more news!

White_Lady

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 Mar 2004
Messages
139
Location
Warrington,Cheshire & Tomas Meastra ,La Manga,Spai
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Dear livaboards,

any chance of more day to day events being posted for us dreamers.
I check every day,hoping to see how your lives as escapees are going.The weather,local events,things you miss?,bits on the boat that you fixed this week etc. This may seem sad of me, but as one of the hundreds of boaties currently 'digging a tunnel' it would be fascinating stuff to read.
Give us the bad ( as we sit here in the rain awaiting our identity cards ) as well as the good and amazing!

Thanks in anticipation

Phil

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You are on a good head start - at least your boat is sitting in the sun.
Doesnt that marina in La Manga have a web cam for its weather? Then you can be really peed off its the boat is enjoying the weather whilst you are cold and wet !!!
/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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Ceum ur
 
Also like to see comments on...

... Most/least useful piece of kit on board, things you wished you'd remembered to take, things you have on board but have never used. Are you happy with your boat? Do you wish it was bigger/smaller? Wish you had a steel boat instead of GRP or wood or vice versa?

Cheers,

Jerry

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Yes we are part way there!
It does have a web cam but very slow and not a great view ( although beats drissly Warrington ).I am off there next wed till following Sat night.Getting easier to go over now Jet2 and Ryanair are going to Murcia from these parts.
Just wan't to hear an 'Escapees Diary'
Temp me tempt me!!!!!

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Hi phil

We are heading into our first winter aboard and despite the heating not working, are really enjoying it.

We suffer big boat syndrome. This involves the marine industry equating a big boat with deep pockets and quoting accordingly. So we fitted the heating ourselves but this is not the reason for it not working – we await a part from the supplier. We have waited over two months and with kids aboard it is becoming a bit of an inconvenience. Fortunately it has been fantastically mild.

Lots more liveaboards have arrived, the winter rates attract them. There is a much stronger sense of community as a result.

regards



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Re: Also like to see comments on...

The bread maker is one of the best bits of kit we have aboard. Putting in a ring main with double sockets in each cabin was way over the top and most of them will never be used.

We are really happy with our boat. She does not seem too big at 60 ft, the split rig means we can sail her. I expect she was much better value as a result of her size. As for material it does not seem to me to be much of an issue. I would have considered any so long as she was sound, affordable and would accommodate the six of us.





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You are at least going to see your boat soon. I have been threatened with all sorts of mayhem if I dont go back to Scotland in December.
That means when I get back down to my boat it will be the end of January !!!
3 whole months away from her./forums/images/icons/mad.gif



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Ceum ur
 
Re: Also like to see comments on...

just looked at your profile - is your boat the ex-Lloyds schooner? if so, nice bit of kit. i sailed on her once and she gave an amazing sense of power as she pushed through a solent chop.

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you might enjoy the website of some friends we met in the caribbean. we came back in 2002 but they are still out there: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtanju.com>http://www.yachtanju.com</A>

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Re: Also like to see comments on...

Yes, we bought her last year and moved aboard April. We count ourselves lucky as we had similar offers on other ocean 60’s refused. We sailed to the Azores last summer and when off the wind she goes (I can’t see any need to sail in any other direction). We had 40 kns in the Atlantic and she was a joy. Last time I saw that kind of thing I had to work much harder. We were 9 including children and had a memorable time. You need people around with children onboard. Her size allows a less than efficient family (too much stuff) to live aboard and still get a good sail.

Regards

Mike


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Cant think of any downsides to being a liveaboard, apart from gear failures, (but they happen anyway) mail problems (now sorted). Carrying too much crap around (natural hoarder) apart from that, wonderful life!

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Hi Phil,

We havve been living aboard our Nicholson 48 for 5 1/2 years now and never regretted it for a second. I try and keep my web site updated and recently put our new mooring on the News page. Even in our colder clime we love every minute of it. The real escape is yet to come, we still need to work before we can leave.

Weather now? Fog and frost, what else can you expect.

cheers

<hr width=100% size=1>Peter a/b SV Heerenleed, Steenbergen, Netherlands
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If I can can put a tiny piece of balance onto the generally good news I have a few caveats.

First of all let me say that I am not a liveaboard now but was for a year in 1996/7 doing an Atlantic circuit.

Firstly, we met quite a few sad souls who had been sailing for over 10 years and wanted, but couldn't afford, to swallow the anchor. Most reckon that 10 years is about the maximum time that you can keep up the enthusiasm.

Secondly, food shopping in most warm climes the other side of the Atlantic and a few on this side can be challeging. At first it's fun to buy local produce but when you get onto the islands a diet of rice and peas does pall after a while.

Thirdly, you take whatever personality you had on the land with you when you liveaboard. I like relaxing and self-sufficiency which are useful traits but also like variety which can be hard to come by after you've been to every yacht on the anchorage and heard all of the stories.

Don't get me wrong I'd rather be sailing out there now than sadliy typing this at work but there is an air of rose tinted spectacleness that pervades this topic and I thought I'd like to even the thread up a bit.

I'm also dead envious of Mike's 60 footer, that must a joy to play with!

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Mike,
Oh dear ... I'm in Scotland (South West) and the weather at the moment is sh**e. Rain, mist, Tupperware sky and none too warm.
I share that with you just to cheer you up /forums/images/icons/smile.gif.
But compared with a raging SWMBO, I guess it's the lesser of two evils..... unless of course, it's the outlaws threatening the mayhem. In which case it's a close call.
Ho hum...
Bring on the Spring.....
Cheers
Cliff

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Re: Do it

Hi my girlfriend and I have been living aboard for 7 months now we are in our early 30. We sailed biscay went through the Midi and headed along the coast to Antibes then cruised Corsica and North Sardinia we are currently wintering in Barcelona having a fantastic time. Best bit about living aboard is waking up at 7 in the morning and diving in to amazing clear blue water before breakfast and thinking of my crappy office job back in the UK. Worst bit when the mistral blows the engine cuts out because of diesel bug and the chart table shooting across the cabin switching the gas hob on. Best bit of kit has to be GPS worst, well when your boat is 35 yrs old you tend to be patching up on the move. on the whole we have had a great time on a very small budget as the wind is free as are the anchorages

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Re: Do it

I take it that if you are Port Vell then the 7 am clear blue water dip has been cancelled???? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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Hi Chris

Thanks for the kind remarks about Dark Horse if anyone is interested there are 4 or 5 ocean 60's for sale across the pond for about the price of a 40 ft AWB.

With hindsight we would have kept fewer links with our previous land life. If one is lucky enough to have them in the first place then keeping assets/interests ashore might seem a good idea but they can become liabilities. We kept an interest in a business and expected it to continue to provide an (modest) income as it had for over 15 years. This was to prove very mistaken for it fast became an expensive liability.

People seem to swallow the anchor and still live on a boat in that they live afloat but do not sail. Lots could exchange their boat for a property in the cheaper parts of Europe/the world.

A big live aboard boat need not cost so much. In Hotra this summer the 60ft, ferro, whale watching schooner was for sale asking about £60k. She is easily worth £40k and was open to offers.

Our latest news is that the bit for the heating is due to arrive Wednesday next week.

Regards

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