You know it is the end of the cruising season when...

[zensilence]

It's that time of year again...
We are "half-liveaboards", who reluctantly leave our boat-life and boat-home and go back to a different life in a house-home for a few months over winter, and in recent days these pointers have reminded us it's nearly time to go...
How about you?

• You find at the bottom of a locker that special item you brought out to the boat in the spring, but then never used
• You realise (again) that you have worn less than half of the clothing you have had on board all summer
• The wind generator on the boat nearby makes even more noise than ever before, but the discos are silent
• You put socks and/or long trousers on for the first time in months
• The locals are all wearing long winter coats for their afternoon stroll in the sunshine
• It is cooler walking on the sand on the beach than along your teak deck
• You haven't seen a dolphin for 3 days
• You start making a list of boat jobs to do*next*year

• The list of jobs you need to do back at home is longer than the list of boat jobs you might get round to doing this year
• You discover strange but tasty new menu combinations as you eat up all the perishable food supply on board before going home
• You start looking at the weather forecasts for back home rather than where the boat is
• You try to find your soft case to pack to go home, but can't find it, and can't remember where you put it so long ago
• You dread the idea that for the next few months it will be mostly dark outside, and you will be inside buildings with windows closed, with no view of the horizon
• You are looking forward to smelling damp green pine and wood smells, or hearing the crunch of frost or snow underfoot

 

[geem]

Our winter season starts in 4 weeks time. Caribbean for the winter. We will be launching early December. Never have to do a UK winter. Yipee!

 

[OldBawley]

There is no end of the cruising season for us. We do go in slow/ even slower mode.
From November on we start staying longer in one place and some places are a no go because they are not safe enough in winter. We do hop over to places now totally deserted but longer trips will have to wait until April.
In Greece and Turkey the end of the cruising season ( For others ) means :
The end of the dry hot weather. Temperature becomes near perfect. Only with strong northerly´s it gets cold.
The soil is already green again, flowers are blooming everywhere.
Longer bike trips are a pleasure now.
No more disco.
Even the sailing is better. Specially here around Spetses, Hydra, Poros where in summer 90 % of the waves are diesel generated. The water gets a lot clearer, not been stirred by hundreds of thousands of horse powers. Even the air gets cleaner. Dryer, so 50 mile far mountains can be seen.
No neighbours with generators.
Time and energy for small repairs.
Cooking on the wood stove witch is usually a two hour job. We do the cooking together. During cooking laptops, tablets and phones are off. Time to talk. Prime time.
Time for serious food, real cooking.
Back in Belgium and Holland I hated autumn and winter. Here in the south … better than high summer .

 

[Cariadco]

It's the Corfu Regatta....and yet I again, we wern't in it....
Maybe next year....???

 

[TonyMS]

There must be others who enjoy their winters back in the UK. We are able to catch up with the children, grandchildren and landlubber friends. I can do jobs that involve a lathe or welding in my shed. We can have a feast of concert going. And there are proper Cox and Russet apples.

TonyMS

 

[GrahamM376]

There must be others who enjoy their winters back in the UK. We are able to catch up with the children, grandchildren and landlubber friends. I can do jobs that involve a lathe or welding in my shed. We can have a feast of concert going. And there are proper Cox and Russet apples.

TonyMS

Thankfully no family here to worry about but must admit I'm enjoying being back home at the moment re-kitting the workshop with new toys and getting some jobs done without SWMBO moaning about clearing up which is always a problem when working on the boat. OTOH will be nice to get back to Lisbon for Christmas & N Year with Portuguese family and then back aboard early January to haul into Bruce's for a month or so to antifoul in the sun.

 

[cavancullen]

Why not just stay aboard over winter in the UK?

 

[GrahamM376]

Why not just stay aboard over winter in the UK?

Why stay in cold UK, when many places are warmer with cheap food and wine and no central heating bills?

 

[Tony Cross]

Slightly off topic, but I picked up some friends from Heraklion airport yesterday. They were returning to their boat after a short break back in the UK. The parking Nazis at Heraklion airport are still lurking behind pillars waiting to ticket the unwary so I always park (with permission) in one of the rental car slots belonging to a Greeks friend's car hire company. The large rental car lot is used by the many car rental companies here and it's just across the road from the airport.

I had exactly the same "you know it's the end of season" thought when the whole car rental lot was jam packed with cars, because most of the tourists have gone now......

 

[cavancullen]

How is it possible with work commitments in the UK, I am interested myself in just spending my life sailing. Do you find it easy to find work/finance yourself in warmer countries over the winter?

 

[GrahamM376]

How is it possible with work commitments in the UK, I am interested myself in just spending my life sailing. Do you find it easy to find work/finance yourself in warmer countries over the winter?

Work? I'd forgotten about that, gave it up 16 years ago.

 

[Artic Warrior]

Well said young man,,,
This week is sun every day,,,, woo woo
This now is like a uk summer, may have to wear long thin trousers at night if outside, and may even drag the
cardy out lol.
But its calmer all about, less hot sticky people around, and I begin to appreciate the silence around and fresh air
That floats my boat any time.

I miss watching the charter season thou,,,,, hee hee. that's my TV comedy during summer.

There is no end of the cruising season for us. We do go in slow/ even slower mode.
From November on we start staying longer in one place and some places are a no go because they are not safe enough in winter. We do hop over to places now totally deserted but longer trips will have to wait until April.
In Greece and Turkey the end of the cruising season ( For others ) means :
The end of the dry hot weather. Temperature becomes near perfect. Only with strong northerly´s it gets cold.
The soil is already green again, flowers are blooming everywhere.
Longer bike trips are a pleasure now.
No more disco.
Even the sailing is better. Specially here around Spetses, Hydra, Poros where in summer 90 % of the waves are diesel generated. The water gets a lot clearer, not been stirred by hundreds of thousands of horse powers. Even the air gets cleaner. Dryer, so 50 mile far mountains can be seen.
No neighbours with generators.
Time and energy for small repairs.
Cooking on the wood stove witch is usually a two hour job. We do the cooking together. During cooking laptops, tablets and phones are off. Time to talk. Prime time.
Time for serious food, real cooking.
Back in Belgium and Holland I hated autumn and winter. Here in the south … better than high summer .