Since Jackie and I bought our 1990 Broom, 37 Boisterous Mistress, in 2004 we have never had a permanent mooring. Most winters we moored her in London, initially in Limehouse marina and later in South Dock marina, then during the summer months we cruise around the English Channel taking in everywhere from Holland in the north to the Channel Islands in the south, so we are quite used to leaving her in different marinas for a month or two. Over the last few years we discussed the idea of circumnavigating the UK and came to the conclusion that anticlockwise would be the favoured route, with a winter stop in Scotland so we would be well placed to explore the Western Isles the following season. We decided that May 2020 was going to be the start of our epic voyage. Then Covid-19 arrived and that was the end of that!
MAKING THE MOST OF LOCKDOWN
Luckily, we had decided not to leave the boat in London the previous year so it had spent the winter at The Boat Yard on the River Stour in Kent. As this is close to our home, we had access to our boat during lockdown and managed to complete a lot of repairs and improvements. By the time July arrived and marinas were open again, we could not wait to get out on the water.
Having managed to arrange a berth on the Itchen for a couple of months, and with Boisterous Mistress fuelled and ready to go, we just had to wait for the right weather and tide.
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Lofoten or Bust- Part 4- Grandezza owner Per Harrtoft heads back to Sweden after an epic 3500nm adventure deep into the Arctic Circle to visit the mythical Lofoten islands
After ten memorable days in the Lofoten Islands in the far north of Norway, we are on our way back south towards Sweden. We have already made it as far as Trondheim, a charming place even if it was raining so hard we had to cycle round the city centre clutching umbrellas. But now we are back on board Deamare, our Grandezza 40 Fly, eating up the miles at a steady 31 knots.
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Can XO's all-new aluminium flagship really make it big in the Med?
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PRINCESS S65
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