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Because we are close ... 48° 27' 45" N, 07° 28' 42" W

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Much to the astonishment of our European chums, we decided to pop by and visit Florence in Obernai on our way to Düsseldorf.  We were so close, only a couple of hours on the train.  "Close" we discovered, is a term that holds a different meaning to our friends in France.  They were dazzled that we had made such a l-o-o-o-ong side journey! And it was so worthwhile. Florence has done such an amazing job renovating her house.  From the purchase to the interior demolition job and into a beautiful, fully functioning home ... all on a very limited budget and including a huge amount of hard work.  Florence, we are so proud of you.  The cosy living room The super functional kitchen Guess who had a little play with the pantry?? Florence organised a little party, bringing together friends we have made over the years we have been visiting.  With local wines and spirits flowing freely, it was the wee, small hours before we staggered off to bed.  Next mornin...

London - 51°31' 00" N, 00° 10' 24' W

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A delightful surprise - Kate's Oyster card had £7.80 on it! It's been a while since either of us have been to London - as Kate's Oyster Card will attest!  We had a couple of very important engagements there.  The first was Kate's appointment at the Swedish Embassy and the second was catching up with Brynn Murphy! As you may know, the Schengen Area is the group of twenty-nine countries that have abolished border controls at their mutual borders.  Very handy for mobility, but the catch is that holders of non-EU passports are limited to 90-days in a rolling 180-day period within the zone.  This includes the Azores and the Canaries which are jump-off points to crossing the Atlantic Ocean.  With our plan to spend the summer in Norway and Sweden then sail through the Kiel Canal , along the European coast and down to the Azores, we have a major issue with the 90-day limit ... for Kate .  Sean, with his golden Irish passport, can remain in Schengen , Ir...

Western Pembrokeshire - 51° 52' 57" N 05° 07' 47" W

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Being in Wales means we are close to some newly minted friends - namely Tim and Carol , who buddy-boated with us through the Northwest Passage aboard Lumina .  They live close to the border of Wales and England and have a cottage on the westernmost coast of Wales.  Chinook is a forty-five minute drive, so they offered to take us on a Welsh road trip of Pembrokeshire.  Hooray! Tim, Kate, Carol and Sean We were invited to their cottage and found it the perfect hide-away on the coast. It is fully independent ... except for a mysterious inch-and-a-half waterpipe that supplies drinkable water to the property. It was there when they bought the land and it produces water with some pressure. It emerges from the hillside and they have no idea where its origin is (they are miles from any town or village) but the water is drinkable. The cottage electrical needs are supplied by solar panels, a salvaged battery from a BMW i3 and a 1200 watt inverter. The lights are 12 vo...

Milford Haven - 51°42’42” N 05°02’18” W

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 When you have big plans that span big distances, it is best to keep an eye on the weather. As we would like to make our way up and through the Irish Sea and into western Scotland this spring, we need to move when there are no storms. After Christmas, an unusually long stretch of calm weather was hovering over the southwest United Kingdom … but following three to four days of gentle seas was a series of storms that were best avoided. We are also getting close to when we will leave Chinook to attend the Dusseldorf Boat Show and want a secure and safe marina to tie up. We decided to abandon our snug spot in Falmouth and sail ‘round to Wales. In the Bristol Channel there are several less-interesting ports you can call into, but most have muddy water, a dearth of attractions and a long slog in and out of the Channel itself. We knew of a good marina north of the Channel … and that is where we are now. The route around Lands End showing the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). ...

Christmas in Falmouth - 50° 09' 50" N 05 05' 08" W

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After our brush with the law, we continued onto Falmouth, arriving after dark, at low tide with 20kn of wind howling in from the west.   In the dark, we wound our way up the channel, into the shallow Penryn River and wiggled our way through the myriad of empty moorings to our berth in the Falmouth Marina. Hurrah for our friends  Fi and Adrian who plied our jangled nerves with wine and a hearty dinner. Our route into Falmouth - Sean on the bow squinting into the dark looking out for mooring balls  and Kate on the helm keeping a constant watch the depth.  Yay for a lifting centreboard! After a leisurely breakfast, we rode our bikes into Falmouth to find it jammed packed with festive celebrations and the annual Cornish Harmony Choir.  In a tradition dating back a century, the Harmony Choir is made up from choirs across Wales and performs through the streets of Falmouth on Christmas Eve.  And half of Wales had shown up to enjoy the carolling!  ...

BorderForce - 50° 10' 41" N 04° 41' 18" W

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Imagine nonchalantly driving along a familiar highway at 110 km/h with a friend calmly seated in the passenger seat, perhaps with a nice tune playing on the stereo. Suddenly the back door of your vehicle is wrenched open and two black-clad, helmeted dudes jump in ...  while you are travelling at full speed. W. T. F. Not your standard hitchhikers. The sailing equivalent of this happened to us.  Read on. We left Yealm under beautiful conditions.  The wind wasn't in a perfect direction and required us to do some tacking but we were happily cruising along south-west towards Falmouth at six knots (12km/hr).  The forecast was for the wind to stay north-west and gradually become more westerly later in the afternoon and bring with it rain. We figured we would motor the last hour or so if the wind was against us. Glorious sailing - sunshine and even vaguely warm! We tacked a couple of times but the wind kept moving, from north-west to west and then south-...