Forum Dive cruise On Blue Angel october 2013

[vas]

tempted...

not as a diver, maybe taking turns at helming the rib

dunno, got to see how the semester works out.

V.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Thanks JTB, I did miss the thread for some reason. An epic trip indeed, congrats!
It reminded me of a very similar one I made back in '09, together with the previous owner of the Fountain which I bought in the UK, and a friend of his.
Southampton - Lake Como, no stop other than for sandwiches and fuel.
We left S'hampton around noon, and arrived at 2pm of the following day.
I thought it was quite an achievement, till I saw those two chaps jumping back on their truck for another non-stop trip back, just minutes after unloading myself and the boat...
Here we were, while queing on our way to Mont-Blanc tunnel entrance:

PS: with apologies to B for the O/T...

Nice truck!

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[MapisM]

Yep, and with a pretty fast, Rousch tuned V8.
I still remember the funny feeling of being cramped in the rear seat, seeing the boat - all 2.4 tons of her - pointing straight at my head, at up to 80 mph...

 

[BartW]

I have an old 5/3 wetsuit that'd be more appropriate for the Med I guess

From what I remember from pics, seafood is pretty much staple diet on-board Blue Angel; i'm practically allergic (OK that's a lie I just can't stand the stuff) so best give this one a miss

med diving is with a wet suit, 5/3 is more then enough, I dive with a 5mm, no gloves,
september is the hottest water of the season, so october won't be bad either
surface temp can vary depending on weather, 19....24°C, but deeper then 25m temp is alway's lower, 15...18°C

don't worry about the food, with brits onboard there are alway's surprises , and apparently not many "fish" eaters,
but I hope that Mapism and Myself and our swmbo's can change your appetite in that respect,
can we count you in ?

 

[BartW]

OK, up till now we have:

MapisM +1
Pinnacle +1
Scubaman
Rob

(Alt ?)

planning is to sail the boat to Antibes for the Cannes boat show 10-15 september, and leave her there for a few weeks,
last week of september I have a dive cruise planned with friends starting and returning from Antibes (friends fly to Nice)
the week after that is the FDC, starting from Antibes, discovering a few day's the french Riviera, and then sailing along the cote d'azur, to St Tropez and Porquerolles,
to her final destination in Toulon.

Guests can fly to and from Nice, (there is a regular railroad connection between Toulon and Nice)

 

[alt]

Bart you're a very generous man ill pm you this evening... need to see if I can alter some plans!

 

[MapisM]

Bart you're a very generous man

+1, but that's nothing.
Himself and his wife are right on top of my personal list of people we (it also applies to my wife) really like to go boating with.
And I've been at sea with quite a few.

 

[BartW]

If you're starting from PV then we'll definitely be around to say hi and depending on your itinerary we might well be one of the chase fleet.

good ! looking forward to it,
but hopefully we can setup a meeting before,
during the Cannes boat show ?

 

[BartW]

ill pm you this evening... need to see if I can alter some plans!

Just finished many extra's on the boat, you should see all that !
some to make the diving / fitting the gear even more easy,
will post pics in the BA rebuild thread

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

good ! looking forward to it,
but hopefully we can setup a meeting before,
during the Cannes boat show ?

Yep, that could definitely work, we'll be at Cannes. We may also be down near BA by car this summer as well, so one way or the other we should be able to work something out.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[BartW]

We may also be down near BA by car this summer as well, so one way or the other we should be able to work something

Oh yes you're retired
just give a sign when you're around,
in may we'll be two weeks on the boat

work in the Yard in Sanary S.M. is postponed untill june, but also then I'll be around a lot (I hope)
in july and august I've planned 7 weeks on the boat, mostly somewhere between Cassis - St-Trop

and then in september cote D' azur...

 

[MapisM]

work in the Yard in Sanary S.M. is postponed untill june

If while you'll be boatless you and E would fancy a return to southern Sardinia, you're more than welcome.
There's quite a number of nice spots around, which you didn't see when you came for the diving week with your club...

 

[BartW]

If while you'll be boatless you and E would fancy a return to southern Sardinia, you're more than welcome.
There's quite a number of nice spots around, which you didn't see when you came for the diving week with your club...

thanks for the invitation,
but I hope that there will be interesting works going on in the yard then, that will need all my attention

your invitation to Sardegna, I'll keep that for 2014, but then with BA,
plan (in my mind right now) is in winter to go back to Rome (for some specialised works...),
in spring to Croatia and leave the boat there untill end of july,
and in august returning via Sardegna and Corse,
(perhaps not as far south till Carloforte)
perhaps too ambitious we shall see, details to be discussed later ....
we need something to talk about

 

[MapisM]

your invitation to Sardegna, I'll keep that for 2014

Not a problem at all, whenever you fancy.
Btw, this year we're planning to leave the boat in the water all year round, so she'll be available also off-season.
Just in case you'd be interested in a warm escape from the Belgian winter...
Mind, I'm aware that SoF is already a big improvement in this respect, but Southern Sardinia is even better.
Suffice to say that most houses don't even have the heating, down there!

 

[alt]

alt + SWMBO will know by end of the week if we can go... busy time of year so need to check if holidays can be taken.

Flights are currently 200 euro each return Dublin - Nice so not too bad.

Bart can you advise when we should be getting flights? If trip is 29th Sep - 6th Oct, should we be getting flights 28th Sep - 7th Oct?

 

[DTIM]

Bart
You may recall last year I offered to assist JFM sipping gin in Red Dot Bay before he sold Match. I feel I am still qualified for such a roll this time round if it is needed

 

[Pinnacle]

Bart
You may recall last year I offered to assist JFM sipping gin in Red Dot Bay before he sold Match. I feel I am still qualified for such a roll this time round if it is needed

Why not post a pic of you in your bikini to help Bart decide?

 

[BartW]

Bart
You may recall last year I offered to assist JFM sipping gin in Red Dot Bay before he sold Match. I feel I am still qualified for such a roll this time round if it is needed

yes I do !
booking for overnight on Jfm's boat is alway's a risc, he might have sold her by then
we may find some available space on BA, are you alone, or with a partner ?

 

[DTIM]

Pinnacle, you would not want to see me in a bikini!
Bart, With three young children (6,3 & 4 months) I would struggle to comit at this stage, swmbo would not want to leave the children for a week and would not be too pleased if I dissappeared for a week and I'm certain you don't want a crèche on board! However please keep me in the loop - you never know. If any of the support fleet were doing weekend or bit longer then that would be different.

 

[Pinnacle]

Pinnacle, you would not want to see me in a bikini!
.