 |
| Merry Christmas! |
Another Covid year has flown past and here we are, double-jabbed and boosted but still rather restricted on where we can go and what we can do.
We have however managed quite a big adventure. With the support of the Westerly Owners Association, who organised a drop-in, drop-off rally, and a number of wonderful crew, Sam and I sailed Kalessin from Lowestoft to Cornwall over six weeks in June and July, and back again rather more rapidly in September. You can read a lot more about our adventures elsewhere on this blog.
 |
| Sam on board in Fowey, with his nautical beard – now shaved off |
Sam and I spent 59 nights on board in 20 different ports (some visited twice): Lowestoft, Ramsholt, SYH, Ramsgate, Dover, Eastbourne, Brighton, Chichester Marina, Gosport, Buckler's Hard, Poole, Portland, Dartmouth, Salcombe, Plymouth, Fowey, Falmouth, Malpas, and then returning via Dartmouth, Portland, Cowes, Eastbourne and Ramsgate. We had seven different crew members and covered a total of 914 nautical miles. That feels like an achievement! Thank you so much to our crew David Jibb, Ben Brown and Anne Chiu, Lucilla Herrmann and Mark Edwards, Alex Hanford and David Gibbons and to all the wonderful organisers especially Gill Clare and Ian Bartlett.
We failed to go on a big-ship cruise with P&O in March but managed a tiny cruise with Princess in October. At the time it felt like an unsuccessful adventure: the admin and Covid testing for both of us was a pain, I forgot to book car parking in Southampton, we were only in the Netherlands for six hours and it poured with rain all the time, and the entertainment on board was really not very impressive. On the other hands we discovered the joy of JustPark (highly recommended), someone else did the washing up and made the beds for three days, and we finally got to the Mauritshuis in the Hague (we pass only 20 miles away every time we take a ferry to or from the Hook of Holland) and saw the Girl with a Pearl Earring and many wonderful Rembrandts.
 |
| Sam admires The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp |
Closer to home I have continued to run, with two virtual half marathons in spring and an actual real-life half marathon in Chelmsford in the autumn. To my utter astonishment I didn't come last, in spite of not really having done enough long runs in preparation. I was at school in Chelmsford more than 50 years ago and it has changed almost beyond all recognition, but I did get to run down the Great Baddow bypass, which was the first dual carriageway I ever drove on.
 |
| The official photo of Camilla crossing the Chelmsford HM finishing line |
I have been doing yoga, in person and on Zoom, for many years now, but didn't realise quite how important it was to me until I had a cataract op in November and was instructed not to bend down for four weeks. Downward-facing dog and the rest seemed like a bad idea, so I stopped doing yoga, and got gradually more and more miserable until I was able to restart classes with the lovely Maria. Possibly I am addicted to yoga, but that may not be a bad thing. The eye initially recovered well, then developed unexpected blurring due to inflammation of the cornea, which is taking a long time to settle down.
Sam's health is ok, considering, but Covid has not been kind to him although for much of the year he was able to do physio and conversation classes over Zoom. It's getting harder for him to walk more than a few yards and there are days when I don't understand anything he says. During winter he often sleeps away most of the morning and although he really enjoyed being on the boat, it wasn't exactly easy for either of us.
Our beautiful granddaughter, Ivy, has just celebrated her third birthday. Unfortunately Guy has not been living with Kai, Ivy's mother, for part of the year. We continue to hope that they will find the best solution for them. In the meantime Guy has been staying with us and we have seen much more of Ivy than ever before, so that's one good thing to come out of it. Guy is back with the National Trust in a more senior role, as boat supervisor on Orfordness.
 |
| Ivy with Grandma's ukulele. She got one of her own for her birthday |
 |
| Princess Ivy with an ivy crown, on her birthday |
 |
| Guy & Ivy |
Ben and Anne meanwhile have been settling into their house on the northern edge of Nottingham, and enjoying having an office each as both have been working from home for most of the year. (Ben is still making concrete pipes). Sam and I managed to squeeze in a short visit to them in August and admire all the work they have put in to making the house their own.
 |
| Ben's office |
 |
| Anne's office |
Ben also saved us twice on our Kalessin cruise by stepping in at short notice to fill in crew-less gaps – across the Thames estuary, which was fine, and with Anne, across Lyme Bay, which was not so much fun. Many thanks to both of them.
I'm continuing to work for the Cruising Association, with nothing very radical to report. Covid has reduced membership but Brexit has increased it, with so many members struggling to find the best way to continue to sail in the Med or Baltic.
Our biggest extravagance this year has been a plug-in hybrid car. It looks almost identical to our old Passat estate. I wish we could go full electric, but it's just not a practicable option for us, especially as I need to be able to get a wheelchair easily into the boot and Sam needs to be able to get in and out easily, which is not the case with an SUV with its wide sills. Currently there's only one all-electric estate car on the market, but hopefully there will be more in future.
 |
| Beloved boat and new car. SYH hauled Kalessin out of the water and then gave us the wrong location. It took two visits to find her! |
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you all, and whatever 2022 brings, may you be able to make the most of it.
