February already past...........

Certainly time flies of late – is it age, or activity or declining mental capabilities – not sure, but time is certainly passing by at an amazing rate.

This month has seen a whole host of activities in addition to the regular weekly stuff which continues with varying numbers of souls; these include  a couple of fun sailing races with Brian on Yellowbird; George and Marcianne hosting a presentation about their Svalbard trip (a place few cruisers ever get to go); the sad passing of Melwyn, a cruiser who with her husband Brian, and dog Jazz, has been here for about 4 years and with whom we have raced a few times – a wake was held to celebrate her life, a fine person indeed; organising and hosting an Atlantic Islands talk for folks planning to visit the Canaries, Madeira and the Azores; Micro-Magic remote control Yachts regatta; Karting, where the three maestro’s of kart racing (Les, David and George) here in the marina flaunted their skills for the last time this season; Music Nights which continue to surprise and now Susan, friend Sue and Rosie are fine tuning their ukulele skills; Portuguese Cookery lessons in the Way Point Restaurant – bruschetta, sardines and orange cake; Paul and Jackie’s holiday and the accident 20 minutes after their arrival resulting in Paul having a replacement hip and helicopter evacuation; Mexican Train Domino’s with over 20 folks each week – amazing, and often more than we saw in Trinidad; a final Chinese meal for Rigo and Lanta (snowbirds from Vancouver) who will be back later this year and who are enthusiastic Bridge, Mahjong and Mexican Train Domino players; Jorge (Marina Hotel Bar) has returned at last, he was sorely missed for his humour, friendliness, support and character; 8 Batteries sourced, moved (new on Andromeda and old off), replaced and fitted (for the last time we hope) on Andromeda – they are heavy things and the battery box is not generous – it took about 7 hours to complete as re-wiring was necessary – the old muscles were complaining for days afterwards; 2017 cruising  plans sort of coming together which involve Lyn and David from Scarlet; Susan’s Girly film night on Migration (one film lasted 5 hours!! Or so we were told – we suspect vino was involved); Burns Night with homemade haggis, neaps and mash  and plenty of whisky it must be said; a meal at Fernando’s courtesy of Giles, Pauline and Mark for looking after their yachts over the winter; Stephen and Ravin returning to Oasis (hurrah) from holiday in Malaysia; an evening with John and Brenda, who have asked us to crew again for this year’s 10^th Bluewater Regatta (3^rd place overall last year so aim to improve); a nice meal on Farr Horizon courtesy of Debbie and Rick, a fine Sunday lunch with Lyn and David & Bev and Alan & Linda and Vic, hosting Hamish and Richard for a curry, going out for a nice afternoon sail on SeaStar with Roger, Roy, Alan, Bev and ourselves. Think that’s everything.

Or is it?

Ah, George’s drone flying and an unusual picture of Andromeda and the usual suspects! George is on his fourth drone, and is not allowed another one, say’s Marcianne! The seagulls did not like the drone at all and tried to attack it several times. A fine piece of machinery though, and the camera stability was astonishing. Quite a price for 20 minutes of flying time if you fancy one, but the pictures taken with the drone in Svalbard were simply stunning – the glaciers, the growler ice, the birds, the walrus, the archipelago - brilliant.

Whew!

And that’s without the usual Bridge, Line Dancing, Mahjong, web site maintenance, Dawn Patrol, Pilates, Zumba,  and VHF Net activities!! And of course stuff on Andromeda – and now the list grows as we start to prepare for the summer. Yippeee!  ‘Tis  longish list now.

Yup – ‘tis a busy life here-abouts.

And it was Amaya’s 4^th birthday, and Susan’s mum’s as well!! Happy birthday to both.

Need a cup of tea now.............enjoy your pancakes.

More in due course.......................

Susan and Andrew.....having a bit of  a brief rest

Andromeda of Plymouth

Berth 44 F Pontoon

Marina de Lagos

Portugal