Round Britain for the RNLI Blog

"I hope Lewis Hamilton does a bit better this afternoon."  Hm.

I wonder if Andy Murray can redeem the UK’s sporting credentials over the next 2 weeks. The omens are not looking good.

Sorry not to have written much. I do feel that too many "felt ill didn’t do much" posts might not be very entertaining. I’m not sure if the paint fumes are making me worse but I’m not in a good state sadly.

Yesterday I gave up at 8.30pm and went to bed, closing the bedroom door behind me as you do. I crawled out of bed at 1030 this morning, still not brilliant I’m sorry to say, washed, did my teeth, got dressed, as you do, opened the bedroom door, as you……don’t.

Hm, I seem to be trapped in my bedroom …………………….aaargh.

Now I’m not one to panic, but visions of Rapunzel, ladders, broken front doors started flashing through my brain. I worked out what the problem was. My decorator has of course taken the door handles off the door on the sides he is painting. So the handle on the outside of the door is missing. So the square operating bar that goes through the door to turn the catch is either missing or not engaged with the handle I am turning.

I looked around the bedroom. No handy toolkit, no phone, no PC, no front door key to throw to a neighbour. But I am a resourceful female (as you may already have gathered!) so I looked around for something to poke down the side of the door to pop the catch open. I found the nail scissors which went into the gap but that catch was never going to open that way. So I looked around again for something to pretend to be a screwdriver. I found the nail clippers, with that little pointy nail file attached. With that I slowly managed to get the screws out of the door handle. While I was doing this (it took a while!) I thought "this isn’t going to help if there is no bar through the door", so then I realised that the en-suite door could lend its bar for the purpose. I had the solution! However, I didn’t have to dismantle the en-suite door as well, because once the handle was off I could see the bar, in the door but not through far enough to engage with the handle, so I pulled it through a bit more, re-attached the handle and opened the door. Like something out of The Crystal Maze! And quite enough for me to cope with in this condition.

As was England’s performance at the cricket yesterday. Talk about sitting back on their haunches and thinking they had it all under control. Dreadful. I hope Lewis Hamilton does a bit better this afternoon.

Looking at the route after talking to various people that know the area I have decided to change the next stopping port from Port Ellen to Port Askaig.

Port Askaig is more sheltered and has a Lifeboat station. I have found it a huge help to be able to talk to the crews… they have an encyclopedic knowledge of their patch and I want to tap into some of that expertise especially as the following leg is going to need careful planning.

Also, my route is now more along the coast rather than directly across open water. My experiences to date are making me less inclined to take the open water route unless it makes sense to do so. I will change future leg routes to take that into account.

I haven’t yet updated the Itinerary page on the web site but I hope to do that prior to departure.

I set up this blog in a way that allos you to take part in the event by commenting and discussing but it seems that most people don’t want to contribute. That is fine and I am very much enjoying reporting the trip to you all and I know from the web site statistics you are reading my posts. However, if you are not commenting because you didn’t know that you could do so then I would just like to bring it to your attention that you can.

At the end of each post there is a link that shows how many comments have been made or it will say you can be the first. If you have registered on the site you can click on that link and post your own comment. Providing it is descent and clean and is relevent to the trip then Ivery much welcome all views or comments even if you disagree with what I have done… perhaps especially if you disagree with what I have done! There is more than one way to do most things in boating and we can all learn from frank, honest and friendly discussion.

So, if you haven’t yet registered on the site please do and make your thoughts known by posting your comments.

I have been away a month now so I thought I would give you an idea of how I am finding it living on this small boat.

When I first thought about doing this Round Britain event one of the biggest personal challenges for me would be living away from the comforts of home and in such a small and limited space. I was not wrong! I am coping very well indeed but it isn’t easy at times. I am not really struggling but there are times when I wish I had more space… or even SOME space! It is a little like trying to live in a car. OK, there is more space than that but after a while it seems like there is less.

Food is a problem. I have a small gas burner but I decided not to cook on board and I am starting to reassess that decision. Having to find places to eat is difficult. Actually finding places that don’t blow the budget is difficult enough but the very fact that I have to go out and find places is frustrating enough. OK, I have the Hot Pack self-heating meals and to be honest they have been an absolute live-safer for me in ports where there are no facilities or where the facilities that do exist are simply too expensive for everyday eating. They are tasty, nutritious and very easy to use and for what they are they are excellent. However, I am feeling that I need a considerable amount of other food, especially calories, to keep me going in the day. The Hot-Packs are generally 250-450 Kcals and that isn’t enough as a main meal on its own. So, I may buy a saucepan and see if I can find some food that doesn’t need refrigeration to cook on board.

Then there is the bed. The sleeping arrangements on the boat are simple… a V-berth in the bow beneath which is storage. The berth has a cushion on top and again, for what it is and for what it was intended for it is excellent. However, I am sleeping on it every day and it was never intended for that amount of use and I am finding the bed very hard. It was fine for the first couple of weeks but now I am developing small sores on my elbows and hips. They are not serious at the moment but I will have to keep an eye on them and hope they don’t get much worse. I have started wearing my fleece top in bed and that seems to help but if we get the warm, settled spell I am asking for then that may have to stop. I knew that the bed would be a challenge for me long term but I didn’t anticipate sores.

I seem to have encountered a lot of rain when in port and I have to be thankful for the awning over the back of the boat. Without it I think this trip would simply not be possible. None the less, it leaks and the rear is not a completely dry area. Water drips from the roof overhang over the door, from the awning supports and from the canvas of the awning itself at the sides and so in the rain it is damp rather than wet in the back. In spite of that it is not so wet that it becomes untenable and it works as a living space. I have added a table mount in the back, embedded into the lazzarette door, and this gives me a perfectly usable living space to work or relax in. I take the awning sides and back down before going to sea and they go up again when I arrive in port and this is working out fine. All in all, the awning is the key to converting the boat from a day only boat to one where extended journeys are possible.

Overall, the boat is working well as a living space and I am very pleased with how things are working out but already 1/3^rd round and I am looking forward very much indeed to sleeping in my own bed and to having a bit of space around me to live in. Strangely I am not missing TV. I thought I would but I have a radio which I have on most of the time I am on the boat in port. I miss my espresso coffee machine too allowing me to have a decent cup of coffee without it costing me £2.00! Most of all though I miss the companionship and company of my wife Sally. OK, we are in constant contact through phone, texts, email and online chat but it isn’t the same is it? It isn’t until someone is not there that you realise how much they are a part of your life and how much you miss their physical presence. The phone is no substitute.

The nice looking calm period that was forecast for Tuesday is evaporating so someone out there must be closing the window!

The continuous rain that has been here for the past 12 hours has now stopped but the wind is now picking up and there are some big gusts going through.

The wind might drop tomorrow but I am sure that the sea will still be up from the near gale today so I don’t hold out much hope there. So, for the forseeable future (this week) I cannot see any gaps in the weather forecast. Things change every time I look at the forecast so I will keep you informed daily at least of developments.

What I could do with now is for summer to arrive so I can have a spell of settled weather. I am finding the uncertainty is becoming quite tiring but it is what I signed up for and knew from the start it could be like this so I am not complaining… never the less it would be nice!