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Three months on from the last newsletter, the fabulous sunny Summer weather has continued unabated, breaking all records for the hottest July and September. We have been away several times, returning twice to Spain, making several trips down to the South coast, ( looking for a cooling sea breeze!) travelling up to Cumbria, and over to Sweden for a few days in Stockholm.
As usual we dined at Harry's rustic finca 'Las Ruinas' in The Lleus valley most evenings, the first G & T of the day most welcome after a sweltering day under the sun. There's the place in the last two photos above.
That's Puerto De Moraira , above left, where we moored our boat, and lived on the cliff across the bay, during the late 1980's and 1990's.It's all just as blue as ever! Top right, I'm at the top of the quaint old town of Altea where the market square comes alive each night as the bars fill up and the traders set up their stalls. Above, Dennis is outside the hotel as we leave once again for Harry's, where he's sitting, above right, in anticipation of his gin and tonic again! Back home in England, the heat of July was unrelenting and one day, desperate to get down to the sea and escape the inland heat, we drove down to Dorset and had a great day on the beach across from Sandbanks, where, I must admit, the murky brown water wasn't quite as inviting as the azure blue Med, but refreshing all the same! We finished off the day in a waterfront restaurant on Poole Quay, overlooking the new Sunseeker factory across the harbour where the brand new dream machines awaited their new owners.
Well, the only Poole photo is the top left, across from Sunseeker's boatyard, with what looks like a Manhattan 50 lined up besides an 82' yacht, and the new Predator 62 to the right. The others were taken up in The Lakes where Dennis and I joined my sister, her husband John and Mum for a few days, staying at Rampsbeck House, on Ullswater. Rampsbeck is a lovely Victorian mansion surrounded by mature colourful gardens on the water's edge, next to Ullswater marina where we rented one of their small dayboats for a leisurely trip around the lake. Under the power of a 5 h.p. outboard progress was sedate, but at least within the legal 5 m.p.h. speed limit! During our three days there we stayed within the vicinity of the N.E. Lakes, managing to get in a walk around the base of Hallin Fell, seeing the Aira Force, a famous waterfall flowing down the valley from Matterdale to the lake, and even taking a look around some new chalets for sale on the shores of Derwentwater. Well, no trip up to Cumbria is complete without a spot of househunting!
Well, the weather all looks glorious so far, but in fact the eight photos above were all taken on the first day, after which a spot of rain came in, Cumbrian style, which no doubt is the very reason they have such beautiful green countryside and fast flowing rivers!
A week later we spent a super day with friends down in Poole, when we took a jaunt across Poole harbour and up the River Frome in their fast R.I.B. to moor up alongside the gardens of a lovely hotel and restaurant in Wareham called The Priory. With the hot Summer sun returning, it was a really pleasant way to pass a Sunday; with great company, good food and wine, in a lovely part of the country, and on the water too! I think Poole harbour is the second largest natural inland harbour in the world, behind Sydney. Being tidal, we managed to get up-river to our lunch appointment before becoming grounded on the mud banks, exposed at low tide. A protected bird sanctuary, the wild vegetation growing on the mud flats bordering the river are a haven for wildlife, and the river banks were also ideal as protected moorings for resident boats.
Only two hours form home, we realised that Poole Harbour could be an ideal English base for a spot of boating with it's comprehensive facilities and boatyards, which started us thinking about acquiring something towable behind a pickup (yet to get!) and this reminded us of all the fun we used to have with the Mastercraft ski boat when we were permitted to ski on Lake Windermere back in the 1980's. By coincidence, the Mastercraft agent has since opened in Poole where waterskiing is a popular sport thanks to the designated ski zone within the harbour. Helped by the long hot Summer, the idea of a manageable sized boat seemed a good one, and so we contacted them to 'talk boats', and made a return trip there a couple of weeks later with our neighbour's son, Louis, who we also introduced to Sunseeker, courtesy of a full tour of their factory facilities in three locations around Poole. We first visited Sunseeker's factory almost 20 years ago when their 36 ft Rapallo was their flagship. This August we glimpsed their latest 'ship', a massive ocean going 37 metre triple decked yacht priced at a cool £8-10 million! How they've advanced! With an impressive high tech design centre where all future models materialise on the drawing board and many of the internal fixtures and fittings are manufactured, in addition to the original waterfront plant, they now have the new works opposite Poole Quay (which I photographed earlier in this newsletter), with the lifting facilities and industrial units large enough to house the 100ft plus range of boats that they just can't build enough of, due to unrelenting public worldwide demand! It has all been a fantastic success story for the company and the three of us very much appreciated the accompanied tour of their facilities. We met up once again with everyone at Sunseeker a few weeks later at the annual Southampton Boat Show (a couple of photos to insert further on) and with three new models on display to complement the full range at the show, our appetites were again whetted to get back on the water in style!
The picture above left shows one of the deeper locks besides an old Lock keeper's cottage, which even now is land-locked and can only be accessed by the canal. We stopped there to buy an ice cream and the owners told us it's fun (or not as the case may be) when they order a new washing machine of piece if furniture which has to of course be delivered by boat! The following week we returned yet again to Spain for more of what we had in July, namely five lazy days on the beach, in the sea, and great evening meals out, staying , as usual, at The Altea Hills hotel. With the sun still burning on the sea, we passed many hours each day snorkelling along the Costa Blanca coast observing the marine life (also a great way to tan your back!) As usual, Harry fed us most nights at 'Las Ruinas' and we also tried an old haunt since under new management called 'Casa Del Maco' one evening. Having inherited a chef from one of Spain's finest restaurants, the Girasol (now closed) the food there was very impressive and the old rustic finca has been sympathetically renovated, creating a rustic but chic ambience to dine on the open terrace under the stars. The photo bottom left shows the dining area poolside.
By now you know what Dennis is waiting for in those two photos above! Yes it's the first gin & tonic of the day, 'a la Harry', which means it's served in a large half pint glass with plenty of ice and lemon, with just enough room for the tonic! Mind you, I'm not sure what the big blue rubber ring of Harry's is doing on the chair beside him, but at least it's helping to continue the nautical theme of this newsletter, which reminds me that we managed to get through the whole holiday without puncturing our li-lo's this time around. Whilst I passed away many an hour in the sea with snorkel, Dennis was happy to float about on his pink plastic inflatable sunbed. Back home, and time once again for The Southampton Boat Show, we got down early on the Press preview day, meeting up with a group of friends, passing most of the time with the staff of Sunseeker on their stand. All boating enthusiasts, it made for a very interesting day out, being able to compare the massive variety of boats on display. All manufacturers have since reported record sales. The following weekend we travelled up North to my sister's for her daughter, Rachel's 18th birthday; not the 'official' party, (we're all too old for that!) but a smaller family gathering. Here she is below, looking radiant, and with brothers Marc and Ben bottom right. Bottom left shows the Sunseeker line up of Superhawk 43, Portofino 53, Predator 62 and Predator 82, collectively already sold for a combined £4 million.(delivery extra!)
Our final trip of the Summer to date saw us in Stockholm, Sweden, in my case for the first time, but more a trip down 'memory lane' for Dennis who used to travel over regularly on business, but not returning for over 40 years. Often referred to as the 'Venice of the North' because of the group of islands upon which Stockholm is located, for many it's the home of Volvo, Abba, and more recently Sven Goran Eriksson. Well, we saw plenty of Volvo's, every taxi being an estate version, and I swear I saw Agnetha from Abba rinsing out her white lycra suit in The Baltic from the shore of her private island in the archipelago there! Meanwhile Sven stayed low and out of site of the English press, perhaps still preferring to load his dishwasher in preference to attending the needs of his latest girlfriend! We were once again blessed with glorious weather throughout our stay. Already late September yet with temperatures in the high 70's, it was unusually mild and over the weekend the locals were out in force on their boats, cruising the endless waterways that connect this archipelago of no less than 24,000 islands, stretching out towards the open Baltic Sea. The city itself covers a dozen large islands, linked by bridges, and with so many tiny islands continually dotted out towards the coast, boats are a natural means of transport. Enjoying lovely long Summer evenings due to it's Northern latitude, many Swedes have timber built Summer houses on their own private islands, complete with jetty and of course a boat or two to get around in. The sheer abundance of these islands, some barely an acre, and all clad with trees, makes it easy to acquire your very own private retreat on which to build a home. The larger islands have become popular tourist destinations and also serve to supply neighbouring residents with their daily essentials. Two days in to our holiday there we took a cruise around the archipelago on an old 1930's steamer along the tranquil waterways. The first set of photos were taken from the balcony of our hotel, The Grand, on the waterfront but in the city centre opposite the Old Town, itself an island across the water.
On booking the hotel I phoned to reserve a table in the restaurant for the first evening and I was told that this weekend was their famous annual seafood buffet event, and had been fully booked for a while. Luckily they managed to fit us in for what was a really super meal, the choice of different fish dishes just so comprehensive and interesting to taste. Dennis couldn't be persuaded away from his soup and steak, however! The following morning's breakfast buffet was almost as interesting; they certainly like their fish up there, I suppose it's natural, living so near to the sea, and so I tucked in to a large plate of mackerel, cod and smoked salmon for starters! We asked the Concierge to reserve a table the following night at a famous 'Relais Gourmand' rated restaurant within the beautiful opera house next door, but being full, he secured a table out of town at arguably Sweden's finest restaurant, The 'Edsbacker Krog', also 'Relais Gourmand' and featured in the 'Grand Tables Du Monde' guide. It was quite a taxi ride out in to the country, almost all the way back to the airport at Arlanda, but proved to be a worthwhile trip. We were glad to have made the effort to dress in jacket and tie for this beautiful restaurant within an old traditional house dating back to 1626, formerly used as an Inn and staging post for the fishermen who met up from the East and West coasts to trade and do business.
These photos give you an idea of the 'island lifestyle' with the owner of the boat above left no doubt out off to pick up the daily bread and a pint of milk from nearby supplies island of Vauxholm! Dennis remembers being in Stockholm 45 years ago when marine salvagers were raising the 'Vassa' warship from the harbour bed. Like Henry VIII's 'Mary Rose', the Swedish 'Vassa' sank on her maiden voyage three centuries ago, no doubt also over laden and top heavy as a gust of wind filled her sails and promptly rolled her over! All that hard work gone to waste! On our final morning we visited the museum purposely built to house the warship which had been perfectly preserved in the semi sweet brackish water of the harbour. The detail of woodwork and carvings on the intricate galleon's stern was amazing, and the whole experience was enhanced by the imaginatively designed museum, creating the perfect atmosphere for enjoying the 'Vassa's' historic story from construction to capsizing! Modern technology had helped to even recreate the crew on board from their skeletons discovered in the hold, and an interesting computerised feature had us designing our own galleon and subsequently setting out in a stormy sea to test how far we got before coming to a similar fate. (I found the secret was to put all the heavy cargo deep down in the hold, not open too many of the sails, and stay in port if the sea blew up beyond a force 6!)
That's the boat above on which we cruised the islands most of our Sunday there, thankfully a lot more stable than the 'Vassa'! The final shot was taken form our bedroom at The Grand as a hot air balloon passed above the city on a calm early Autumn evening. As I said at the start, this newsletter was going to have a common theme of boats, which has turned out to be the case. With the darker nights drawing in and Winter just around the corner, already we are thinking about getting away again to warmer climes, and before the year is out we hope to get down to South Africa where we plan to tour along the southern coastline from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, following the famous scenic garden route, ending the holiday on a private game reserve in the Kruger National Park. The internet has helped to familiarise us with the area and the wealth of wonderful 'Relais & Chateaux' hotels en-route, which we hope to sample, and so sometime early in 2007 we should hopefully have lots of interesting stories to relay. For now I'll sign off for the last time this year, and so Dennis and I will take this rather premature opportunity to wish everyone a super Christmas and Happy New Year. Best wishes, Colin & Dennis. |
