Fifty Shades of Grey!

We have been travelling now for 2 months and I thought it was high time for a 'Jenny post' for those of you that may interested in another take on our lives aboard Arbablest. Fifty Shades of Grey is a most appropriate description of our experience to date. However, not, as some of my closer friends would be thinking, by way of reference to last year's bestselling paperback!.

I knew that by heading North we would be foregoing the prospect of spending our days sailing along in light airs basked in sunshine, but I had not imagined just how 'grey' our world was to become on an almost daily basis. A day can be anything from 'a really dark grey' to a 'misty grey day' or sometimes just 'not as grey as yesterday', however we describe it to each other we cannot avoid the dreaded word grey. We are most envious of you all as you enjoy a wonderfully hot and sunny summer further South. I did dispense with my thermals in mid June but we are still wearing several layers and waterproofs to keep warm even when just going out for a walk. One of our most consitent disappointments has been the number of landmarks and 'sights' that we have missed seeing along the East Coast and in the Orkney and Shetland Isles due to them being shrouded in mist.

Enough of moaning about the weather, what about other aspects of our everyday domestics.....

Our first two weeks on board were perhaps the most challenging from a personal point of view. Graham and I had to get used to being together 24 hours a day and to working the boat efficiently between us. There were times when I'm sure that we both wished we could just walk on water to allow us a few minutes of 'time out'. We are both quite strong characters but on any boat their can only be one Skipper! We accommodate this by sailing within the comfort zone of the person who is least happy about a situation. If one of us is unhappy about a particular anchorage or with sailing in certain weather conditions then that is what we work to. This works well for us, there is little or no confrontation (how boring I hear you say!) and no recriminations if things do go wrong. To Graham's delight he discovered a new saying hanging on a gift shop wall in Kirkwall. Along the lines of 'I would agree with you but then we would both be wrong!' it is one that has yet to be used in retort.

Our sailing days are the best. We wake at whatever time is necessary to catch a favourable tide. Anything after 4am is OK with me and we are often rewarded with some beautiful early morning views and wildlife. A quick cup of tea and a few cereals and we are off. Food in small but regular amounts is a big part of breaking up the day and is our best antidote to possible seasickness. We usually have a bowl of porridge with dried fruit a couple of hours into the sail and lunch on a chilly day is often a hot homemade pasty with a cup of Bovril. I will have prepared something beforehand for supper en route or when we arrive at our destination eg a pasta dish or spicy curry – something quick and easy to have ready. I bake a cake every week to have with afternoon tea and we have enjoyed several homemade soups and bread along the way. Needless to say we have not yet managed to loose any weight despite our more active lifestyle!

Days tied up at a pontoon are OK if there are not too many of them in succession. We spend our time doing odd jobs on the boat as they arise, Graham is a whizz as far as the electrics and mechanics of the boat are concerned, and we catch up on shopping, cooking and laundry. We walk most days to explore the surrounding countryside and sometimes catch a local bus to take us 'sightseeing' further afield and back again. A lot of our time is spent reading up on places to visit, deciding where to go and then with an eye to the weather forecasts and tides we prepare a passage plan for the next leg of our journey.

Our day to day routine sounds pretty simple and perhaps to some a bit boring. However, we are having the time of our lives. Each day delivers new sights and sounds of our beautiful country. We have met some really super people from all different walks of life. Contrary to the preconceived ideas of some that sailing is for an elite group it is in practice a great social leveller. A group of people talking on a pontoon are not judged by the size or perceived cost of their respective boats. Their talk is of the journey that they have just made or where they are heading, a favourite anchorage or request for advice from others as to how to fix something on their boat. We have met with all sorts of folk to date and have always found them to be incredibly friendly and down to earth. We can sometimes spend hours over several days talking to someone and never actually getting to know their names. We may refer to them as 'ketch couple', 'wooden boat man' or 'the Oyster 47s', names and personal lives/issues seem comfortably irrelevant.

Whenever we stop somewhere new I am keen to learn about the history of that particular local economy, how it works and survives today and the daily lives of those living there. There's usually someone local that is willing to humour me and we have learnt so many interesting things on our journey to date.

The downside of our 'life away from home' is that I do miss the company of my family and friends. We have been fortunate to have telephone and 3G signal for most of the time but it is no substitute for giving a big reassuring hug and a good natter.

We are looking forward to the next phase of our journey South to explore the Inner Hebrides. I really do hope that the sunny weather is still around when we get down there.