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!