Working woman

Lydia is now between serials! A levels are completed and University is beckoning. So, she now is part of the sales staff at Sainsbury's where it is rumoured she can construct a mean Latte. On her days off she needs to relax, so this week we took a walk out to Little Dartmouth, a favourite haunt.

Sailing on Pinafore

Last week I traveled to Brighton to sign on as crew on the good ship Pumpkin. After being shown to my cave, I dug out my sailing togs and we duly set sail - westward ho! Great plans had been shrinking as the year went on, and plans for the Caribbean, then the Channel Isles had become as quest for west to Dartmouth and possibly beyond. A long first day; long due to lightness of wind and contrariness of same, gave us an excuse to spend a day in the splendid Chichester Marina. We escaped this haven for the delights of the Folly Inn before running under a strengthening wind for Southsea, when we were holed up for 3 days whilst gales and rain tried to do their worst. The week ended with a delightful sail back to Brighton, force 3-4 on the starboard quarter (sounds painful). Pinafore is up for sale as the Durdin clan want to move onto a larger vessel to accommodate their expanding family. Hero of the week: Sophia, of course!

In the Navy!

Julia has joined the Navy! Well, the Sea Cadets actually. They are keeping her extremely busy with sailing, banding, drilling (for what I wonder)and tonight she will be running; yes, running! I only have one photo of her in uniform which is extremely unflattering, but I'm told she looks a treat in her Number Ones!

Sophia's visit

Sophia decided to come and visit us this weekend. She told her parents to go away and do something, so they went to Cornwall and stayed in a yurt. Mum and dad missed their little girl and came back for cuddles on Sunday, which happened to be Fathers Day and dad's birthday. Happy birthday to Dan!

BBQ on Slapton Sands

Half term, and the weather has realised that summer is here, so what better to do than to pootle over to Slapton Sands with a bag of wood and a banger or two for a barbie. We had to drag ourselves away, I tell you!

First Sail on Lucy M

After 6 moths of repairs and renovation, Lucy Morales, the 24' ALPA 740 yacht is finally ready to sail. So Lynn and I took advantage of a quiet half-term week to take her out for a sail this morning. With a pleasant force 3 wind blowing off the shore, conditions were ideal for a first sail with flat seas and plenty of wind to drive her along. I was very impressed with the speed she achieved. Sailing like a small yacht that she is, she heeled over in the gusts, but never to an alarming degree. It will be interesting to see how she responds in bigger waves!

Dan's and Sarah's visit

It was lovely to see Dan and Sarah and their dogs, Spooky and Deefer this weekend. We took a trip out to Mattiscombe Bay to enjoy the wind and waves. We are a bit of a VW club as you can see. Dan played in the waves and Deefer dug for gold!