Family

Bank holiday starting sunny

August 31, 2010 – 7:12 am
Our concerns about the wet weather continuing over the weekend are unfounded so far. We are at the beach and it is warmer and sunnier than when we were here on our summer holiday. But the sea is still cold. Posted from WordPress for Android

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Playground fun

August 10, 2010 – 10:04 am
We had a leisurely day yesterday. This meant sorting through photographs for Ed and I and lots of playing outside for Beth. Beth went on the swings and slide at the village play area. We've been told there are new play areas in some of the nearby villages so we may need to visit those. We also played ball in the field. Beth found this very exciting, but kept getting distracted looking for ladybirds. Posted from WordPress for Android

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Bonus video post

August 9, 2010 – 12:52 pm
View Video At Lymington there was free wifi that we eventually got working. After Beth had a quick chat with Aunty Kirsten in Skype I had time to find out why I couldn't upload the video, but not to actually upload it. I've added a new plugin to the site so fingers crossed I can now add it from my phone. This is from our first morning at Studland. Posted from WordPress for Android

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Chichester and home (well not quite yet)

August 9, 2010 – 8:27 am
We are currently anchored in Chichester harbour at a place called East Head. It is the first time I've been here but it is a place full of memories for the other Davises as they used to come frequently with Jill's father. It was interesting sailing through the Solent again as we saw several races, including several racing yachts (Aviva and possibly Stealth), but unfortunately not the 1851 cup between BMW Oracle and Teamorigan. However, we did see one of Ed's fantasy yachts, Oyster 575, of which only one has currently been made and possibly cost £1.5 million. We had an early start on Friday to get the correct tides from Chichester (so I didn't get time to finish Thursday's post). As we set off, Beth wasn't sure if she wanted to come on deck or sleep so decided on a compromise by falling asleep on Aunty Sophy. We had the best of ...

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Sickness

August 5, 2010 – 11:35 am
We had a calmer night than expected and the updated forecast was looking better, but it was still very overcast. Just as we set sail, Beth decided to have her morning nap. It was a great idea as she slept through the bumpy seas, she lay spread eagle on her stomach and did not move on the berth as the boat rocked from side to side. When she woke up she didn't want to come up on deck and as heavy rain was just beginning she stayed below with her toys.  Not long afterwards she gave us a warning by signing medicine repeatedly (which I ignored as I thought she just wanted Calpol as she likes the taste) and she was fairly badly sick. Granny did a great job of cleaning her and the boat and getting Beth ready to come up in to the rain storm on deck. It didn't take long ...

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Picking up Aunt Sophy

August 4, 2010 – 7:49 am
The plan was simple; motor out of Poole, sail to Studland, inflate the dinghy and motor to the beach and pick up Aunty Sophy who was joining us for the second part of the week. Getting to Studland was easy, the problems started with the dingy. First the adaptor for the pump was not stored with the pump and took a while to find in the navigator's table. Secondly, the outboard motor wouldn't start. It appears the charter company forgot to provide a key part, but Peter fixed it with a bit of rope. During all of this I think Ed was wishing for his own yacht so he knew everything was present and in perfect working condition. During this wait, Sophy was calmly ordering tea and sandwiches on the beach. Sophy eventually made it on board and we prepared for our barbecue on the beach. Beth didn't mind going in the ...

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Third attempt

August 3, 2010 – 9:11 am
We woke up to a beautiful morning in Studland and made our third attempt to reach the new Olympic marina in Portland. It was optimistic as the wind and tide were against us, but thought it was worth a try. Unfortunately we became becalmed just past Old Harry with a wind speed of 0 knots (I took this opportunity to try helming). After a lobster pot bouy overtook us we decided to turn round and head to Poole. Poole marina is a very different style to the other marinas we've been to. It's a great place to pose as it is directly next to the town. There are some very large motor boats, two of which are likely to cost more than £10 million! We are heading back to Studland today for a barbecue on the beach and to pick up Aunt Sophy. PS I haven't been able to upload the video of Beth ...

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Another hard day sail

August 1, 2010 – 8:42 pm
Unfortunately the wind was completely different to the forecast meaning it wasn't the expected easy sail to Studland. Beth is doing better than I am. She has had two naps and even had a go at helming. Whereas I haven't enjoyed the heeling and I've felt sea sick both days - I only have one previous memory of feeling sea sick so I'm blaming the boat (not one for us to buy). However, we think she is teething again, so we are getting some unhappy moments. Beth is learning the sailing lingo as she has added sail boat, rope, daddy skipper, ley-ho to her vocabulary. We are currently anchored in Studland Bay so will have breakfast tomorrow looking over the beach. Posted from WordPress for Android

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Beth’s first sail

August 1, 2010 – 7:03 am
After a good night sleep Beth woke us up before seven; she felt refreshed, but the rest of us were feeling being up late watching a film. Beth has already learnt she needs to wear her life jacket if she wants to go on deck so now asks for it. The waterproofs are slightly different but as the deck was wet and it rained at times they were needed. The day didn't go as planned for two readons; weather and Cowes week racing. We were expecting a dry day with force 3 to 4 winds but got drizzle and at times force 6 winds with choppy sea. Beth did very well with the heeling of the boat, but was obviously perplexed about why it was difficult to walk. Ed stayed away from the Isle of Wight but that still didn't prevent us going the wrong way through three races! So we berthed in ...

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Our boat

July 30, 2010 – 7:08 pm
We are on board our home for the next week, the Hayley Louise. We are all unpacked and amazingly have space to spare (handy as Sophy is joining us in a few days). We are not going to starve as we have plenty of bread, fruit and beer, hopefully we'll find some other food as well to get a bit of variety. Beth has settled on to the boat so far; there are lots of things to press and open, she even tried hiding in a cupboard. She has spent a fair amount of time with her life jacket on walking around the deck, so hopefully she will be fine when we set sail tomorrow. Posted from WordPress for Android

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