Hull to Brighton.... by road??!!

I don't know where the time is going! Everyday seems to fly by yet I'm not sure what we've done! We have done one major thing and that is to bring the cars down from Hull. It took two days and reinforced my view that travel by water is by far the preferred option. We had two cars to bring back, one would have been so much simpler. Just to make things that bit harder the cars are not modern. In fact Martyns car is 48 years old - not a youngster by any stretch of the imagination. I thought I had it bad, a ten year old Citroen Saxo (1.1) - hardly the lap of luxury and no power steering. I couldn't really complain though, at least I had a radio, heating and working windscreen wipers. Things that would be become essential during the trip!

We left the boat at 8am to catch the bus to the station, another form of transport not to be recommended. The bus driver seemed to be on a mission to race everything in sight and seemed to take pleasure in watching people running for the bus then setting off without them... Some sport! After a 35 minute bus journey covering approx 3 miles we reached the station, boy was I glad to get off! I think my next job should be within walking distance... I had pre booked the tickets and needed to collect then at the station. This had been playing on my mind. I like to have everything in order when planning a trip and was concerned about the amount of time it would take to get the tickets. Would they actually be there? Have I read the instructions right? Would we miss the first train? Yes I worry a lot! It may be something to do with being out of my comfort zone or the fact that I really don't like having to work to timescales these days. I knew I wouldn't be happy until we made our connections through London and were on the train to Doncaster. We collected the tickets in plenty of time and made our first train heading for London Victoria. It was funny listening to the business people talking on their phones to customers and colleagues, it did however remind me of that thing I need to do soon (get a J.O.B. yuk!). The train was full and got fuller as we got closer to London. All those people made me feel claustrophobic and anxious to get off for our connection via the London underground. We didn't have a clue how it all worked when we got off the train. Did we have to pay through the underground ourselves or did the tickets cover us for that? Which line did we need? It was all very confusing and so busy. We made it to what we hoped was the right platform and panicked, there was a train already in, do we get on this? Is it the right one oops too late, the doors shut and it was away people rammed in like sardines. We finally sussed out that we could get on any train regardless of the route given on the booking directions. After a brief journey in the sardine can we found ourselves at London Kings Cross station and eventually on the train heading north. It wasn't a bad journey. As we got further north I noticed that the good old Yorkshire accent was slowly replacing the accents of the south. At Doncaster we changed for Hull, passing Goole. You can actually see the boatyard from the train. It was strange to think we once lived there for so long and Hareni was still sat there. I gave her an imaginary wave and wished her well.

We arrived in Hull and made our way to the marina. I expected to feel quite sad but didn't for some reason. I think it's because I know we can always come back, nothing is forever. We returned our security fobs to the marina and retrieved our car keys. At 3pm we left Hull on a journey neither of us were looking forward to. We went over the Humber Bridge - Triumph Herald leading and headed for the A15. We had to treat this trip a bit like a scooter rally. We didn't want to be doing long journeys on the motorway in the Herald so picked out a route that actually lead us on to our favourite Isle of Wight route. I soon realised that if I were to follow Martyn I would literally just have to follow him regardless of whether or not I thought he was going the wrong way. As we hit the A15 I noticed he had left his indicator on - after 5 miles of flashing my lights and even beeping my horn once he never batted an eyelid - communication on this trip was out of the window! We did OK until we hit Leicester, at 5pm oops! We arrived at Blaby, just south of leicester around 6.15pm. Not to worry, that was the worst bit, we were back in familiar territory now. This is the part of the route we know like the back of our hands.... If only it hadn't started to rain, then rain, then rain some more. I could barely keep up with Martyn, that little white cars a right speed demon, or maybe it's the driver! like I say we were back in familiar territory, Martyn flying off in the distance and me trying to keep up! It was quite scary to be honest and I was shattered. The roads were flooded everywhere, then we hit a section of road covered in diesel. I felt the back end of the car twitch and saw the Herald do the same. This really wasn't fun. I was really hoping that Martyn would want to call it a day and stop for the night. We arrived in Banbury and thankfully Martyn pulled into the petrol station where we usually stop with the scooters. As I got closer behind him I realised I couldn't see through his back window as it was all steamed up. That meant he couldn't see out or see me! Time to make a decision. Following a cup of coffee and some chocolate we decided to find somewhere to stop for the night. We took directions from the chap in the garage and after getting lost a few times made it to a Holiday Inn and luckily got a room. It was only 8.30pm and already dark outside, what happened to the summer?! They only had a twin room left but we weren't about to start looking for somewhere else to stay so we payed the extortionate room rate and headed for the pub! We ate at a popular American / Italian restaurant. It was so funny! We were about the only people in there and got the only waitress that didn't speak English. She was very nice though and apologised for getting everything wrong on a regular basis. It was all a bit Fawlty Towers! I tried to order wine, bad move. She couldn't understand what I was asking for, however after some pointing and gesticulating we thought we had it sorted. Martyns Peroni arrived but no wine, the starters arrived, but no wine. At this point we were told that they didn't have that particular wine so I chose another. 10 minutes later we were told that they couldn't open the bottle as they had lost the bottle opener. After a trip next door to the pub and after I had received my main I got a glass of wine hallelujah!! We had to laugh, the food was terrible, the service amazingly bad but it was entertaining! So much so that we still left a tip!
I had a great nights sleep and awoke refreshed and glad for the rest. Martyn however complained that the bed was so uncomfortable he hadn't been able to sleep. It was only when I sat on his bed to put my shoes on I realised the difference. It turns out that in twin rooms they put one soft mattress in and one hard mattress. Martyn got the soft one oops! Glad it wasn't me though!!
As we prepared to complete our journey we wondered if we would see any scooters. Under normal circumstances today would be the day that we would rise very early and set about our journey on the scooters to the Isle of Wight. In fact at the very time we left Banbury we would normally be travelling through. This trip wasn't planned to coincide with that it was just another strange coincidence. The first scooter we saw however was in the back of a van. Not sure if it had started it's journey in there or not...... We saw a couple of other scooters but not as many as normal, maybe the weather had put some off.
Four and a half hours later we arrived in Brighton, tired and stiff. It had been a long couple of days. The weather in Brighton was terrible, it had actually been sunny back up North. The boat felt damp and cold. We knew it had been very cold on board as the clock had stopped - it only usually does that if we are away for a long time over winter! At least we were back and remarkably in one piece The Herald had done great and I was glad the Saxo kept going. We had spent approximatley nine hours on the road from Hull to Brighton. The journey from Goole to Portsmouth by scooters used to take four to five hours - I know which I prefer although the seat in the Saxo is a little easier on the bottom!
So we have our cars, we've sold Hareni and Martyn has had a job interview, only one thing for it now, guess I've got to get a J.O.B. (Shudder...!!).

Goodbye Hareni

We finally sold our first boat 'Hareni' on Tuesday. We had mixed feelings. We were glad that at last somebody was going to take her away and use her again. It has never sat well with us that she has been laying idle all this time but sentiment made us reluctant to sell. She will be transported to the Lancaster canal to have a new life. I hope she likes it there - I think she will. I don't think we would have sold her if we had remained in Goole, in fact we wouldn't have sold anything and we wouldn't now be on this crazy new journey with Elephant Daze! We have had some great times on Hareni starting from the day we collected her from York with our experienced boater friend and took that first trip on the Ouse, blissfully unaware of the dangers that lay ahead. We survived the floods, the rain and eventually the snow. We walked miles for a new battery at Knottingly when we realised the one on board was completely useless. We washed in freezing cold water and listened to the water dripping from the roof at night. We won't mention the incident with the on board porta loo (still full from the previous owner!!). At Brighouse we had a visitor during the night or so we believe. We awoke to a snow covered boat with footprints leading to and from the boat, the canopy was also open. We all remember hearing someone moving on the boat but all thought it was one of the others......! Maybe it was someone looking for somewhere warm to sleep - they must have disappointed! We continued our journey through one of the worst snow storms of that year. People were getting stranded at work and we were working our way through the locks of The Calder and Hebble! We finally reached Elland and could go no further. The locks at Salter Hebble were closed for 'essential repairs'! So we hit the pub. The Barge and Barrel. I remember sitting in front of the open fire drying our feet - yes they really did steam! It was heavenly, for a while. The work on the locks were set to continue for some time and in the end we had no option but to start walking to work. Just a short hop - 5 miles or so....! We eventually moved the boat back down to The Colliers Arms where we made good friends with the landlord. He was such a lovely chap we had a great time. He didn't mind if we made a pint last a couple of hours just so we could get warm! We survived those first couple of months without electric or running water (We went swimming a lot...!). The only form of heating was a small gas fire, illegal now I might add! This created lots of excess moisture on the roof when lit so we had two options, freeze or get wet! Mornings were a nightmare, we would both try to get out of being the first one up to light the fire and warm up the boat. It was a case of get up, run to the back of the boat (essentially outside!) run back in, light the fire and get back into bed for at least 30 minutes before the arctic conditions began to melt (literally sometimes!). It sounds terrible, but we loved it! It was our first home together and we were very proud to call ourselves 'boatowners'! When we finally arrived at Sowerby Bridge we got electric and an oil filled radiator courtesy of a Christmas bonus from my then employer. We were warm and dry at last! It's funny but we never even thought about T.V. We had plenty to do without it! So followed four fabulously crazy bohemian years! We spent the summers having boatyard BB Q's sitting out telling tall tales, going to scooter rallies and having lots of parties in general. In the winter we would all meet up in the various pubs around Sowerby Bridge and talk about as much sense as we did in the summer! It was a very special time, needless to say I can't quite remember all the details......! It was a very comfortable existence, maybe too much so for me. For me having a boat was about travelling and I eventually persuaded Martyn that it was time for a move. That move resulted in Hareni ending up in Goole. For us that journey was as epic as the one we have just undertaken. We were still relatively clueless about boats then, we knew where was good to have a drink or a kebab in Sowerby Bridge, Hebden Bridge or Halifax but 'long range' cruising was a different matter. Don't get me wrong we took her out on weekends and short holidays but this was different. When we left we had a crew of five with us, a crew made up of very special friends from the boatyard. First stop - The Barge and Barrel at Elland - very fitting we had our last party with them there before embarking on our journey into the unknown. It was time to grow up and start learning, which we did, very quickly! A trip on the river Trent makes you realise there really is a whole new world of boating out there. Hareni took us to Lincoln (still one of my ultimate favourite boating spots!), Boston, Newark, Nottingham and Leicester eventually taking us back North to York and right up to Ripon. It was an adventure I really wish we had documented better - blogs didn't exist then! Fate finally led us to Goole, well really Martyns brother announcing his last minute weeding plans led us to Goole! We needed to stop and earn some money and Goole for reasons I now forget ended us being the place to do so. The rest as they say is history.....! So Hareni, she has been a very good friend to us and deserves a little TLC now. Her new owner seems very nice, I couldn't have sold to her somebody I didn't think was....! She will never be a closed chapter in our lives just a source of fabulous memories.

Thanks Hareni. XXX

Always sunny in the South....?!

We had lovely sunshine on Wednesday and decided to make a start on painting the wheelhouse on Elephant Daze - needless to say it has been raining ever since so most of our hard work is now ruined! That being said we finally got to meet some of our neighbours. We must have passed the trial period taken to establish 'live aboard' status! We have been keeping to ourselves, keeping a low profile as requested by the marina but it was really time to be out and about and I'm glad we did. We have met the lady who lives next door but one. She came to introduce herself and offer any help we might need with absolutely anything! It's a strange thing but her and her husband are currently fitting out a barge to head inland with - chances are they will end up in Goole! It's a funny old world. Then we met the sailor, lovely chap, told us a few tall tales of his travels and gave us some good local advise. Both people said the same about Brighton Marina in that it is a very friendly pleasant place to live. This is just what we needed to hear really. To know that we are among nice people gives us some comfort that we have made the right decision to stay.
This coming weekend sees the Isle of Wight Scooter rally which we will probably not be able to be part of this year. We are about 40 miles away from the Isle of Wight by boat and would need the guarantee of really good weather to make the trip. I have never been one for attending 'scooter' rallies by car so wouldn't consider that option. Maybe if we have a heatwave with guaranteed calm weather for three days ...... who knows? Whatever happens we will get to see our 'Uncle' Tubbs as he will be travelling our well worn route without us this year and staying in Brighton for a couple of days. A few drinks with Mr J D Weatherspoon will be no doubt on the cards. It will be the first time I will have seen a friendly face since we left so I will look forward to it and feel sad when he leaves without us!
The impending Isle of Wight scooter rally is making me think of buying another scooter. I think Martyn would prefer me to get a job to pay for it first though! He has mentioned to me on a few occasions that I don't seem too keen to rush back to work.... I really don't know what he means....!

Still in limbo

Nothing is ever easy is it? I'm beginning to miss the 'simplicity' of travelling. You pick your destination, check the tides, check the weather, hope you've got it all right and away you go! (How quickly we forget eh?!). We have been in Brighton for over a week now. When we made the initial enquiry about staying we had to wait two days to speak to the Berthing Manager and the Duty Manager so we waited and spent two days in limbo still trying to decided if it was what we really wanted. When the day of reckoning came Martyn went to the office to see what the decision would be. We were really nervous about this, so much so that I chickened out and let Martyn speak to them. It turned out to be a sot of mini interview, which he passed and rightly so! They gave us the day to make our final decision and we returned the following day to sort out the payment details. Easy as..... Living on a boat is never very straightforward though and when it came to sorting out the finer details we hit a problem - we don't exist in any one place.... This is still to be sorted and we currently live in hope that it can be sorted out and that we don't have to move on! The weather has been lousy ever since we arrived so it is doubtful that we would have been able to make much progress North anyway.
In effect we are still in limbo. It's hard to make concrete plans when there is still a chance albeit a small one that we won't be able to stay. That being said we have made arrangements to head back to Hull next week and collect our cars. That should be journey worthy of a Top Gear series! A 1962 triumph Herald and a 10 year old Citroen Saxo from Hull to Brighton umm, best take an overnight bag!
When we have our cars we can start properly looking for work. it seems most of the jobs are out of town so transport is going to be essential. In the meantime we thought we would get Elephant Daze lifted out of the water so we could replace the anodes and paint the hull. We thought we were onto a winner with this one as the marina are offering a discount for lift out in August.... Until the travel lift broke.... They have, however promised to honour the price even though we won't be able to get lifted out until September! Everything just gets further and further away.
So settling in is taking some time and we are starting to go a little stir crazy. We can't even get out for a sail as it's just too windy. We like our new mooring though. We are tucked away at the Eastern side of the marina quite close to the sea wall. We have a lovely little fishing boat moored behind us, not quite as big as the one our friend has in Hull but we like the idea of being near it as it reminds us of him. We have an amazing view of the marina and the cliffs of Brighton so we can't really complain. I do still miss the travelling though. I'm really not sure about fitting 'normality' back into my life just yet. If what I've heard is true though living in Brighton should be anything but 'normal'! I live in hope!

Brighton or bust....

We are still in Brighton. The typical English summer weather has held us captive once again. Following our last trip and considering the current forecast we have been forced to do some serious soul searching. We have two main options, one, head for Hull, two, stay in Brighton for the winter. We love Brighton but our last visit left us feeling less positive about the place. The marina itself is a purely man made marina and everything around it is new and very commercial. That being said it's also a very fun place to be if you have money to spend. Brighton town centre is a reasonable walk away along the seafront and offers a huge variety of entertainment. I sound like a tourist information guide don't I? Sorry! We have spent every one of the last seven days trying to decide what to do. We both changed our minds on a regular basis - Hull or Brighton....... We have walked for miles looking around the town, spent hours on the Internet checking long range forecasts and jobs in Brighton and Hull. We miss our family and friends and Hull is much closer than Brighton but it could take weeks to get back, would the money last? Would we become tempted to risk weather we wouldn't normally go out in to get back? As it was we had one weather window that might allow us to get to Ramgsate but the forecast after that wasn't good. The more it looked like going home would not be a good option the more I felt the need to. Maybe it was a case of just wanting something that realistically was out of my control. Finally Martyn said to me one evening. "How many times have we come to Brighton and walked around this marina wishing we could have our boat in here?" "Just about every year for the last 12 or more years" I replied. The light came on. We looked at each other and knew what we needed to do. We set off on this trip with a dream of reaching the South Coast in our own boat. Brighton was a hugely significant milestone, the Isle of Wight and The Solent were additional bonuses. We said we would have been happy to reach Brighton and that is what we have done plus some. Elephant Daze has been fabulous, she fairs much better than us in the rolly poly seas we have been through. I think it's time she had a bit of a rest and some serious TLC and we have decided that Brighton is the place to do just that.

Brighton will be our winter hideaway and the place to do some much needed work on Elephant Daze. It was not an easy decision to make but one we believe to be the right one. So, a new 'Coastal Adventure' begins. We have so much to sort out, cars to retrieve, jobs to find, painting to do. Let's hope we have some time for fun too!

Goodbye to the Isle of Wight.... we miss you already!

Gosport was OK, but a little choppy. The constant ferry traffic creates huge amounts of swell on a regular basis. The noise from the pontoons was probably worse than the motion and provided an early morning wake up call. We got up and began to get ready for our trip a couple of miles up river to Port Solent. We had read in our Channel guide that there was a supermarket and lots of shops at Port Solent so we didn't need to stock up at Gosport. The weather was gloomy to say the least and the tide quite strong as we left the marina. It became very clear that today would not be a good day to head out to sea - at least not for us - the sailing boats were still out in force however. The rain and mist crept in as we followed the buoyed channel. Some of you may remember our adventure through a certain firing range near Rye, well, this is one big firing range. The signs tell you that if they are firing you must just pass through quickly, how reassuring. For those of you hoping for another exciting story regarding this firing range I have to disappoint you. We passed through without incident! We did however spot a sailing yacht that had veered out of the channel, possibly trying to take a short cut. By the lack of movement it would appear the shortcut may have been unsuccessful. We did hang around a while to see if they needed help but they didn't seem to be too concerned about the situation. We passed the huge grey warships and Portchester castle, finally locking in at Port Solent. We got a lovely reception here from the staff. Ominously the chap operating the lock said "If you have any trouble with the berth just give us a call". Umm.... "Should we have trouble with the berth" I asked. "Oh no - just being polite" he said smiling. So off we went in search of berth G09. Concerned by his comments I started looking at the berths as we passed. Note no.1 - lots of very expensive white motorboats, note no.2 - very small berths. Our black hull and 18 tonnes of steel makes us unpopular at the best of times, no more so than in the marinas. We found our berth, next to a Fairline Targa, 40 foot of very expensive plastic. The wind was not in our favour so we proceeded with caution. Luckily a very helpful lady took a rope and helped us in. We would have been OK though with Martyns expert maneuvering!
Berthed up and plugged into the electric we paid our dues and set about looking for the supermarket. The first sign for concern was that no supermarket showed on the plan of the marina. We found a bookshop, a rock climbing shop, a shop selling pots and pans and a cinema. We also found a Wetherspoons, a Chiquitos, a pub offering 'silver specials' for a fiver among other eating establishments. There's a picture building up here. What we didn't find was a supermarket..... Back to the boat, Internet on. According to the Internet there was a supermarket on site, there may have been once, not anymore. We didn't see this as being a major problem as the Internet said there was a Tesco less than a mile away. We decided we would get the shopping done before getting cleaned up and relaxing. Good job we did. The Tesco less than a mile away didn't exist but the one two miles away did! A four mile round trip to the supermarket in the rain made for too very sorry, soggy sights on our return to the boat. We resisted temptation to hit the pub that night and watched Big Brother instead. We thought we might treat ourselves the following day.
We both noted that although the staff at the marina were very friendly and helpful the boat owners in general seemed quite the opposite. People would make a point of shutting doors and gates behind them even if you were just approaching them. I understand that this is probably a security thing but they did it to the extent of being rude. We also noted that not one person berthed in the marina ever spoke to either of us apart from the lady who took our rope when we arrived. This is bizarre behaviour to say the least. You have to wonder if these people ever even speak to each other!
We attempted to have a more social evening on Saturday but returned back to bar Elephant Daze after a dirty glass in one pub and warm white wine in another. All that money around but no class!
So what do we do now? Sunday looked like a good day for sailing, a heavenly force 2 - 3 forecast with sunshine to boot. The Portsmouth area was the last one on the list of places to see before we made the decision that would either take us home or keep us down here. For those of you that know us we are very terrible decision makers, we still have not decided! We made one decision though, following a shock at the cashpoint. That decision was to head back to Brighton, at least from there we would either be on the right route for Hull or not too far away from The Solent.
It was a glorious day as forecast, I donned my shorts and slapped on the suncream. Would today be the day I finally got to sit outside? We did a forecast check, the weather warning that had unexpectedly appeared last night had gone again now and all looked good. Flat calm was the order of the day. First we had to negotiate Portsmouth. Oh what joy! It was like wacky races, I quite enjoyed the madness of it all, probably slightly more than Martyn did. Small boats have to use the channel at the side of the shipping lane. This is OK but there are large number of small boats all looking for their own piece of water. We timed it quite well ferry wise though and made it out to open water without too much stuff ending up on the floor. Before we knew it we were saying goodbye to the Isle of Wight, I admit I shed a tear. It felt very sad to be saying goodbye. We felt quite at home on the Isle of Wight much more so than the mainland (Elephant Boatyard being the exception!). I think we struggle with the marina mentality and feel happier in the mud! Mud seems to be good!
I would love to tell you that we had a lovely trip to Brighton.... I did get to sit out, something I've not been brave enough to do before, and it was great! Something happened to the water though as we passed Selsey Bill, it began to roll, not badly at first, but unnervingly. I saw Martyn tightening up the catches on the window and picked up on a sense of foreboding. I started to move things from the worktops and ram them in cupboards. Pretty soon we didn't have time to be sad, we had other things to worry about. As the Isle of Wight slipped further away we seemed to loose some of the shelter from the mainland and a cold wind crept in from the South West. No sitting out now, the door was shut, it was freezing! We were around the area of Littlehampton when it got uncomfortable. The waves were hitting beam / stern on so we were rolling again. Progress was already slow as we hadn't been able to pick up a good tide. We knew we were in for a few hours of this, unless we ditched in. Poor Martyn, I am going to retire from weather forecasting, I'm clearly rubbish at it! We passed Littlehampton and kept going, next possible stop Shoreham. We passed Shoreham, it was getting slowly worse but Martyn wanted to continue. The waves were lifting us sideways and breaking underneath, you would see what looked like a growing mound of water on one side, feel it lift you and then break into white water on the other side. It was actually quite mesmerising to watch, if not a little scary! I knew by Shoreham that we had 5 miles to go, 5 long miles though. We reached the pier and saw the marina breakwater up ahead. We knew by this point that we had to get into shelter. It wasn't the easiest entrance to a marina, but we made it. We looked at each other and laughed, you know that "were you as scared as I was laugh?" that you do when you've just been through something unexpectedly terrifying.
Days like this really make you think. We travelled about 48 miles today and thought the weather window was sufficient to do so. We had bolt holes we could use so it wasn't too bad. If we head for Hull the luxury of boltholes on long trips become few and far between. Not sure my nerves can cope with that just yet......!

The grass sometimes is greener......

We have had an amazing couple of days. I haven't been able to update the blog as we have been without electric again. We couldn't wait to leave Swanwick Marina after the poor excuse for a welcome, however for the first time we were both stumped for a destination. The weather on the Solent wasn't forecast to be good in the near future so we didn't want to go far. Martyn came up with a mad idea. We had tried to get into Southampton Town Quay marina but were told they were full. They did however offer a temporary mooring for a couple of hours if we wanted - free of charge! Umm, we needed motor oil and a few provisions but didn't want to pay marina prices for the oil. Martyn decided to phone the Elephant Boatyard to see if they could fit us in for a night, they had to do a check and ring us back but said it shouldn't really be a problem. The plan was, head round to Southampton Town Quay marina, get into town, buy motor oil, head back round and stop at the Elephant Boatyard. So that's what we did - three hours later - we were moored up in the Elephant Boatyard. It was an interesting trip to say the least. We underestimated how choppy Southamton water would be compared to The Hamble as well as just how close the Fast Cat berthed to the Town Quay Marina. The port for the Fast Cat is actually adjoined to the marina! We survived with just a few extra grey hairs to show for it and a large tub of nicely priced motor oil from Lidl!
We had been told that when we arrived at the Elephant Boatyard we should just find a space and moor up.... not so sure about that one, what if the berth holder returns? It was a worry that was soon cast aside once we found a space and pulled in. We were met by a lovely chap who explained that he was surprised to see us as he was looking for a 42 ft boat with a huge mast - our mast hardly counts as huge! It was so refreshing to be welcomed by a smiling face. We soon realised that this was indeed a very special place, not just because of the name. The chap brought his partner round to show her the boat. I guess they don't see many boat like Elephant Daze down here. We discovered that the boatyard was in fact the one used for the programme Howards Way and that their boat actually featured in it. We were told that Tom Cunliffe, the chap who wrote the Channel Pilot book we have been using to navigate this area has his boat there. We were even more impressed to discover that Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has a boat there too. So much boating royalty in one little boatyard! We felt very privileged to be allowed to stay. It turns out that the only reason they had space for us was because the owner had most of the boats from there over in Cowes for the racing. Sometimes you can be in the right place at the right time! We stayed an additional night due to a bad weather warning. We were in the virtually the same place that we had been in at Swanwick Marina yet it felt like a world away. The grass is sometimes so much greener!
The Boatyard is home to some very beautiful sailing boats, many of them wooden, it was a real pleasure to look at and admire true craftsmanship instead of the usual factory made craft lined up row after row. I believe we could have stayed there forever but the owner doesn't like liveaboards apparently - plans scuppered!!
This morning we had to decide what to do again. I had saved enough battery on the laptop to be able check the weather before leaving. Two weather forecasts gave an approx force 3, however the met gave a severe warning, 3-4 then 5-6, the usual vague rubbish we have now become accustomed to. We had to leave the Elephant Boatyard as we needed to get electric, showers etc. We had two choices, head out to Gosport and see what happened or stay on the Harbour pontoon for three days. The cost of a marina in the area was £40-£50 a night. We really didn't want to pay that, neither did we want to be stuck on the river with nowhere to go!
Martyn said his goodbyes to the chap from the yard, he got a sneaky tour of the boatshed too so he must have liked him! We left the boatyard and made for the open water. It was busy, there were so many ribs and boats full of people heading across to Cowes, strange, we were so worried about the weather yet these people were flying across the Solent in overinflated dinghies without life jackets! It was mad, small powerboats came out of nowhere, the wash sending us flying. The worst was yet to come. We had passed lots of 'floating hotels' on the way out of the channel i.e. huge motor cruisers packed with people already in the party mood preparing to head off to Cowes to watch the racing. Our initial concern was over the weather so that was forefront on our minds as we headed out. It looked OK, we battled with the speedboats and picked up the course for Portsmouth. Then it hit, rolling beam on, deja vue... Coffee pot under the bed, oregano still missing in action. I wedged myself between the fridge and the sink catching things as they slid from side to side. My heart was racing "Are we going back then?" No answer, "Martyn, are we going back?" "It's just wash from those boats over there" he answered. I looked across and saw the floating hotels, nose in the air flying towards Southampton. Just as things started to calm down a huge gym palace decided to pass us. Martyn turned to hit the wash head on, up and down, up and down.... still better than side to side though! He was right, it was just wash, the sea state was choppy but not uncomfortable. We had been so busy thinking about waves and wash we were right on the sailing boats before we knew it. They were everywhere, they were racing, they were part of Cowes week! Martyn did a great job negotiating his way through them, closer to Cowes we could see a big race in action, we think it was the Americas Cup - there were helicopters in the air and motor boats following. It really was quite an amazing sight and we felt quite privileged to be part of it - not sure they were too happy that we were in the middle of it though. Especially the catamaran who changed his course right in front of us and would have been a feature on the side of Elephant Daze if Martyn hadn't found some extra power to get out of his way! All this before we started to negotiate the entrance to Portsmouth! We thought we had the route sussed, until the Fast Cat started heading right for us, we changed course and moved out of his way. Then came the Wightlink ferry, no problem, he's in the shipping lane, we just keep to the outside, until he changes course and heads right for us! You think you're getting the hang of this ferry business and then it all goes wrong. The thing with Portsmouth is that there aren't just a couple of ferries, there's loads of them. This includes cruise liners and cross channel ferries, it's mad! You really do need eyes in the back pf your head. After all this excitement we reached Gosport Marina where the usual confusion followed. Some marinas are relatively straight forward and the berthing instructions easy to follow, not this one. There are two entrances to start with, we immediately tried to get in the wrong one. We did reach our destination however and are now fully charged and washed! While we were sat chilling earlier Martyn spotted the Hull and Humber Clipper just outside the marina. It's always nice to see something from back up North and this was no different. Tomorrow we head to Port Solent, weather permitting so we'll see what trouble we can get into on route!

The Elephant Boatyard

Martyn made a Sunday dinner yesterday and we watched Top Gear. It was lovely but it took me back to the days of Sunday nights when Monday morning used to loom like a big grey cloud - shivers!!! OK so I don't expect any sympathy from the workers out there, it was a serious reality check for us both though. Thoughts of finding work are now at the forefront of our minds as the money sifts through our fingers. Being at Newport was really nice and we felt a little bit like we belonged there but there is more travelling to be done and things to see before the Bank Manager catches up with us.

It was a 5am start for us this morning, although I have to say I didn't feel like I slept much at all and was wide awake before the alarm went off. It was all a little Monday morningish to be honest and we left Newport with some reluctance. I couldn't complain too much though, I wasn't heading for work just the mainland and the morning was peaceful and calm. We finally found the Boat museum as we passed out of Newport, maybe one day we'll come back and visit it! When you enter a Port or Harbour for the first time it's easy to miss some of the more interesting things around you. You have to concentrate on listening to Harbour / Marina instructions and finding your berth before attempting to moor up. At Newport it was more a case of looking for a gap to squeeze into and watching out in case it looked like anyone was leaving! This is my excuse for not noting the variety of unusual vessels in the area. It has been disappointing to say the least that we have not seen a large variety of boats since we left Hull. It's mainly white GRP, be it sail or motor. Nice enough but we like a bit of character....... Newport certainly has character! Passing Island Harbour marina we saw the ghostly, faded and derelict Ryde paddle steamer on the side of the river. It makes for a very sad sight. Opposite is another abanded boat, a barge and in between is a sunken digger and caravan. Unusual to say the least! We passed The Folly Inn with its visitor moorings, they were surprisingly not full! We had expected to boats rafted together all over the place with it being Cowes week. The thought of no electric for a few days must all be too much for the yachties he he!!
Approaching Cowes we watched the chain ferry pass along in front of us. Care is need when passing this point. The chain ferry moves between East and West Cowes transporting passengers across the water. You have to wait for it to reach it's destination to ensure the chains have sunk to the river floor before you pass over. This is before you try to avoid the Fast Cat and the Red Funnel ferry heading straight for you! We left at this time to avoid the racing and the general madness of Cowes week. It was the right thing to do, ferries and racing boats? No thanks! We passed through the outside of the channel keeping away from the ferries and an enormous container ship. The wash from all three made for interesting water!
There is more than enough water for all at the entrance to Southampton but we still stuck to the shallower water to the east of the Channel. We often watch in amazement as motor boats and yachts pass within what look like inches of these huge fast moving vessels. We just like to keep out of their way...

We were heading towards another special place, not special because of scooter memories or links with music or family. Special just by name - 'The Elephant Boatyard'. As soon as Martyn found out that it existed and was within the area we would be travelling in he decided he had to visit. The Elephant Boatyard is an important place in its own right as Nelsons flagship HMS Elephant used in 1801 during the battle of Copenhagen was built here. It is suggested that it was on this ship that he put his telescope to his blind eye and claimed not to be able to see a signal ordering him to withdraw. I wonder how many people asked him where the name came from......?
We were excited as we entered the Hamble, deemed to be one of the most pleasant cruising areas on the South Coast. I'm sure it is lovely, when you can see it! We love boats, don't get me wrong but this river is overloaded to the point where you can't see anything but. We had decided to stay with Premier Marinas again as they have a Marina right opposite the Boatyard and so far we have been getting discounts on arrival - all good. We found our berth and wandered up to the office to pay our dues. We were happy to be here and looking forward to exploring the area. We were met by a somewhat sombre gentleman who asked me to fill a form in. "We're already on your database" I replied with my best smile (think of the discount....). I knew we were in trouble when he looked up at me over his glasses. "You know I should charge you more, our berths are from 12pm to 12pm" I looked at the clock it was 8am. "So how much will that be?" I asked. He never actually answered me, just prepared the invoice for £39 (certainly no discount on this occasion!) and asked how I would be paying. I left the office feeling cross and humiliated - I didn't like The Hamble anymore! What I don't understand is the fact that we are in tidal waters yet still expected to check in and out of a marina like a hotel - Maybe they should remember 'Time and tide waits for no man'.
Putting all that aside for the time being we set about doing our laundry, certainly not £39 a night value facilities, we are still trying to dry our clothes! Eventually at 3pm we set off to explore. There is another special thing about this particular area 'The Jolly Sailor' pub. This is the place where 'Howards Way' was filmed and a very nice place it is too. It overlooks the Elephant Boatyard so we decided that a drink on the waterfront was in order. It made for a very plea sent end to the day. We had a surprise on returning to the Marina. Two familiar faces from Goole. We had seen the Beverley Transport wagon arrive as we set off for our walk but didn't think too much about it. The boat was Robocat arriving for a three week holiday on the South Coast! Of all the marinas in the south.... who'd a thunk?

Sticky Valley

We made the decision to stay in Newport until the next weather window which is tomorrow. I feel we need to move on now as Newport could well be another 'sticky valley'. We give this name to places where travellers arrive and seldom leave. I guess most of you know the term. Sowerby Bridge was the first place we called 'home' on a boat and is a very sticky valley. We have many good friends who still live there on boats, their dreams of a nomadic life given up for the convenience of the town and it's opulence of good drinking establishments! The local term for such people in Yorkshire or certainly the Calder Valley is 'offcumdems' i.e. those not from the local area. I have no idea how it's spelt as I am sure it can't possibly be in the Oxford English Dictionary! I guess that is what we have been ever since we left West Yorkshire 'offcumdens'. Goole became our next 'sticky valley'. Although we were determined not to get stuck as such. When Martyn was offered a job at Goole Boathouse it meant a lot to him. It was an opportunity not to be passed up, a chance to learn more about boats and get paid to do so. Goole might not be a bustling cosmopolitan town but it gave us the opportunity to learn about tidal rivers and cruising in waters with commercial traffic. It also allowed us (or Martyn) to build a narrow boat that would eventually provide us with the initial funds to buy and rebuild Elephant Daze. I can't mention Goole and learning without recognising the invaluable advise and help given by many of the good friends we made there also. Without our time in Goole I'm not sure we would be here now doing this trip!
We feel very comfortable here in Newport but is is very clearly a 'sticky valley'. After day two Martyn remarked that there appeared to be a lot of 'Robinson Crusoe' lookalikes. I hadn't picked up on this initially but started to understand what he meant almost immediately. It would appear that in order to own a boat in Newport you must look like you have been marooned on an island for 20 years or more! I would guess that the place is full of boaters who have set off around the world (or maybe just the coast!), hit the Isle of Wight and found Newport. It's not a bad place to end up either. You have all the shops you need, access to the sea, peaceful surrounding and.... mud?! The Isle of wight for me has been a big surprise. It was cool to be in Ryde and have all the scootering memories but we have also found some lovely places that we will certainly re-visit should the opportunity arise. Bembridge with it's houseboats and beautiful beaches, The Folly Inn - for spectator sport and certainly Newport, for a reason I can't quite put my finger on. This Island has a very nice feel to it. The people are friendly, the harbours are lovely and the prices for mooring are fair! I will be sad to leave, but leave we must. Southampton and the Elephant Boatyard is calling, as is the launderette! We will leave here at silly o'clock tomorrow to get high water back out to Cowes and across to the mainland. The other advantage to leaving early is that there shouldn't be any crazy racing going on (it is Cowes week!)! The last thing we want is to have to negotiate the racing boats as well as the ferries! Hopefully we will exit while all is calm and make our way towards yet more mud up the Hamble.