Rock 'n' no Roll

Boats! Specifically, 12 year old boats! Lying in our bed there was a squeaking just behind our heads with every gentle rock of the boat. Now that was going to drive us crazy! At 4 in the morning I was in the saloon, just below the mast base listening intently for the source of the sound. Thank goodness it wasn't the mast (that would probably not have been fixable), it came from lower down. More intent listening. The water tank is fitted under the saloon seats, it seemed to be coming from there somewhere. On the point of giving up and going back to bed I put my hand behind the tank and pulled - ever so slightly it made a squeak  -I had got it! The sound was caused by the stainless steel tank rubbing on its wooden mounting with each movement of the boat. The problem was the tank was very fixed in and would weigh an awful lot. A problem for the morning. Come morning, out came my tool bag and brain was engaged. I did manage to get the fixings undone at the problem end but how t...

If we felt like a minnow before, in Monaco we really are a minnow! Monaco is the oldest monarchy in Europe where the monarch still has executive and legislative powers. It is in effect (though not in appearance!), a medieval kingdom that has survived into the 21 st century. It all started when the Grimaldi family bought Monaco from the Genoese in 1308; it has remained in their hands to this day. In 1869, down on their luck, they opened a casino, abolished all taxes and quickly developed a reputation for high living, fast money and loose women! Today it is very much for the rich and famous and known as mini Manhattan – there isn’t a square inch of the one square mile principality that is not built on! Next weekend is the world-famous Monaco Grand Prix but this weekend they have a historic grand prix where all cars of yesteryear race. We were off for a day at the races! It wasn’t quite Ascot but dressed in our best shorts and shirts we walked into the stands conve...

Mike and I dropped anchor after our crossing of the Bay of Marseilles at the pretty island of Porquerolle and got our heads down for a few hours. Refreshed and looking forward to my croissant I threw some water over my face to wake myself up – and got the shock of my life – there was a demon looking back at me out of the mirror! When I had dived down to the anchor before leaving for the crossing, with a rope in one hand and the other being used to hold my nose to clear my ears I had been unable to equalise the pressure in my mask. I had felt the pressure increasing but was so focused on getting to the anchor that I had not paid it much attention. Here was the consequence. The pressure had burst a few blood vessels in my eyes, filled my eye balls with blood and given me a couple of nice black eyes – this photo was taken 3 days later! Oh well, I hopped I wouldn’t scare too many people away! The islands are nature reserves and had some lovely walks. It was then time to hit the...