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

Friday, 24 April 2020

The exciting ocean voyage

OK, maybe it wasn't quite like that but after two months without moving the boat, any trip felt like an ocean voyage.

We had used quite a lot of diesel for winter heating (as it had continued cold and windy for a long while) plus genset use. With the lockdown, we are also using the little Webasto boiler for hot water for showers too. So, the decision was to get some fuel as a top up.

Getting ready to do that was harder than preparation for some of our sea trips. Why? Well, the boat has been a houseboat for ages with things strewn everywhere. The half fender was covering the main engine dry exhaust pipe to stop rain running into it and the ropes had not been untied for ages and were well and truly "set". Oh, we also hadn't run the main engine since a gearbox oil change and fuel filter swap.

We consulted our charts, the marine weather forecast, fired up all the electronics and prepared to depart for the 350 metre trip. We even fired up the AIS to get the folks who stalk us excited:


Still, the boat did manage to claw itself out of the weed. It was strangely exciting. Yes, we are getting lockdown fever......

For those who like numbers, we put in just under 3100 litres and some fuel stabiliser to keep it fresh too. At our current burn rate that will keep us going with heating and generator for a while. Luckily the oil price has dropped and the marina had a delivery just before the lockdown so the price was OK too. Somehow doubt that we will make it to Guernsey this summer for the ritual top up there. They say that people are putting on weight during the lockdown. Well, we managed to add about 2,700 Kg in an hour or so. Might need to go clothes shopping.

Patrick the penguin has been strangely and worryingly quiet recently. You will notice how he hasn't starred in any blog posts for a while. Then he seemed to get into the lockdown email / Whatsapp round of sending people jokes or videos or messages of hope. He is a bit of a worry though, he sent us this:



We keep a large, heavy adjustable spanner by the bed in case they come for us. Not going quietly.
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Thanks for your ideas / cheek / corrections / whatever! They should hit the blog shortly after the system checks them to make sure they will not put us or you in jail.....

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