A Pause in the Azores ….

On Wednesday, after 3 days at sea, the Azores popped up in the middle of the Atlantic – so we stopped.

We berthed at Ponta Delgada on the largest Azorean island of Sao Miguel. The islands are very green and lush but that’s due to the regular low cloud cover and rain. During our stay, luckily, we got just the low cloud.

A tour around the island would have been pointless due to the cloud so we had a great day mooching around Ponta Delgada where ………

……. it seems that when they decided on a particular style and look of architecture

……. they stuck to it!

To the point where nearly every building is the same! Very nice though.

One building that breaks the mould is the library! (Books on the shelves inside)

Another favourite is their collection of old anchors. Anywhere there’s a space there’s an anchor!

There were also plenty of Bird of Paradise – Doug’s favourite.

It’s a lovely atmosphere in the town, with the sound of horses hooves on cobbles.

After the Azores we’ve had 5 sea days covering 400+ miles each day as we head towards the Caribbean. One great pleasure has been the 22nd wedding anniversary of our dining friends Nicola and John. After 5 courses on Friday evening we enjoyed chocolate cake with them while the waiters sang “Congratulations”!

Another great pleasure was to watch the sunrise one morning.

Just before the sun broke on the horizon the cloud edges were lined with gold.

The moment of sunrise ……

…… and then full sunshine. What a special and glorious display of one of nature’s great wonders.

There’s not a huge amount to see during thousands of miles of ocean (not that we’re complaining!) but we have sailed through huge carpets of floating algae.

We’ve also had a gull flying along with the ship for most of one day …….

…… and shoals of flying fish displaying their talent by skimming along above the water for well over 100 yards.

Our cabin air conditioning is working overtime as it keeps us cool against the outside temperature of 30 degrees and, the captain tells us, the water temperature is also the same! That’s bit hard to believe but it’s along way down to dip your toe in to find out! We’ll wait until we arrive in Antigua on Tuesday to find out for sure.

“Out” of a Boat and “Onto” a Ship

With “Chance” now safely tucked up for the winter and a week in Selsey to get things up together, we felt very much “at home” as we boarded the P&O “Arcadia” at Southampton on Saturday. Probably our favourite ship at the moment, it’s our forth time aboard and we’re off to the Caribbean and back (no flying!) - so quite a few sea days ahead!

We had a chilly sail-away party on the back deck as we left Southampton …..

….. but we soon caught up with friends Gina and David (with the same idea!), who we met on our first Caribbean voyage on “Ventura” last year.

Looking forward to all the future sunshine, we sailed down a murky Southampton Water, past the romantic Fawley oil refinery ……….

……. and on through the busy shipping area of the Solent. After two days at sea, through the English Channel and out in the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, we unfortunately picked up a fishing net around one of the propellers! Just like a plastic bag around our narrow boat prop, it had a marked effect on the ship and produced a strange wobble which had to be cleared. When the captain brought the ship to stop (leaving us bobbing about the ocean like a giant cork), the ship’s engineers reversed and forwarded the props again and again – the ship shuddered and shook and a few things rattled,the prop seemed to free itself and eventually we were on our way again. A diver will be sent down when we get to the Azores to check that all is now well. We must be grateful as worse things happen at sea!

On Monday evening we had the Captain’s Cocktail party where he buys all the drinks and introduces the main representatives of his 800+ staff who look after us.

We met two lovely people at dinner on Sunday evening – Nicola and John. John is a D-day Veteran and 90 years old and we so enjoyed their company ………

……. that, with Gina and David, we’ve arranged to have the same table for all of us each evening. John, Nicola, Doug, David, Gina and James dining on Monday evening.

Mornings are spent usually enjoying a fun game of deck quoits …….

…….. and then maybe attending a talk in the superb theatre we have on board “Arcadia”.

One of the guest entertainers on this leg of the voyage has been the very talented Sue Holderness, famous for playing “Marlene” in Only Fools and Horses. Her talks have ranged from her personal memories of “Marlene”, through a fascinating lecture on John Harrison’s timepieces which had such a dramatic improvement on maritime navigation, to a very funny interview with the ship’s entertainment director John Bartram. We shall miss her when she disembarks in the Azores.

Well, life isn’t all work – there’s the occasional bit of time to relax and enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we explore the Azores.

Journey’s End (for a while!)

The last week has been similar to all the other weeks we’ve had on “Chance” in the last two months – a sort of relaxed mania!

After we’d moored up all three boats at Crick it was time to walk the 15 minutes to The Red Lion for a meal. Just as we left the boats we had the most glorious sunset – no real justice done by this pic.

Here we are: Tony, Jan, Pauline, Neil, James and Doug just before the food came. It was a great night and in the morning “Waterlily” and “Chance” left Tony and Jan behind at Crick to continue our journey to Market Harborough.

AT LAST! We got a photo of a Kingfisher! Apart from this lovely little bird that gives us so much pleasure along the canals, the pic gives an indication as to the wealth and quantity of berries which grace the hedgerows this autumn. It’s been truly splendid.

After a good old 6 hours of lockless cruising we got to Foxton Locks where, as it wasn’t busy, we had only a short wait before going down.

It’s a special feeling we get as we embark down this flight of two lots of five staircase chambers with this tremendous view from the top.

After Foxton it was a gentle run into Market Harborough where we had a lovely evening on board “Chance” with Pauline and Neil. James and Pauline skivvying in the galley ………..

…….. while Neil takes a hard earned rest! The next morning Doug caught the train to Leicester to pick up the car from the MGM boatyard and Pauline and Neil went with James on “Chance” to help him back up the Foxton locks.

On a slightly negative note, if you catch Foxton in the day time it can be quite a wait for the next ‘slot’. On our passage back up we found out why! The volunteer lock keepers do too much talking. On one occasion, after a chamber had been empty for some time we had to ask for the gates to be opened. Added to that, they didn’t fully understand the sequence of the ‘red and white’ paddle operation! This resulted in unnecessary inefficiency so no wonder we had to wait ages at the bottom. We weren’t impressed!

Anyway, at the top of the locks James said a sad farewell to Neil and Pauline and embarked on the six hours back to Crick where he met up with Doug again. Blinding, but glorious sunshine ruled the day for James!

A quick ‘overnight’ in Crick we were on our way again and soon going down the Watford lock flight – always a snug fit in it’s deep chambers!

Stopping on Thursday night in Braunston to meet up with boating friends Alison and Dave on nb “Freespirit” we were surprised by two lovely people, Roger and Liz on nb “Meander” who we’d met two years ago on the Stoke Bruerne lock flight. They had just taken over their boat and were very new to the canals. James helped Liz steer the boat through her very first lock and, two years later, Liz had just done her thousandth lock! They brought two bottle of Prosecco on board for us to help them celebrate. We weren’t going to say no!

Coming down the Braunston locks we’d met blog readers Marilyn and Dave on nb “Waka Huia” who, bringing their own lovely contributions with them, also came along to join the celebration. When Dave and Alison (nb Free Spirit) turned up we had a full house and a very impromptu party!

It’s a poor pic but we all headed to the Boat House for a meal together. Roger, (Kiwi) Dave, Doug, Alison, James, (UK) Dave, Marilyn and Liz. A great night and thanks all of you for an enjoyable last evening on “Chance”

On Friday morning we cruised out of Braunston for our last journey this year. A lovely autumn morning, great countryside, ………

…….. passing the hoards of hedgerow fruits and ………..

……… the wonderful sights of autumn with the colours becoming sensational. “Chance” is now tucked up for the winter, we’re on our way with a full car and exciting expectations of the next few months ahead.

Treble Trouble.

On Saturday morning we left our mooring below Long Itchington, teamed up with nb “Tamarisk” for a very pleasant journey up through the 15 locks on that stretch.

Our timing up the Stockton lock flight was a bit unfortunate as we passed two boats teamed up and going down. We knew both boats! – Chris and Jennie on nb “Tentatrice” and Tony on his new Hudson boat “Lydia” We’re really sorry not have been able to have more time to catch up with both but it was great to see them all the same.

At the top lock we (nearly) bumped into steam boat “Adamant” as it seemed very impatient to get into the lock before we, and “Tamarisk”, could get out – very strange!

Changing from the Grand Union canal onto the Oxford canal at Wigrams Turn the scenery changed to open countryside with a very autumnal feel about it, with all the ploughed fields, despite the lovely bright sunshine.

Our destination on Saturday was Braunston and the meeting up of three boats for some fun and laughter. It wasn’t  long before “Aylmer” with Jan and Tony on board turned up and then a moment later “Waterlily” arrived with Pauline (the cup cake queen of the canals!) and Neil. This pic shows all – when Pauline and Doug get together it’s Bedlam!

In the afternoon we had wine and an huge array of nibbles courtesy of Jan and Tony on “Aylmer”. Enjoying the sunshine on the rear deck is Tony, Jan, Pauline, Doug and Neil.

The evening saw us on the opposite bank of the canal in the The Boat House for a meal together and then ……. 

………. back to “Chance” for coffee and chocolates (and more alcoholic beverages). The state of intoxication of some by the end of the evening was to be the cause of great hilarity when Neil chose the wrong pair of shoes when he left to go home. Not only did he put them on and walk back to his boat but he took them off and put them in the wardrobe! The shoes which Neil should have put on were left for Tony, who concluded that his feet must have swollen while he was enjoying himself on “Chance”. James offered a shoe horn but that was to no avail either. Feeling a bit like one of the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella, Tony just could not get the shoes on. By this time hysteria had set in, Pauline (realising what had happened) retrieved the stolen shoes from Neil’s wardrobe and brought them back to their rightful owner. Most of us were close to wetting ourselves at one point and we must have woken half of Braunston! (for which we apologise!)

mMonday morning saw “Waterlily” and “Chance” teamed up for the lock flight at Braunston while “Aylmer” followed up the rear.

After a very efficient rise up through the locks we were soon entering the Braunston tunnel and, once through that, …………

………. we briefly moored up at a ‘secret’ location to enjoy bacon toasties and coffee on board “Waterlily” and then to indulge in a bit of sloe picking.

Onwards after the sloe picking and turning onto the Leicester section of the Grand Union, we were at the Watford Locks in no time.

Even more efficiently than they did the Braunston locks, Pauline and Doug got us to the top of the Watford flight in a trice. This is Pauline at rest for a split second for a photo shot.

This is James, taking a well earned rest from steering the boat!

The lock keepers on the Watford flight keep things very pretty – in the distance, “Waterlily” is leaving the second lock on the way up ………

…….. and heads into the depths of one of the staircase chambers.

With Monday’s mooring destination of Crick within a stone’s throw, the canal surroundings are now taking on a distinct autumn feel.

All three boats are now safely moored for the night outside the Crick marinas – this evenings activities start with Gin and Tonics on board “Waterlily” followed by a meal at The Red Lion in Crick village. So far we’ve all had a ball this weekend.