No, not that one! I never really enjoyed history lessons at school. Maybe it was the subject matter, maybe the teacher. Anyway, I dropped...

Despite being Welsh, I was not blessed with a particularly good singing voice. And yet I love to sing. When I was little, I really wanted...

[Update 27.09.2021: Elena has just confirmed that boat will be ready for launch next Monday, October 4. So we will fly out from CDG to...

One of the joys of volunteering at our local Oxfam bookshop is that you never know what treasures you are going to find. When Sari and I...

We have, on many occasions now, offered up thanks for our little French visas. Firstly, when Missy Bear was delayed, and we spent a few...

Daring to dream of Sicily? It’s the combination of waiting and not knowing that is most frustrating. Here we are, in beautiful...

You’ll have all heard our news by now, so I won’t dwell on that. Other than having to sort out insurance and getting a boatyard booked,...

Whilst in Arbatax, on the east coast of Sardinia, awaiting Missy Bear’s admission to Yacht hospital, I continued reading a book that Alix...

[Update 27.08.2021: Boat to yard. Surveyor’s report issued, and favourable. Insurance claim approved, and their first payment sent to...

“The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you’re hungry again” – George Miller, film director ('Mad Max', and...

From Barcelona in ancient Aragon, it is a 340 NM sail to Cagliari, here in southern Sardinia. A further 340 NM trip eastwards, gets you...

I learned to sail before the introduction of electronic charts and chart plotters. In fact, I learned to sail before GPS was widely used...

Those of a nervous disposition may want to stop reading now. Back in May, we visited dear friends for an overnight stay and BBQ. The...

I didn’t really do geography at school. I went to a large comprehensive called Olchfa, one of the biggest schools in Wales at the time,...

After a second night on anchor in Stagno Torto, (and a much calmer night, may I add), we decided to take advantage of the better weather,...

Alix and I first went to see a depiction of Middle Earth back in 2009, when I was doing my post-graduate studies at Gloucester...

We were just nodding off around midnight, when Richard commented that the wind was coming around to blow a westerly. This had been...

There’s a reason that yacht owners pay professional crews to deliver their boats from A to B. OK, some owners don’t have the time, but...

I seem to have overlooked Isola Rossa in my last blog. A pleasant enough town, a few shops, bars and restaurants. But we seem to end up...

I thought we were going to have an easy sail to Stintino from Alghero, which we did but there’s always a but… Richard had been saying to...