New season beckons.....

You wouldn't think it, looking out of my study window and the swirling snow and the -12 windchill but it is the 1st March and in previous years varnish has been drying and trailers have been serviced - but it does promise to warm up next week so mid to late April on the water is still on the cards I hope.

What's been happening.... well I saw Riley from La Vagabonde at the London Boat Show in passing but couldn't make it to their session where he and Elayna were talking about their widely publicised adventures on their Outremer catamaran.

Follow their adventures on their You Tube channel - La Vagabonde or visit their website 

On the Drascombe stand we had a great time, meeting new people and renewing old friendships.
We had an owners Drascombe Coaster 'Action Penguin'  on the stand which attracted a lot of attention as well as a brand new Drascombe Lugger that is destined to start her life on the shores of Lake Garda (can't be bad)

Drascombe Coaster 'Action Penguin' and
a new Drascombe Lugger

The new 5 day format of the show recieved mixed reviews - it was certainly less taxing that 10 days and there was a marked increase in footfall, but there were some big names missing particularly in the chandlers section.It's understandable, with all the kit they bring and the time it takes to un pack, set up and then put it all away again - 5 days probably doesn't seem worthwhile.

One of the highlights was the British Marine dinner with mock roulette and black jack tables - Sharon 'won' over £7,000 and then lost it all - but had fun doing it.

The gambler....with Rob from Dek-King

Das Boot

No sooner was London over with than we were off to the Dusseldorf Boat Show or Das Boot as it is called. - I suppose this qualifies as the European Boat Show, although there are other national shows that take place, Paris for example. But what a difference from London. It is sad to say but it made London look very small and unrepresentative of the boating arena within the UK .
The one, albeit large hall at Excel was replaced by 18 halls and large ones at that, with specific halls devoted to small sailing boats, large yachts,  motor boat, tow boats, diving etc. There were lots of activities such as wake boarding and a canoe pool complete with island
I went out with Sharon from Drascombe and we walked well over 8 miles without visiting all the halls !!!!!!

The map of Boot

The dinghy hall

 It was only a short visit to see whats what but it was certainly impressive with additions that LBS could consider such as public transport included in the ticket price - which was cheaper by the way.

RYA Sailabity Conference - Wyboston

We took an adapted Drascombe Longboat 'Zingaroo' up to this event borrowed from Queen Mary Sailability and she was very well received. The changes that have been made to suit sailors with less physical abilities were much photographed and commented upon.

What did it for me was the energy and enthusiasm of not only the sailors with a variety of disabilities but the volunteers who are involved - quite humbling and very impressive.

So having been energised by all the toys on show at the Boat shows, and enthused by the participants of the Sailablity event I can't wait for the snow to go, the sun to come out and the fun to start

Good news ....London Boat Show special guests

Riley and Elayna, the YouTube couple sailing the world in their Outremer catamaran, are coming to the London Boat Show to give a talk about their adventures.

Scheduled to appear twice on Thursday 11th Jan, they are bound to attract a large audience. I, for one, will be trying to get there and here their story first hand.

As I mentioned in the previous post they produce good quality videos about their adventures that not only cover the good bits but also the occasional reality check.

I have sent them a cheeky email inviting them to the Drascombe stand while they are at the show.. ..we'll see.

London Boat Show - Sailing Blogs - my favourites

London Boat Show draws near and as usual I will be helping out Drascombe by Churchouse on their stand SB001 - come along and say hello - last year I met several people who read these pages and it was great to hear their thoughts.

Although it is a shorter show this year, there are two other events being run alongside which should ensure it is a busy place to be.

Video blogs - Vlogs

Love them...hate them.....there is a mixed bunch out there. I have to admit I alternate between extreme jealousy and bouts of frustrated rage that I can't be out there having the same adventures.

The best I find, strike a balance between white sand and palm trees, bums and bikinis and some real life experiences, dramas and the reality of sailing and living aboard a relatively small boat.

I have a top three  or four that I watch and find that they consistently deliver this mix :

Top without a doubt is La Vagabonde - which follows the adventures of Riley and Elayna, two young Australians who hooked up together to sail the world. 

Riley bought his first boat without any sailing experience or knowledge and taught himself by trail and error  - by the time he meet Elayna he had obviously learnt enough not to scare her to death and they continued on the adventures together - they fund their travels through a variety of means - their You Tube channel attracts Patreons and they have achieved a level of success that must be almost unique  - to the extent that they have managed to swop their faithful mono hull for a brand new 45 ft Outremer catamaran. They are currently in the Med and intend to spend the summer of 2018 in the US so some long trips ahead

Follow their adventures on their You Tube channel - La Vagabonde or visit their website 


A close second but with a slightly different take on it must be SV Delos. 

Brian, his brother Brady, Karin are the main crew joined currently by  Alex,, Lisa and Elizabeth are the current crew - between them they represent the US, Sweden, Austria and good old Blighty.
The boat, Delos, is a ketch rigged 53 foot Amel Super Maramu , built in 2000 in which they are travelling the globe.

The three permanent fixtures the skipper Brian, Karin and Brady have been joined periodically by friends and people who follow their adventures and are invited to join them. The main emphasis is sailing but they do explore the places they visit and using their network of 'followers' they get to see the local area and enjoy adventures away from the water.  They are currently in Recife, Brazil.

Their You tube channel is - SV Delos  and their website can be reach by this link



Third and perhaps not as polished as the other two is RAN Sailing

A Swedish couple, Malin and Johan, decided to give up the rat race in 2016 and set off from the cold climes of northern Europe on their adventures - they are currently in San Blas Islands, Panama.

Johan had travelled extensively before and many places are a return visit for him. For Malin it s all new territory.

Theur boat is a  custom built aluminium Beason 40 built in  1987. Easy to watch and with many practical issues to address it is interesting seeing their transition from the early days to their current location in Panama.

Their video log can be found at RAN Sailing and their website using this link 



No mention of San Blas, Panama can pass with out a look at White Spot Pirates - Untie the Lines.

These are the adventures of Nike Steiger, a young lady from Hamburg, who defines White Spots as undiscovered areas in the map of her life. She sold up and bought a fairly dilapidated boat she called KARL who is a Reinke Super 10, built in 1992 in aluminium. 

Together they have ventured as far as Cuba and it's fair to say watching the videos can leave you feeling exhausted. Nike is very practical and determined and seems to weather all sort of problems, certainly in the early days that would have made less resolute people run for the hills.

Her You Tube channel is here and her website can be found here

Do you have any favourites or recommendations??

Keep Turning Left seems to be the best of the UK bunch but I gather that Dylan Winter, the author, is in two minds whether to continue. I hope he does and I will look at his site again after Christmas but I do understand the pressures of keeping it up to date - even my little effort takes time which can be hard to find theses days.