I am slightly jaded as I write this, the weather in the UK since before Christmas frankly has been rubbish, it only seems to have stopped raining for minutes. In the last couple of weeks, high winds have added to the mix. 

Last night (12th Jan) it got epic, the winds were gusting 55-60 Knots which is gale force according to the Beaufort Scale. I have never experienced winds like that in a marina, I have never been on a boat heeled over in a marina consistently, we had at least 10 degrees. Luckily for us, the bed in the master cabin is ‘a thwarts ship’ so theoretically we could sleep but the howling wind and the banging of the spinnaker halyard against the mast on our neighbours boat added to a poor nights sleep. So I am jaded and relying on ‘Tea’ to get through the day.

The Skipper and the Cruise Director however have simply lost the plot. They are reciting lines from Mont Python and singing their anthem ‘Kokomo” by the Beach Boys, giggling hysterically. It’s going to be a long day…

Although boats are great, anchorages and marina don’t tend to be close to things like supermarkets. When you (eventually) return your father’s car you need to be able to get to the shops. Our solution was folding bikes. We didn’t want to spend a fortune on them as we wanted to evaluate how they would survive in the marine environment (salt water is not kind on anything) and where we would store anything larger (we’re going to need a bigger boat).  After some deliberation we managed to find two pre-loved folding bikes over the Christmas period. Thanks to my amazing Dad and his resignation on not getting his car back just yet we were able to collect them. 

Next was to fit them out with lights, panniers etc to make them safe, road legal and fit for purpose. I was rather excited as these are the first bikes for which the skipper has allowed me to have mud guards (small things) but either way, I am really excited to have bikes again. My cycling friends know I REALLY loved my road bike and putting it into storage for up to three years was quite hard. So I was excited to be able to cycle again. However this isn’t to be. Why? I hear you ask, simple answer; kids. Both bikes have now been commandeered by the kids :0( Oh well, I got one cycle in). As I am a solutions orientated person, I am thinking roller boots or skate boards and the kids can tow us along, just got to convince the skipper…