Author: Mate

Wednesday 14 June

Inevitably, the weather went from the ridiculous to the sublime. We left Fleetwood on the afternoon High Water to take advantage of the ‘free flow’ through the swing bridges and lock gates that form the approach to the former fish dock. Out in Morecambe Bay the sea was glassy smooth and registering 18.5˚C, but Mate was discouraged from swimming by the sight of considerable numbers of huge jellyfish floating by in the current.

They took me up a long channel on the way to Barrow-in-Furness, in which I was regularly tossed around by powerful seacats churning their way home at the end of a day out in the wind farm fields. On the way we passed a huge seal colony before pulling into moorings in the lee of Piel Castle, their first stop in their former yacht, Meridian, which they picked up in Glasson Dock. It was a very still, calm evening, spoiled only by the small motor boats charging around enjoying the fine weather.

Sunday 11 -Tuesday 13 June

Sunday swept in on a strong southerly wind, so my crew decided to blow the cobwebs away with a bracing stroll along Fleetwood’s shoreline, enjoying the information boards along the way, that describe aspects of local history. Monday and Tuesday were spent waiting for the weather to improve enough for us to go back out onto the Irish Sea; meanwhile Skipper finished installing the fuel polisher and tested it, they did some provisioning at a local fish supplier and the big Asda supermarket just up the road, and Mate caught up with some blogging with a coffee in the sunshine in the Freeport shopping mall.

Thursday 8 – Saturday 10 June

This morning the people disappeared off again, for another weekend away in Brussels: not for fun, you understand, but to attend a funeral. They met up with Mate’s mother and Second Mate’s brother in London, and travelled on Eurostar together. They stayed overnight with Second Mate on the way home, and Mate was delighted to have an unexpected opportunity to meet up with a very good friend for coffee and a chat.

They came home tired and emotional, not surprisingly, glad for some peace and quiet and a good night’s sleep.

Wednesday 7 June

They left me in the smelly fish dock to ride the bus all the way down the coast to Lytham, a pleasant town with attractive shops, a disused but well-preserved windmill and old Lifeboat station. Skipper took the opportunity to visit a local barber (originally from South London), and they treated themselves to lunch at the excellent Lytham Kitchen at 9 Market Square. Mate was particularly impressed at their choices for and understanding of gluten free and vegetarian diets.
It turned out to be a day of contrasts: Lytham is quite posh, with many nice people around, but then my crew decided to ride the tram all the way back up Blackpool Promenade…and found their fellow passengers a different sector of the population entirely…
When they came home Skipper performed a ritual cleansing – of me, before refilling my water tanks.

Monday 5 – Tuesday 6 June

Quiet times were the order of the day(s), giving opportunities to catch up with laundry and family news. Mate rustled up a particularly good Thai-inspired soup from fridge leftovers: butternut squash and parsnip with ginger, garlic, green chilli and coconut milk, while she had the benefit of shore power to operate the electric stick blender.

Sunday 4 June

Mate switched on the radio this morning for her customary fix of Sunday morning on Classic fm, to hear of yesterday’s terrorist attacks on London Bridge and in Borough Market, only two weeks after the atrocities at the concert in Manchester. Yet again, general election campaigning is being put on hold as a mark of respect for those affected. My people feel some relief that they are now somewhat removed from this crazy world.

Meanwhile, cruising plans are put on hold once more, while arrangements are made for travel to Brussels to offer support and sympathy for Mate’s oldest friend and family at another funeral. Saddened by news of this untimely death, my crew are thankful anew for this opportunity to live their life doing what they love, with me, here and now and for however long.

Saturday 3 June

Today Mate honoured a long-standing promise of a ‘Girls go to Blackpool’ weekend, hosting lunch on board for two lovely friends (one I’ve met before, in London), and one very active young lady who was delighted to make the acquaintance of my teddy crew. While Skipper was left to clear up the debris, they all disappeared to see said young lady’s new baby sister, and later to enjoy a very civilised supper at their favourite eatery, the Olive Tree Brasserie in St Anne’s on Sea. Mate was eventually delivered back by the very generous private taxi service.

Friday 2 June

Keen to be back at sea, we were ready to leave at 0600 to head North once again up the coast to the top of Morecambe Bay. Typically, there was no wind and no sunshine as we left Wales in misty drizzle – mizzle if you will – and Trevver remained hard at work for the whole passage. It did warm and dry up gradually during the day, and we arrived on time for the lock entrance, Skipper berthing me neatly stern to in the new marina area of the old fish dock. I’m glad I can’t smell, as they had no doubt where we were.

Thursday 1 June

The crew came home via an overnight stop with Mate’s mother, who had been foolish enough to offer them a car trip to Waitrose in Chester. Not surprisingly, Mate made the most of the opportunity for a major stock-up, and it took them two marina trolley loads to bring it all down to me.

Tuesday 23 – Wednesday 31 May

Once I was moved into my long stay berth, my crew spent a couple of quiet days preparing me for any storm that might blow through while they were away, doing laundry and packing bags for their trip to Finland. On Thursday 25 May they bade me a fond goodbye and were soon on their way by train to London, in hot sunshine. They were able to meet up with Second Mate for supper near their old home, and then head for their overnight accommodation near Watford.
On Friday 26 May they flew from Heathrow to Helsinki and then on to Kokkola, near the Baltic coast of Finland: who knows, they may even take me there next summer. The trip was to deal with some ‘extended family’ business, while I had a little holiday in the Welsh sunshine – and over a Bank Holiday weekend, too.