member of the Yacht club and tonight was ‘cheap’ night with money off drinks until 7.

It would have been rude not to drop by. What a great couple of hours and lovely people. We were welcomed wholeheartedly into the club and left saying emphatically that if we were ever in the area again, we will definitely call in.

At 7.45 this morning as we’re organising lines before setting off towards Manhasset Bay, Tina, I think that’s her name, apologies if it’s wrong,  one of our new friends from last night came scurrying down the pontoon with a bag of goodies….breakfast for us on Grace this morning. That’s why it’s a good to be alive day today. A totally lovely and unexpected gift.

We have about 8 miles to go till we stop moving today. The Manhattan skyline is on the horizon. I was last there in 1986. That means I’m older than I think!

Alan Shearer goal celebration….or famous statue In Plymouth

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We haven’t often retraced our steps but today we arrived back in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s where Grace made landfall in the States from Bermuda before we sailed off towards Maine. That was back in June this year and it’s now a month till Christmas Day. We motored into the anchorage / mooring area. Last time it was absolutely rammed with hundreds of boats. This time we are the only boat here. Pick your spot.

If we venture any further towards New York, we will be sailing off the page. Our paper charts run out here. UPS has a package waiting for us to collect on Monday with what’s required. Unfortunately it’s not like buying a 2017 Road Atlas from Esso for £2.99. We have all the charts stored electronically on a chip which we use with the chart plotter (think SAT NAV if you don’t know what a chart plotter is) but we like to have paper ones too in case the electronic gremlins decide to play naughty games. And paper charts are easier for planning purposes too as you get the big picture rather than something screen size. We don’t have a 60” flat screen on the boat.

Yesterday was a top day. We spent it on Martha’s Vineyard. I don’t know how or why the island got it’s name. Was there a Martha or even a vineyard? Come on Bro, you can look that up for me or maybe some else knows? Lisa feel free to contribute, we know you’ve visited previously.

A college friend of mine lives on the island. She acted as guide, chauffeur and chef. We spent a happy and easy few hours in her company having brunch, driving rounds the island, taking a hike through Memensha Woods then back to meet her 5 dogs in Oaks Bluff. It’s a stunning place and Sally said we’d seen it at its best in the bright early winter sunshine without thousands of tourists who flood the island during the summer months. I secretly love the idea of turning up to visit people by boat.

So Christmas is a month away. Last year we were at sea for Christmas somewhere between the Canaries and Cape Verde Islands. I recall having had a real pasting for two days with grotty weather and grim winds, a double g is not good, thinking this is not what I signed up for. Christmas Day was the first time we were able to sit at the table and eat something without the plate behaving like a grasshopper on speed. Not sure where we’ll be this year.

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Off we went into the local yacht club here in Plymouth, Massachusetts for an evening beverage. We were warmly welcomed (that’s 4 w’s in a row, not deliberate alliteration) and left feeling like we’d been ‘the turn’, having become the focus of the conversation for those sat at the bar. Once again we experienced kind people who offered lifts for shopping and local useful advice on heading south.

It would have been difficult not to notice the number of layers we were wearing. New England is pretty much closed for boaters now….log fires and snuggling up for winter are higher up the priority list. We sapped up the heat in the building.

It’s been a big weekend here in town. Plymouth throws a big parade each year to celebrate the Pilgrims arriving in 1620. Floats, speeches, marching bands, people in historic dress, the whole nine yards. The opening addresses provided several ‘big wigs’ a captive audience, allowing them to enjoy the sound of their own voices for slightly / definitely too long . There’s a job there for an Event Management Company to advise leaving the audience wanting more not less.

Relative Bobby, my dad’s cousin came to visit on Saturday afternoon till Sunday lunchtime. He didn’t really want to leave boat life behind as he drove off without his phone and had to turn round after a few miles then try to break into the security conscious marina to find us again. Well that was my interpretation…he could have just been forgetful. The word he used to describe us was ‘mad’. I took that as a compliment.

Bobby brought gifts. HP sauce, genuine maple syrup and a bottle of single malt whiskey. Dave’s eyes lit up at the sight of item number three. Great pressies…..thank you. The only other occasion where Bobby and I have met was back in 1986, the year I finished college and worked summer camp in the states. He was working at West Point, the massive military academy. We reminisced a little, swapped current stories and spent time just shooting the breeze.

He’s a microbiologist now. He offered to explain to us the bugs that live in steak if you choose to eat it rare, as we do. We declined his offer. He eats his meat very well done.

Early morning Rockport

There was a package left for us at the harbourmasters office in Gloucester. We nearly didn’t get it. He radioed us up just as we were leaving so we motored past the dock and he handed it over.

All it said was ‘Dave and Helen S/V Grace of Longstone’. Inside were treasures. Two sachets of hot chocolate, some diddy marshmallows (s’mores), two tots of Jack Daniels, a dvd of Cool Runnings and a sailing book to read. Plus a card from our buddies Brian and Steph…..the words of which I’ve photographed above. How lovely!

We got back to Massachusetts on what was reported (allegedly) as the coldest November day in 100 years. Whether this was true or not, it was flipping brass monkey weather made colder by the wind chill. We stayed at Paul’s house for a couple of nights. Grace without a functioning heater was not too inviting a prospect. Dave went to bed in his hat one night when we did get back onto the boat. He knows how to look sexy in bed!

It was a wrench to leave Gloucester. Paul had been a superstar going above and beyond. He tells a great story and his buddies were fun too. We’d walked the coast, eaten pizza together, visited hardware stores and sat up shooting the breeze.

Today we’re in Plymouth, where the Pilgrims landed absorbing a bit of history. We’ll be here for a few days. It’s a big weekend in town…..a procession with floats, a food festival, bands and general celebrations. We are having a little bit of work done on the boat and the weather doesn’t look too chipper so we plan to make the most of whats on offer here.

Also I’ve just come off the phone to a distant relative, Bobby who is coming to visit. I’m not sure exactly how we are related, I’m not too good at that lineage stuff but it’ll be great to meet up and maybe work out exactly what the family connection is.

Our village in black and white…..

Autumn in Derbyshire

Nieces

Piggy back please

We’re at Gatwick airport waiting for our flight back to the states. We have splashed the cash and are in one of the lounges away from the hustle bustle madness of the main airport. Doesn’t take much to make me feel special… a free newspaper, a cuppa with a selection of nibbly nibbles.

I’m reading the Times and there’s an article about a drunk teenager who was arrested by police. They noticed he had ….and I quote….’a considerable bulge’ in his trousers. When questioned he stated he had a snake in his pants. Turned out to be a baby royal python. Mind boggling. Apparently it’s a non venomous constrictor. Does that fact make me feel any different, of course not!

Snakes are on my list of unpleasant things which also includes celery, food of the devil, and hot air hand dryers that have been installed too high in public washrooms so you have to hold your hands up rather than down, consequently water runs down your arms towards your elbows. Sloppy design, poor installation, a lack of thought whatever, they annoy me intensely.

Rant over. I have just checked the marine forecast for the sea area including Gloucester, Massachusetts. It’s gonna be breezy for the next 36 hours.

S winds 10 to 15 kt, becoming SW 20 to 25 kt with gusts up to 30 kt after midnight. Seas 4 to 7 ft. FRI NW winds 25 to 30 kt with gusts up to 40 kt. Seas 7 to 10 ft. FRI NIGHT NW winds 25 to 30 kt, diminishing to 20 to 25 kt after midnight. Seas 7 to 10 ft.

Temperature wise they are forecasting minus three at night. And with the wind in the north it’ll no doubt feel very chilly. The boat has been closed up for about 7 weeks without heat or ventilation. Anyone want to swap places? I envisage getting back onto the boat, putting more clothes on and going to bed.

It has felt tough and tearful saying goodbye to people: my dad, Dave’s Mum, Chris, Becca’s partner plus everyone else (you know who you are). The life we have currently chosen means we are away from people we care about. We are both thankful that our families are supportive of what we are doing and even though living on a boat and sailing around is well beyond their experience, and probably desire (!), they understand or tolerate our desire to explore a bit of the world!