London Town Part 2

 

Fish and Chips at our local Pub

The famous Beatles cross walk (zebra cross walk) picture!

    

Dancers in Gosport

Even more dancers, we think, in Gosport

A nice water cannon salute to a passing cruise ship

Savannah Sky from atop her 65 foot mast

The Solent, a world famous sailing area outside Portsmouth/Gosport and the Isle of Wight.  The green ship is a former Light Ship, just adjacent to Savannah Sky.  I was at the top of the mast taking this picture.

King George III statue in Weymouth

Another King's sand statue in Weymouth; Newly crowned King Charlies III

Weymouth Beach, UK.  The sun was out but the temperature was still 68 degrees F (20C) for the high.

 

S/Y Savannah Sky – July 30, 2023 – Log #9

Savannah Sky Position: 50 degrees 47’ N, 001 degrees 06’ W

Gosport, England

 

London Town Part 2

 

Why did we walk over 60 miles in London, seeing all these sites, when there is the London Tube and local busses to take you away?

 

Well, underground Tube workers were on strike one day and buses were overly crowded for our taste.  Oh well, we’re sailors so why not just enjoy hiking around London town?

 

Abbey Road was so much fun to finally see. 

 

Ah yes, the famous Beatles cross walk where we braved traffic to have a picture taken was a highlight of another walk.

 

There are probably a lot fewer people from our generation alive when the Beatles recorded at Abbey Road Studios, but still, what a great place to see in person.

 

Then there was the Royal Palace with the new King somewhere inside, The Temple Church that the Templars built, Tower of London, River Thames, Big Ben, Admiral Nelson’s column and Westminster Abbey were just a few of the spectacular highlights we visited.

 

Taking the 2-hour train to London, instead of sailing Savannah Sky up the Thames River, relieved us from a LOT of stress, ha ha.

 

We also toured around southwest England with stops at the seaside town of Weymouth and also grocery shopping at Costco, of all places. 

 

Yes, the same Costco that we have back home but with UK brands of food, instead of US brands.  At least the labels are in English here!

 

London Town

Big Ben!

Sir Oliver Cromwell’s statue at Parliament

One of Cromwell’s symbolic Lions at the base of his statue

The original Palace inside Parliament showing where King Charles I was tried and convicted.

The gold cross marks the exact spot where Cromwell’s mace stood as he pounded it on the floor, proclaiming the end of the monarchy and a sentence of death for King Charles I.

Cromwell’s bust and coat of arms outside the House of Commons, where no King nor Queen is permitted to enter.

Westminster Abbey, home to so many historic tombs.

This is a good one - Cromwell’s plaque at Westminster Abbey where he was buried for 3 years before he was dug up and kicked out of Westminster Abbey with his head hung on a spike for all to see.

London Bridge

 S/Y Savannah Sky – July 28, 2023 – Log #8

Savannah Sky Position: 50 degrees 47’ N, 001 degrees 06’ W

Gosport, England

 

London Town

 

What an experience we had, visiting historic and modern London.

Staying at the Royal Thames Yacht Club was a treat for us.  Only members of this exclusive yacht club are allowed to stay in one of the “cabins”.

 

Luckily, because we have reciprocal privileges with our membership in the Ocean Cruising Club, we were allowed to stay there.

 

Outside our cabin window lay Hyde Park, with the clippity clap of Royal Horses each morning as the beasts paraded by.

 

We were really shocked at the residences surrounding the Yacht Club and on Hyde Park.

 

I should have read more since we discovered that real-estate around the yacht club is the most expensive on the planet. 

 

£160 million pounds for an apartment, is on the low end of the scale.  Really, and those were 2018 prices.

 

The London press calls this area just another one of the Gulf States.  Gulf, as in Middle East Gulf.

 

Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, Bentleys Maseratis and so many supercars line the streets, not even in a protected garage.  Geeze.

 

English is not the first language here, as Arabic is the only spoken language everywhere, while robes and burkas flow with the breeze.

 

Tourist sites around London Town were amazing.

 

We walked just over 60 miles, in 4 days.

 

But first…

 

The absolute BEST place we visited in London was British Parliament.

 

Parliament???

 

Why would we ever want to visit such a political place, since politics is very alien for us and not anything we care about.

 

Well…  There was one huge reason:

Steve’s great great great, etc. grandfather was Oliver Cromwell.

 

Sir Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.

 

Sir Oliver, the person who abolished the British monarchy with the trial and beheading of King Charles I, a few years back in 1649.

 

Oh my!

 

Sir Oliver’s statue is in the locked and guarded House of Parliament, of all places.

 

We really just wanted a picture of his statue that was behind the heavily guarded area of Parliament.

 

Well, if you know Maria, you might guess what she was up to.

 

Maria walked around the metal barriers and up to the heavily armed security guards at the fortified gate and explained I was the great great great etc. Grandson of Sir Oliver Cromwell.

 

Well, Maria created a huge stir and suddenly we were whisked away and assigned to a private guide.  It seems Sir Oliver is very respected among certain British politicians and the military.

 

Our guide led us inside both houses of Parliament and outside the Prime Minster's office. 

 

We were 20 feet away from the PM behind his door. 

 

The exquisite bust of Sir Oliver sat on a pedestal nearby, prominently outside the House of Commons. 

 

No pictures are allowed but we were special so the guards purposely turned their backs to us. 😊 

 

All the guards and private guides we met kept saying how much I looked like Sir Oliver!  I felt like such a celebrity, ha ha.

 

After about an hour of walking among the inner chambers of Parliament, House of Commons, House of Lords, Prime Minister’s office, where the King sits, and where King Charles I was tried along with the exact spot where Sir Oliver placed his Mace, proclaiming the monarchy was dead. 

 

We left the Palace/Parliament building and back into brilliant sunshine amongst crowds of tourists.

And Steve is very happy to still have his head.

Steve and Maria

PS - More pictures can be found at:  https://sysavannah.blogspot.com/

1.     You can follow Savannah Sky’s route here, once we leave the dock: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SY_SavannahSky/

2.     Or here: https://share.garmin.com/SYSavannahSky

 

 

 

 

Touring Like a Tourist in England

 

You don't have to walk to the "Stones".  You can ride a bus but that takes the fun out of an adventure, ha ha.

Stonehenge!

Early morning, before more hordes of tourists arrive

 S/Y Savannah Sky – July 12, 2023 – Log #7

Savannah Sky Position: 50 degrees 47’ N, 001 degrees 06’ W

Gosport, England

 

Touring Like a Tourist in England

 

We tend to stay quite a while in places, after arriving on our sailboat.  So, we don’t think of ourselves as true tourists.  But of course, we are tourists, ha ha.

 

What better place to visit right away in England than Stonehenge?  That massive prehistoric monument erected in the English countryside around 3100 BC. 

 

Stonehenge is a magical place, full of lore and theories about why it was built.  It was great to hike a mile and a half and finally visit a place so famous with hordes of tourists from around the world.

 

Driving, on our self-guided tour around England, has been interesting.  Maria has other words for it instead of interesting, as she sat in the passenger seat watching Steve shift gears with his wrong hand, drive on the incorrect side of the road and negotiate intricate roundabouts that were everywhere, or so it seemed.

 

What is the speed limit on these roads, Steve kept asking? 

 

The British don’t post speed limit signs anywhere that we could see so we just keep up with traffic, slowing down for numerous speed photo enforcement encounters scattered in the bush alongside roads.

 

Yet the drivers in England seem so pleasant and friendly, honking their horns constantly in recognition of Steve’s wonderful driving technique.  Hmmm, maybe their gestures and horns actually mean something different?  Na, couldn’t be.

 

The adventure in England continues…

Jolly Old England

 

 

Locking through in Holland.  Hope Maria can hold Savannah Sky!

Typical sailing boat holding the wind up with a sail, traversing the inland waterways in Holland

Brrrr, a bit chilly sailing in the North Sea

Bashing to windward in North Sea waters, headed for the English Channel

Breskens, Netherlands with some colorful creature to greet Maria

Our first sight of land as the fog lifted, crossing the English Channel - the White Cliffs of Dover

Roman castle at the head of Portsmouth Harbour

You can see Savannah Sky, way way in the distance, but also far away from the Isle of Wight too

At the Golden Lion Pub

Ah, pub life is very entertaining at the Golden Lion Pub where Eisenhower, Montgomery, Churchill and so many other famous people strategized for D-Day.

Chris, the OCC Port Officer, showing Maria the view of Portsmouth Harbour

There can be a few days of warmer weather for sailing in Holland, sometimes...

This is where D-Day was born, over a pint or two, during WWII

S/Y Savannah Sky – July 3, 2023 – Log #6

Savannah Sky Position: 50 degrees 47’ N, 001 degrees 06’ W

Gosport, England

 

Jolly Old England

 

Before sailing out into the North Sea, we had to negotiate two locks and two bridges in the Netherlands.  Remember, the Netherlands is below sea level so they have lots of locks to keep the ocean out, and not let it in.

 

Once in Breskens, Netherlands, on the doorstep to the North Sea, we cleared customs and Immigration before leaving our safe harbour in the dark hours of the morning at 2 am.  Geeze.

 

Sailing just over 200 nm across the famous English Channel from the Netherlands in 27 hours was exciting to say the least.

 

As you might imagine, massive ships were everywhere, day and night. 

 

There are traffic separation zones to keep big ships from colliding with one another.  Little sailboats like us take our best guess as to what route we should follow to be safe.

 

Savannah Sky kept outside the normal channels in shallow water, where big ships aren’t supposed to be.  Yea right.

 

Darkness is when things get a bit dicey: lack of sleep and heavy winds with strong contrary currents and uncomfortable seas pummeling Savannah Sky kept Maria and I entertained and awake the whole time.

 

Luckily the sun rises around 4:30 am in this part of the world so we had enough light to enter into the main channel going up to Southampton, England after battling the sea.

 

The enormous cruise ship Britannia, appeared at our stern, just as we made the turn toward Gosport, England and our intended marina.  Woa!

 

Britannia, whose length is measured in nautical miles, lit up the new dawn like a fireball, and managed to avoid running over Savannah Sky as she headed for her home berth at Southampton.

 

We are getting settled in now in this nice marina while still fixing things, which seem easier here since they speak a variation of English, ha ha.

 

Also, the Port Officer for the Ocean Cruising Club, which we are a member, stopped by Savannah Sky and offered to show us some sights, along with searching for boat parts of course. 

 

Chris even gave us a tour of the countryside and we visited a great pub called the Golden Lion where my Dad, during WWII, drove a passenger named Eisenhower to meet with some local friends named Montgomery and Churchill quite a lot!

We had no idea about the pub’s history and thrilled to trace my Dad’s involvement in the war.

 

Wow, that was so nice of Chris to ferry us around.

 

We can’t wait to see so much more of England!

 

Steve and Maria

PS - More pictures can be found at:  https://sysavannah.blogspot.com/

1.     You can follow Savannah Sky’s route here, once we leave the dock: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SY_SavannahSky/

2.     Or here: https://share.garmin.com/SYSavannahSky

Back to Holland and a Christening

Concert at Sea, Ouddorp, Netherlands.  !50,000 people having a good time!

Thousands of bicycles at the concert.

Maria wondering how anyone finds their bike in all this?

Taking the old name off

Another cold and foggy day off the North Sea

Quick, the sun came out and the name is going on!

Ah, Savannah Sky!!!

 

S/Y Savannah Sky – July 2, 2023 – Log #5

Savannah Sky Position: 51 degrees 45’ N, 003 degrees 51’ E

Port Zélande, Ouddorp, Netherlands (Holland)

 

Back to Holland and a Christening

 We arrived back to the Netherlands where bicycles, walkers and dogs are top priority.  Runners, not so much, but at least there are bike paths everywhere, as long as I avoid speeding bikes.

 We drove over 6,000 kilometers (just under 4,000 miles) and visited four countries in 17 days in our rental car.

 Luckily we only had to use Euro money and not worry about converting to any other currency.

 Also, there are no longer political borders in EU Land, so that was pleasant too as we sped through.

 Toll roads are common though, and they are super expensive.  One, 80-mile stretch cost us $60!  Luckily our digital credit card was accepted at the automated toll booths.

 It is good to be back onboard Savannah Sky since the weather in Holland has warmed up now.

 There was a massive 4-day “Concert at Sea” at the end of our marina this past weekend. 

 Over 120,000 party people came to camp for the weekend, while listening to music.

 Roads were impassable so we just hang out on the boat.  Who would have thought?!?

 Now it is time to get serious and prepare Savannah Sky to leave the Netherlands.

 It’s not always sunny in the Netherlands, ha ha.

 When the fog burned away and temperatures warmed up, we christened Savannah Sky!

 First, we had to unchristen the boat with the old name by obliterating absolutely everything containing the old name.

 Then champagne is shared with Neptune as we ask the mighty ruler to purge the old name from the sea, while a metal tag containing the old name is thrown into the water where we watched it sink immediately (that is good luck).

 Next, we opened another bottle of champagne and generously shared and toasted the mighty and great ruler Neptune, along with sharing toasts to the four winds: Great Boreas, Great Zephyrus, Great Eurus and finally Great Notus.

 Savannah Sky is ready to sail!