All ready - just need a crew
Rosinis heads to Svalbard
Bob Hendicott
Fri 15 Jun 2018 17:45
Julian was due to arrive this evening at 2100 but he’s just texted me to
say his train from King’s Cross has been cancelled. What a way to run our
national rail infrastructure! He’s now due an hour later.
However, that does give me time to add another blog post before we set off early
tomorrow morning. I’ve been busy preparing for our 4 day passage directly
to Bergen: topping up on provisions; making sure we’re just over our duty-free
allowances for Norway (which are not great so I’ve allowed for the occasional
dram en route to bring us within the allowance by the time we arrive); preparing
Rosinis; and, of course, catching up on sleep very successfully. In a fit
of enthusiasm I also went for a run this morning around the old Headland part of
Hartlepool and learned some local history: how the locals lynched a monkey
dressed as a French sailor, ship-wrecked in the Napoleonic Wars, and how the
Heugh gun batteries there were allegedly the only mainland UK direct
participants in WW1 when they fired against a German naval raid in 1914.
Fortunately Storm Hector has now blown through. We had over 40 knots
of wind inside the marina yesterday morning (see first photo which doesn’t do
justice to the waves in the dock or the flying spray) but we came through
unscathed and the forecast is looking great for the next few days: good winds
and from good directions, so hopefully we’ll have a fast and comfortable
passage. However, I’m taking no chances and have the staysail hanked on
just in case North and South Utsire (shipping forecast areas, for those who
don’t know) live up to their reputation for some pretty sporting weather as we
approach the Norwegian coast. The second photo shows Rosinis ready to
leave. Just need a crew
now! |