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…And so it has come to pass the “Talulahs” are now the “Shangrilas”.  With a huge amount of pride we can report our joy at becoming the proud new owners of Shangrila, a beautiful, blue hulled, strong as an ox, Nauticat 42 monohull.

We look forward to regaling you with tales of our derring-do as we continue our adventures across the wide open seas.

Due to set off sometime next week, our first mission is to bring her back to Blighty from her current base in Malta. Skipping past sun drenched Sicily, nuzzling past nearby North Africa, blowing-by below the Balearics, and sliding past serene southern Spain; we’ll gallop for the grey, granite rock of Gibraltar. We might even cruise in a curve to Cadiz; or even sip on some citrus in Seville; maybe we’ll find ourselves fetched up in Faro. The decision on the destination will be decided by discussion and debate and will depend on how progress is made.

From there we’ll have a brief interlude revisiting our old stomping ground of the Algarve, before finally bumping up the coast of Portugal and back across the dreaded Bay of Biscay over the coming summer.  We plan to spend some time doing European trips (Cross Channel, Baltic, maybe even the untamed wilds of Scotland where it is said the men smear blue woad on their faces!) before heading out on another “Big Off”.

Of course, as it always can with us, anything might change, so please keep following the Blog and stay up to date.

Shangrila!

Ali gets her first look at Shangrila (Still not in the water yet)

She’s up on the hard, but looks like a swan when floating gracefully

The interior joinery is fabulous.