So, back on the train again at Madrid Atocha station, but this time we saw a different area of the station as we were getting on one of the Spanish fast trains. These trains go from a separate area of the station and you have to go through X-ray security, even though you are staying within Spain. Still, we’ve got nothing to hide, so after a bit of a wait we got...
The train to Madrid was a slower one. We got on at 9am and arrived (about 15 minutes late) at Madrid around 4pm. After some initial bemusement we worked out the way to the metro and managed, despite the best efforts of the machine, to buy a rechargeable card for the Metro. That seemed a little gratuitous given the small number of journeys we were likely to make, but...
Nîmes is often dubbed the most Roman city which isn’t Rome. It didn’t disappoint. We got here on three trains; on Friday we took the train from Kelvedon to London and stayed overnight. Then Saturday we headed to the Eurostar terminal and took the Eurostar to the Gare du Nord. From there a couple of stops on the RER got us to the Gare de Lyon and then a...
Two night watches and one day watch later we arrived early morning – still in the dark – at Newcastle. With Storm Benjamin lurking threateningly only a short distance to the south it was felt sensible to wait it out. The entrance to Royal Quays Marina is a lock and not a lot wider than the Tecla, so it took some fairly masterful boat handling to get in, up against...
Once in Kirkwall we really had to do the tourist thing and two minibuses and tour guides were duly arranged to pick us up at 9am. We then did a whirlwind tour of mainland Orkney – the home for three-quarters of the population of the Orkneys. The name Mainland sounds a slightly weird one but is in fact a corruption of the Old Norse name for the island – Meginland...
This morning we did the shortest passage so far – about a mile and a half across to an anchorage just off Egilsay. The Zodiac was hoisted into the water and we all headed ashore to walk a mile or so to St.Magnus’s Church. Between 1103 and 1117 Orkney was ruled by two Viking Earls – Magnus Erlendsson and Hakon Paulsson. In 1115 Paulsson’s men started some...
I stuck my head out first thing to try and get a better sense of where we had anchored. I got little sense at all! With low cloud and drizzle, the view was little better than it had been in the dark the previous evening. With a strong breeze we hoisted the mizzen and staysail as soon as the anchor was up and headed off south towards Rousay. This took us on a...
Another textbook springing-off demonstration saw us heading off again just after 9am. This time our destination was slightly uncertain. The wind, infuriatingly, had gone round to the SE and so, once clear of Sumburgh Head, the skipper tried to see if we could make Fair Isle. This is an island around 20 miles south of Sumburgh Head and, if possible, he wanted to stop...
With the weather improving we left Suðuroy in the morning of October 17th to head across to the Shetland Islands. The passage was about 170 miles and the hope was to head across at the same time as a small band of anti-cyclonic wind so that we could avoid using the engine. We knew that this would probably mean some early motor-sailing until the breeze kicked in and...
Off again …. After breakfast we headed south and we left in style. Despite being moored close to an Icelandic trawler in front of us, the skipper held on a spring, hoisted the mizzen, staysail and main (with the peak scandalised) and forced the staysail aback to push the bow off. With the spring released, the boat moved majestically off under full sail. The main was...