It's been a while, dear reader! Over two months in fact
And until spring finally sprang within a last fortnight it's been a frustrating couple of months to say the least.
When it hasn't been bitterly cold, and most days it has been, it's been damned windy. And whether freezing or blowing half a gale, conditions for working on boats have been almost constantly poor.
Apart from making it difficult to earn a crust, it's held up all the projects I wanted to complete over the winter on Pagan.
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| Sunshine to the left of us, sunshine to the right of us. Rain and wind overhead! A typical day for this winter |
Life aboard has, however, been comfortable and cosy. The blown air heating system is extremely effective and worth every penny. It not only keeps the boat toasty, it is very effective at preventing excessive condensation.
There is a cost though. During the weeks on end that the temperature stayed, at best, in low single figures during the day and dropped below zero at night we burnt a lot of diesel. Over 120 litres in two months in fact. Even at 100% domestic use tax, that's added up to over £75.00 and there's been electric bills, travel costs to and from Kettering and all the other costs of living all to pay for during a period when I've been able to generate very little income
So I'm currently thinking that staying on board all winter is not worthwhile, at least financially, unless we're both able to be here and we don't need to make any money during the depths of winter. That's an unlikely prospect at the moment.
I think next winter will see a change of plan with Pagan coming out of the water sometime in November to be winterised and parked in the yard until sometime in March. We don't fancy leaving her unattended on her berth because, due to our exposure to Easterlies, it's not unusual to need to adjust warps and fenders and if it ever threatened to be really bad we'd need to shift into a more sheltered berth temporarily.
With Pagan tucked up for the winter, I can seek some temporary employment in or around Kettering and then pick up the marine work again once the weather breaks - I'd certainly think twice about taking on a major project over-winter again unless the boat was going to be under cover
It's not been all bad though. If it wasn't for the need to put pennies in the beer, baccy and sailing kitties, and if it wasn't necessary for Jane to be in Kettering, I'd have enjoyed the winter on board. It's unbelievably peaceful on the river in winter, the scene out of the saloon windows has been breathtakingly beautiful at times and, if I'm being totally honest, I'm never happier than when I'm pottering around doing whatever I fancy doing or doing nothing at all if that's what I fancy!
But Spring, thankfully, has at last sprung. There's a mad dash to complete all the work that I had hoped to do over the winter before the "season" starts properly and, as always, there's the usual pile up of work that people want done by Friday when my diary is now full until May! Such is life.
With the clocks going back and the days getting warmer and longer, I've been able to knock off an hour or two or even three on the Pagan refit after putting in a day in the yard on other people's boats so progress is at last being made (I'll post in detail as each element of the project is completed)
And the prospect of getting some serious sailing in is coming ever closer. As usual, we won't be day sailing and, given the challenges of getting on and off our berth, there'll be little if any weekending, But we've got three decent spells on board lined up in Spring, Summer and Autumn
Our Spring cruise starts the Friday before Spring Bank Holiday but we won't be going anywhere right away! It's the third Fambridge River Festival on the Sunday and once again I'm performing live during the day. It's shaping up to be bigger and better than ever
We've also got a very special guest, or possibly guests, on board for the weekend having recently got back in touch with my lovely cousin Maire who last came boating with us more years ago than I suspect any of us care to remember to another festival, on that occasion the Northampton Boat Rally that Glen and I used to help organise. Maire's daughter Rosie was with us on that occasion and still talks of it I'm told and hopefully can make it as well
Once the show is over, Jane and I will spend a week pottering around the (fairly) local area getting the hang of sailing Pagan as a couple.
The summer cruise, due to imprecations from the crew, is now shaping up to being a full month away from base. A whole 28 days of sailing and beer! It's tempting to get carried away with extravagant passage plans with that much time in hand but I'm restraining myself and if we get as far as Weymouth I'll be happy. I'll be happy wherever we get in fact!
The autumn cruise is still up in the air, perhaps literally. The possibility of flying out to (probably) Italy to spend a week with our very good friends (and bestest customers!) aboard Laurin is still pencilled in the diary but it's subject to circumstances and if it doesn't come off Jane and I will have another ten day pootle around the Thames Estuary
So there you are up to date dear reader. The next instalment will be very much focussed on that perennial favourite topic amongst boaters - toilets!
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