About us and the boat

About us and the boat:

We were lucky enough to retire early at the start of 2013 so we could head off and "live the dream" on board our Nordhavn 47 Trawler Yacht. The idea is to see some of the planet, at a slow 6 - 7 knots pace. There are no fixed goals or timings, we just had a plan to visit Scotland and then probably the Baltic before heading south.

The idea is to visit the nicer areas in these latitudes before heading south for warmer weather. If we like somewhere, we will stay for a while. If not, we will just move on. So, for the people who love forward planning and targets, this might seem a little relaxed!

If anyone else is contemplating a trawler yacht life, maybe our experiences will be enough to make you think again, or maybe do it sooner then you intended!

The boat is called Rockland and she is built for long distance cruising and a comfortable life on board too. If you want to see more about trawler yachts and the Nordhavn 47 in particular, there is a link to the manufacturers website in our "useful stuff" section. For the technically minded, there is a little info and pictures of the boat and equipment in the same section

Regards

Richard and June

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Saying bye bye to Norfolk

It has been a bit quiet on the post front as we have been away from the boat, doing the last tidy up of the bungalow in Caister-on-sea before it is sold. The Captains' childhood Austin J40 pedal car has found a new good home and the little sailing dinghy is off to become an exhibit in the Museum of the Broads. Interesting place, have a look at: http://www.museumofthebroads.org.uk/

The dinghy was built in the 1950's by Herbert Woods Ltd, which in those days was a famous local wooden boatbuilder and hirer. She was used as a hirefleet dinghy, being dragged around the broads and abused behind hired cruisers and yachts until 1971 when she was damaged and sunk while moored up at the boatyard. Here is how she looks today:





One nasty shock that is relevant for other boating types who have Zodiac liferafts like us:






Apparently the new owners of the Zodiac business have hiked up the spare parts prices dramatically. A 3 year service on our 4 man canister "Open Sea" liferaft now costs about £460! Ouch. A quality replacement from another manufacturer is about £1,400 so you are a bit stuck. Zodiac owners beware....

We should be back afloat early next week and then are being invaded by an ex-detective living in the south of France. Tension and intrigue built, we will leave it at that for now.....
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