Dear All,

Hope you are all keeping well and had a nice Christmas and New Year. The Murray’s decided to sack off the idea of our traditional Christmas dinner in favour of a curry in the shed.
I have officially finished Netflix. Bridgerton was binged in a weekend and my Netflix history looks like I have a slight obsession with murder and period dramas. The joys of living alone during a national lockdown… even the dog is a little bit sick of my banter.

This months newsletter is slightly shorter since non of you emailed me over Christmas. Next month though, I have a fantastic story that will make you all ooohhh ahhhhh and cringe for the helm. Top points if you can guess who….no its not Ken.

Brews at the ready guys…

First up we have Stuart Graham with his Christmas activities.

You’ve asked for things that we do to make Christmas special. My kids (9 and 12) usually get permission to busk in Morpeth for fundraising for various charities.  Obviously this year it’s not practical so we’ve made a musical advent calendar- each day we posted a video of different songs and asked for contributions on a just giving page.

In the past we’ve been amazed at the generosity of people and have raised up to £635 but this year has been beyond all expectations- to date we’ve raised over £1,380 for the RNLI (and we’ve been informed that there will be an article in the RNLI newsletters).

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jessica-graham24

Let us bid a fond farewell to the last episode of the Soling saga…One more read, sorry we couldn’t drag it out any longer

Tony
It was the last night, we had a two point lead and it was the class dinner where we all got to wear our matching tops, life was good.
Roger
Tony made us wear matching tops.
Ken
Matching tops oh joy.
Tony
During the dinner, Ken went into entertainment mode with his magic tricks (for the under six) and made Roger and I be his beautiful assistants.
Roger
🤦‍♂️
Ken
Luckily I’d brought along some magic tricks and a magical evening was had by all.
DAY3
Roger
Two races today and a win in one of them would give us the title
Tony
We got the luckiest of lucky starts and went on to win, job done🥳
Ken
What you talking about Tony, that was skill and judgment.
Tony
Roger
At the prize giving , Tony made a very very long acceptance speech but it give me time for a nap before the drive home.
Tony
I give an interesting and amusing acceptance speech just a shame people kept getting called away urgently during it.
Ken
Tony’s expectance speech went on so long that the the Commodore slipped me the keys and asked me to lock up when Tony had finished.

Tony,Roger,Ken
If you’re reading this you’ve made it to the end, well done, give yourselves a pat on the back so from the three of us we’d just like to wish you a Happy New Year.

An Interesting Verse about being a club member

Are you an active member The kind that would be missed

Or are you just contented That your name is on the list 

Do you attend the club nights And mingle with the flock

 Or do you stay at home And criticise and knock

Do you take an active part To help the work along 

Or are you satisfied to be The guy who just belongs

Do you work on committees (To do this is no trick)

Or leave the work to just a few And talk about the “clique” 

Please come to club nights And help with hand and heart

 Don’t be just a member But take an active part 

Think it over member You know right from wrong 

Are you an active member Or do you just belong 

 

Thanks to Cabot Cruising Club for letting us use this.

From Tony Freeth

A novice sailor was lost. Maneuvering his yacht close to another yacht he shouted, ” Excuse me sir, I promised my wife that I would be home on time and I’m afraid I don’t know where I am. Can you help me?”

The other skipper replied, ” Sure, You are on the Solent. You’re in a small keel-boat with a 15 HP diesel engine. You are at 50 degrees and 45 minutes North latitude and 001 degrees and 24 minutes West longitude, in about 8m of water.”

“You must be a Tory,” said the novice.

” I am and proud of it,” said the other sailor. ” How did you know?”

” Well, “answered the novice, “everything you’ve told me may be technically correct, but certainly not responsive to the intent of my question and my current need. I have no idea what to make of what you just said and the fact is, I am still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help to me at all and now I’m going to be late getting home!”

The other sailor responded. “You must be a labour voter.”

“I am and proud of it,” replied the novice, ” but how did you know that?”

“Well, “said the other yachtsmen, “you don’t know where you are or how to get where you want to go. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you were lost and in danger of being late getting home before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault.”

A Dummies Guide To Yacht Etiquette. From Elaine McKeith

Living the dream on a yacht in Greece is a wonderful experience. Exploring a different culture, making new friends and sailing in one of the most beautiful places in the world must be on most people’s bucket list.

The only downside, for me at least is missing friends and family back in the UK. Therefore when they decide to visit it is a time for celebration and partying, usually when they have all gone home again. Many of the things we take for granted when living ashore can prove to be tricky when living on a boat especially when sailing for the first time.

Although we love to have visitors it can be extremely stressful so I am publishing this guide for potential visitors and their hosts.

 

Booking the flight.

 

It takes 8 hours to sail 40 miles, 100 miles will take 2 days and the ability to sail is dependent on the weather. You don’t want to arrive to find your hosts battered bruised and exhausted from  trying to arrive on time to meet you at the airport. Please try and fly into an airport reasonably close to your host and be prepared to complete your journey by other means. It is hardly ever possible to moor a yacht anywhere near an airport and by the very nature of this life your hosts are unlikely to have a car. You might suggest your host hires a car at your expense for the pickup as it will be cheaper than hiring for a one way trip at the airport and can be significantly faster and easier than the sailing option for your host. Please research this before you decide whether or not you want to come. 

We have sailed almost 1000 miles this summer to meet our guests.

 

Luggage.

 

You will be living in a space smaller than the average sized kitchen with rather less storage and sharing it with several people. This storage will already be full of your hosts belongings. You will need little more than swimsuits, shorts, T shirts and flip flops. Despite the recession it is still possible to buy all manner of toiletries in Greece. If you ask your host nicely and give them plenty of warning they might be able to get everything for you, we even have a Lidl in Levkas and Corfu.

 If you cannot easily carry your bag then there will not be room for it on a yacht. Remember you might have to transfer your luggage from the quay to the boat and back again in a small rubber dinghy. Recent guests arrived with a suitcase which could easily have housed a large body. Even getting it onto the yacht from the quay presented a problem.

 

Ask your hosts in advance if there is anything they need from the UK. Don’t be surprised to have numerous small packages delivered to your door. If you are putting a bag in the hold be prepared for your host to have several larger packages delivered to your door. And don’t forget the Tea bags.

Your host will be pathetically grateful if you bring duty free alcohol. Gin and rum always go down well and are available in most airports after security.

 

As mentioned earlier some of the things you take for granted at home are not available on a yacht. One of the biggest problems is the lack of a washing machine. I have yet to find a launderette in Greece although serviced washes are available in some areas, but if you are moving around in new sailing areas these can be hard to find. So please consider bringing your own sheets and towels. I would suggest a cotton sleeping bag liner and a pillowcase should be sufficient. This will make your host forever grateful and they might even invite you back. You can even splash out on a silk sleeping bag liner, still significantly cheaper than chartering a yacht for a week. 

Remember you are unlikely to be the only visitors and the sheets and towels might be needed again immediately after your departure.

 

Keeping clean and fresh.

 

Boats are not connected to mains water. Every drop used must be replaced from a tap on shore assuming you can find one. It also has to be paid for. At home you might be used to 2 showers a day but this is not practical when you are sailing, especially when there are several people on board. To feel refreshed in the morning have a swim and then quick hose down in the evening. Be prepared to shower in tepid water as we can only heat the water when we are motoring ( boring and expensive). Consider bringing your own camp shower and fill it up when you are ashore. ( sneak it into the taverna, no one will mind). They cost about £8 from camping and outdoor shops. Don’t worry too much about your hair, you will not be able to maintain your style in the heat anyway.

We can make a tank of water last at least 2 weeks. Our last visitors used it all in 3 days.

 

Marine toilets are a nightmare. Liveaboards nurse them carefully as the consequences of neglect can be unpleasant. Listen carefully to your hosts instructions and if you don’t understand and need clarification don’t be afraid to ask again, and again. Try and use toilets on shore whenever possible and remember we never pump solid waste into harbours and anchorages.

 

All electricity on a boat has to be generated either from the engine or the solar panels. As such we do not use hair tongs, irons, toasters electric kettles etc. we switch off lights as soon as they are not needed. Sometimes we can use these things if we can plug into shore power. These tend to be available in marinas. Marinas are expensive and it would be like spending your holiday in a car park. We will enter a marina, normally under protest as it is unlikely to be within our budget. A recent guest asked how she would know when our hob top kettle was boiling. I found this slightly scary.

 

Offer to help.

 

Sailing is heavy work especially for those of us of a certain age. There is nothing more irritating than the cockpit cluttered with bodies while the skipper and his mate are attaching/ stowing fenders and lines and setting or lifting anchors and generally running themselves ragged. If you want to come sailing be prepared to learn how to do it. Your skipper will be happy to give you a free competent crew course and you might develop enough skill to sail your own boat one day. If you are really hopeless at sailing it might be enough to make sure the skipper and his mate are regularly supplied with cold drinks, preferably of the beer and wine variety. If you want a relaxing cruise a sailing holiday is probably not for you and you should see a travel agent.

 

If I wanted to provide Bed, Breakfast and Evening Meal all summer I would want to be paid for it. Cooking on board is largely camp cookery. There are 2 burners, a not very hot oven and a workspace on the fridge lid all fitted in a smaller space than your average range cooker. If you don’t want to eat out every night please offer to cook something. It doesn’t have to be fancy and your host will welcome your offer to wash up. Remember your host may have had several weeks of guests wanting to eat out every night but you are doing it for a week or two. They may not be able to afford to do this. Given the huge saving you are making on a skippered charter please include feeding the skipper and his mate now and again in your holiday budget.

 

Greece in the summer is hot hot hot and it’s thirsty work sailing. Big slabs of beer are available at mini markets at cheap prices. Despite the previous comment about limited storage space there is always space to store beer and wine. We buy the small cans as the large ones get warm before we can finish them. While you are in the minimarket look out for ice cubes and frozen water bottles this helps keep all of us cool and takes the pressure off the fridge.

 

The Skippers Word Is Law.

 

This is unless the admiral (commonly known as the wife) overrules him.

Despite rigorous planning there are certain sailing conditions that might require us to change our itinerary and we might not be able to get to your preferred choice of anchorages, towns or villages.

We always do our best to keep our visitors happy but circumstances decide what is the right thing to do. Safety and comfort of all on board is our main priority. It is generally the weather that dictates changes but like cars and houses boats occasionally have things go wrong and need to be fixed. If your boiler breaks down at home you can get an engineer to come to the house. In our world we have to go to the engineer who might not be available for several days, assuming there is someone reasonably close who can fix the problem. This is just as frustrating for us as it is for you.

 

Money.

 

I suggest you have a kitty from the start monitored by the lead guest. This can be used for stocking up the fridge, paying harbour dues, fuel costs and meals out. This shares out the costs fairly and the kitty can be topped up when necessary. If you are eating out a lot this can add up to around €30 to €40 per day per person.

 

Don’t underestimate the tensions that can arise when several people are living, eating and sleeping in such a confined space. Your host will not be offended if you suggest going off on your own one day, even if it’s just as far as the beach. You might even fancy a night or two ashore. 

Try and keep your area tidy, this will be a problem if you over pack. 

 

Try and keep your sense of humour and If things get really bad buy more wine.

So there we go. January is almost over. For everyone doing dry January, Well done and Good luck…For those who are still drinking their way through lockdown….Its Wednesday 13th incase you have lost your days. 

Stay safe everyone. 
Lynne x