Day 115 Thursday 4 May. Overcast, occasional feeble sunshine. 17ºC. Wind Force 4 from NE. Position at noon: 36deg 19N. 3deg 6E. Costa del Sol 26nm to the NW. Last night was a formal night and we continued the experiment with cocktails. This time, Jane had a Cosmopolitan, which proved very enjoyable and more likeContinue reading “Blog 26. Return from Australia. Lisbon and Home”
Author Archives: Commander Shacklepin
Blog 25. Return from Australia. Limassol, Messina and Naples
Day109 Friday 28 April. At Limassol, Cyprus. 28ºC, Wind Force 2 from S. Bizarrely, we put the clocks forward last night, bucking the westward trend and throwing into question why we had put them back, just for the transit of the canal, where we did not go ashore. Cyprus hove into view on a hazyContinue reading “Blog 25. Return from Australia. Limassol, Messina and Naples”
Blog 24. Return from Australia. Aqaba, Petra and Suez Canal
Day 106 Tuesday 25 April. At Aqaba, Jordan. 30ºC. Wind Force 7 from NNE. Crikey, what a night! We were kept awake for most of the time with the noise of the wind, howling outside and battering the balcony door. It sounded as if we were in a hurricane yet, paradoxically, there was no ship’sContinue reading “Blog 24. Return from Australia. Aqaba, Petra and Suez Canal”
Blog 23. Return from Australia. Muscat and the Red Sea
Day 101 Thursday 20 April. At Muscat, Oman. Clear blue sky. 38ºC. Wind Force 2 from W. We entered Muscat at 0600 and the temperature on our balcony was already 35ºC and climbing. The port, Port Sultan Qaboose in the district of Muttrah, was very different from Dubai, being smaller and set in craggy hillsContinue reading “Blog 23. Return from Australia. Muscat and the Red Sea”
Blog 22. Return from Australia. Dubai
BLOG 22 Day 96 Saturday 15 April. Sunny and hot. 30ºC. Sea, Slight. Arabian Sea on passage to Dubai. Position 15deg 56 N, 7deg 54E. Course 317, speed 18. Wind Force 2 from NW. Yet another relaxing day at sea. We drifted around after breakfast before attending the port lecture on Muscat, which we visitContinue reading “Blog 22. Return from Australia. Dubai”
Blog 21. Return from Australia. Port Kelang, Penang and Colombo
Day 90 Palm Sunday, 9 April. At Port Kelang, starboard side to. Clear skies, 37ºC. Light airs. After a good night’s sleep we were woken by a long blast of the ship’s siren. I looked at my watch: 0700 and a pale dawn was filtering past the curtains. Tottering onto the balcony, I saw thatContinue reading “Blog 21. Return from Australia. Port Kelang, Penang and Colombo”
Blog 20. Return from Australia. Singapore
Day 87 Thursday 6 April. Transit from Melbourne to Singapore. Sunny and 26ºC in Melbourne; humid and wet at 33ºC in Singapore. We rose at 0400 for departure to Melbourne Airport at 0500. Laura and Derek were kindly driving us there, but it can be a 90 minute journey and we were concerned that theContinue reading “Blog 20. Return from Australia. Singapore”
Blog 19. Australia Finale. Melbourne
Day 81 Friday 31 March. Cold at 12ºC. Sunny. We set off from Phillip Island after breakfast to return to Geelong for a day, before heading for a weekend in Melbourne. The return journey did not seem as lengthy as the outward one, despite the fact that we stopped at yet another winery en route. Continue reading “Blog 19. Australia Finale. Melbourne”
Blog 18. Australia. Phillip Island
BLOG 18 Day 78 Tuesday 28 March. Sunny and 22ºC. Slightly cooler today, but still pleasant. We had kangaroo steaks and sausages last night for supper, by the way. The meat is leaner than steak with a slightly stronger flavour, though not as strong as venison. It is best eaten rare (according to Derek) becauseContinue reading “Blog 18. Australia. Phillip Island”
Blog 17. Australia. Phillip Island
Day 74 Friday 24 March. Sunny intervals. 24ºC. The journey to Phillip Island (which, contrary to my last blog, is not in Port Phillip Bay but on the open sea to the east) proved to be surprisingly long. Instead of taking the very lengthy, circuitous, route around Port Phillip Bay through Melbourne, we took aContinue reading “Blog 17. Australia. Phillip Island”
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