14th May 2 June 2023 Ian is in the Sh.. but by how much !? I too was sorry to say goodbye to the Caledonian Canal as I considered it home territory having spent two years at college in Inverness back in the 70’s.. Our friend Brian came aboard in Fort William to join us while we explored the area around Mull and Jura in search of anchorages and marinas that can accommodate Asante.  Most memorable was the tiny gem of an anchorage off the island of Seil.  Barely room to swing a cat let alone  58’ of yacht, but with total protection from nearly all directions we had little fear of ..read more

Time Flies 12 May 2023 Our first stop in the Caledonian Canal was at Seaport Marina Inverness, which gave us the opportunity to spend a few days carrying out cleaning and maintenance tasks on Asante. We had the opportunity to have a date night and revisit a restaurant we first visited back in 2019 with our good friends Joe and Cally.  The steak was still good as was the red wine. As we started to make our way through the canal surrounded by the stunning Scottish mountains, I realised it was over 30 years since I had first transited the canal along with my 3 children on a yacht. It had b ..read more

8 February 2023 What’s in a Stern Tube In Asante”s case not a lot, we felt it was prudent to replace both the cutlass bearings that ensure the drive shaft from the engine to the propeller runs smoothly, the stern tube is what the drive shaft goes through. When the drive shaft was being removed the team at Fox’s noted that the glass fibre stern tube had delaminated due to excess heat. So, a massive problem has now hit us with our leaving date being the 22 April, stressful or what. The work to replace the stern tube is huge over 80 hours of work. Do we leave it and take a chance or replace it ..read more

WE ARE OFF!! MAY 6TH 2023 Its May the 6th – the day of the Kings Coronation.  We find ourselves moored in the Caledonian Canal.  There is not a breath of wind this evening and more importantly not a midge in sight.  I’m in home territory having spent the best part of 35 years living in this part of the world.  I’ve missed the hills but no match to the adventure we have planned.   Arriving at this point has not been straight forward.  Our planned sea trials from Ipswich prior to our 22nd of April departure date never happened – tweaking of major work on the stern ..read more

21st JANUARY 2023 Unusual title for a blog, but this Christmas Fiona and myself got these wonderful mugs for presents from one of Fiona’s sons Craig and his family. What’s lovely is the story behind them and they will be boarding Asante and used on our Grand Tour. Fiona’s mug has appropriately “Granny” on it while mine has “Boat Man”! What can I say – well the story behind these mugs is all around Fiona’s grand daughter Alice who is now 5. When she was learning to talk, she could say Granny, however Ian was a no go, but she associated me with boats and I was a man, so I became Boat Man. Whil ..read more

17TH JANUARY 2023 The summer went by in a flash and everything we had planned has been completed.  We more or less stuck to our original detailed ‘to do’ list.  This ranged from the major job of replacing all navigational equipment including a new SSB radio and Satellite communications system to the minor job of moving a power socket in the galley with plenty jobs in between.  But with the decision to replace the sails the budget was somewhat blown.  A lot of deliberation had gone into this not inconsiderable expense but with 5 ocean crossings looming in the next two year ..read more

20TH JANUARY 2023 So much of sailing is preparation.  Working through the dreaded ‘what if’ scenarios’.  And while most people will think of sinking boats and broken masts it is in fact a medical emergency that can be the greatest and perhaps the most common challenge.  On ocean passages help may be two weeks away.  Heart attacks, strokes, burns and head injuries are a few of a scarily long list that we all hope never to have to deal with.  A basic First Aid certificate would not prepare us for such eventualities and neither would the average medical kit of plasters ..read more

10TH JANUARY 2023 I believe in life there are two types of people.  Those who talk of dreams and those who follow them.  In 1982 I dreamt of sailing the Atlantic and 39 years later the dream became a reality. But the problem with finishing the dream is finding that an even bigger one has been bubbling away quietly in the background.  And so it was in December 2022, as Ian and I completed one of the roughest Atlantic crossings in years, I found myself asking him if he fancied sailing around the world.  Thankfully he thought this was an excellent idea but suggested a bigger ..read more