Category Archives: Sailing

French Hurricane 1999

Exactly ten years ago….. We knew a storm was in the offing. We were living aboard ‘Bolero’ a Moody 376 sailing yacht, in the marina at Les Sables d’Olonne on the west coast of France But our minds were full of two other things as we approached the “New Millenium”. One was the much advertised [...]

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Rescue dog

                    On a day when all the rest of news is sad or bad, it is great to hear some good news for once.   This Newfoundland is being trained to rescue people from the sea in Swansea. The picture came from the Daily Mail and [...]

Also posted in Animals, Charity, Coastal erosion, DEFRA, Education, Happy things, Interesting things, RSPCA, Swansea, Uncategorized, Wales | Leave a comment

Hazardous Waste On Welsh Beaches

Perhaps it is just as well that we have had sustained heavy rain and gale force winds for many days now.

Also posted in Animals, Annoying things, Education, Gorseinon, Sad things, Swansea, Uncategorized, Wales, pollution | Leave a comment

Two capsized boats

Firstly……the TV news and the newspapers have been filled with the reports of the cruise ship MV Explorer which emulated the Titanic in the Southern Ocean, hitting an iceberg and sinking.

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East Coast Flood Warning Tonight

I was thirteen when the Great flood of Canvey Island happened.

Also posted in Coastal erosion, Education, Sad things, Uncategorized, weather | 2 Comments

Sputnik

Just before this magic day fades into antiquity…. I wish to raise a glass to Sputnik

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Ex-pat Brits help children from Guatamala

This morning, I came upon some old friends via the internet. When I am feeling a bit nostalgic, I occasionally turn to the ‘Costa Blanca News’, an English language newspaper published on Fridays in Spain. It was from this week’s paper that the names of Peter & Teresa Cunliffe leapt from the screen at me. [...]

Also posted in Charity, Education, Happy things, Interesting things, Sad things, Uncategorized, volunteering | 5 Comments

Tsunami ?

On Boxing Day, on the second anniversary of the dreadful tsunami in the southern hemisphere, we were also reminded of something that happened during our sailing years. In 2003 there was an earthquake in Algeria.

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Accident

We were in our late fifties, but still very active and forward looking. Whilst we were preparing our boat for the retirement trip to the Med., we were in the process of having her dragged out of the water for the annual scrubbing of the bottom and the ritual application of antifouling paint.

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Coincidence

When I first met my present husband, Dave, he had a book on one of his bookshelves which he had read years earlier and he recommended it to me as a good read. It was certainly that….. very well written and a first hand account of

Also posted in Family, Happy things, Strange things, Uncategorized | 6 Comments