Grace Notes

This week's challenge for Team Grace has been having the Aged Parents on board! Having laid Kylan up in a yard in Preveza until next spring we were delighted to have the opportunity to be in Greece again and of course to see Sara and Philip. It has been a novel experience for us to be crew and the first time we've been on a boat other than Kylan for about 10 years - a fact that became obvious by the clumsy way we moved around. The last time we were in the Dodecanese was about 20 years ago, so it was interesting to see how things had changed. We have had great weather and marvellous sailing. We've very much enjoyed anchoring off and being in deserted bays. In Kylan we are always sailing with the dogs and so it becomes a priority to be on a quay. Good company and wonderful food with plenty of liquid refreshment and knowing the ultimate responsibility for the boat was not yours - all made for a very relaxing week. Thank you for having us! xxx

This week has surely seen Grace's most challanging guests as the Simpson family descended on the Agean. First instrucion for Archie (3) and Benji (8 months) was that the boat was not a playground on the sea (perhaps a grown ups playground), but this is difficult with lots to pull, turn and clamber over. Second lesson was that it was the sea, not a giant river. Third lesson was the bowline, thinking rabbits coming up holes round the tree and back down was a manageable concept for as toddler, but hey of course it was greeting with the obligatory why, why does it go round the tree and not climb up it. Final lesson was that not all large boats are pirate ships, although Archie does already posses a dislike for large stinky motor boats, who should "get off the sea" in his words. We really liked the Agean islands we visited - and Vathi on Kalimnos and Port Augusta on Arki stand out as beautiful fishing villages with dramatic backdrops of cliffs. Also some lovely peaceful bay...