Category: Boat Update

There’s been a Grand Tour. The Cleddau crew’s recent ‘Grand Tour’ involved a fair mileage across England and out to West Wales. It was not so of course for the fine young men of wealthy backgrounds in the eighteenth century, who would tour the cultural sights of France and Italy to broaden their minds. This isn’t to say that the minds of the Cleddau crew weren’t broadened during their recent Away Days. First though, it was to Worcestershire, where the...

It was half term. The year is moving fast. Numbers seem to be in the air… The Cheshire One was in residence in Beds for a few days. She was delivered by train, there was one car trip to Cambridge, two slow Park and Ride bus journeys to and from the city for a museum visit,   one lunch time concert in a Bedford church , one beach pool swimming session, before mid-week the car was pointed north to Cheshire. “We’ll need...

Ask the Captain where he’d prefer to be – and the guaranteed response will be “On my boat…!” Late November sunshine in California boosts the mood; glimpses of the storm-ravaged coastline in West Wales in December stir the soul; celebratory Christmas music, food and decor provide joy and cheer – but the time comes when the Captain yearns to pick up a boat rope, to start Cleddau’s engine – and to get moving on a little cruise… There’d been certain...

Have you groped in the back of the cupboard over these last few days for a bottle of something special for that post-prandial drink or /and a glass suitable for said post-prandial drink…? Way back in the summer months brandy glasses became an issue on nb Cleddau. Somewhere along the Staffs and Worcs Canal in early June the Captain smashed a brandy glass, not deliberately you must understand, but accidentally. The glass leapt, it would seem, from a shelf to...

“Look! England’s flooded!” exclaimed Cal Gal. It was Sunday, the last night of the Cleddau crew’s Thanksgiving trip. A large television mounted on a wall in a family diner was displaying international news.  While England (particularly Cumbria and Lancashire) was being submerged by torrential and incessant rains California continues to crave water. Will El Niño this coming winter bring much needed rainfall?  In public areas these days you are likely to see notices explaining  reduced water usage.    In the aftermath...

Oceanside on a holiday weekend is a good place for people watching. The lifeguard huts might not be manned    (after all, this is winter now) but the beach is still busy. Post Thanksgiving last Friday some family groups gathered up their post-feast leftovers and headed for a beachside shelter for a beachside picnic.  Park down near the pier ($4 for two hours) and you are well placed for fun… You can hire a bike (various types available)       or RENT ME...

When there are three children of three different ages to entertain an element of juggling inevitably creeps in.       Out in Southern California with the Cal Clan during the Thanksgiving Break  there have been activities to involve all, activities applicable to all but appealing specifically to one or two family members – and activities that have just one fan… Take ice-skating.     Cal Gal adores it, her brothers don’t. So while the Captain and Cal Guys Snr and Jnr remained in Vista at...

“When are we going Downtown Daddy?” Cal Guy Junior had pestered. “Daddy” (aka Cal Son) was busy working on a plan. Each of the Cal Three had expressed a Downtown preference – and somehow the preferences had to be knitted together into a workable operation… Downtown of course in American terms is a reference to the oldest areas and the business districts of a city. For the Cal Clan Downtown is the historic and harborside districts of San Diego. It...

To Heathrow, for a transatlantic flight. How many hours ahead of take off do you need to be there? How much time do you need to build into your plan to allow for traffic delay on the motorways or congestion at the airport…? On Wednesday Storm Abigail had blown herself out but Storm Barney was still a boisterous intruder. Traffic on the motorways was flowing freely and so by 1230 the Captain and Boatwif were through Terminal 2’s security channels, with...

When you live a three hour drive away from your boat you can become concerned, indeed obsessed, by Jobs That Need To Be Done. “When am I going to paint the gunwales?” the Captain had sighed. “Can we get the boat washed and polished before winter…?” he had pondered. Opportunity knocked. The Cheshire One, delivered to Beds. for her half term break by train, needed to be returned mid-week. So, after a night in the Macclesfield loft and a disregard...