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!

On to Spain!

 

Nice door in Barcelona, Spain

Mirrors Hotel in Barcelona.  Loved the elevator!

Street graffiti along my morning run in Barcelona

Maria at the Columbus statue in Barcelona, Spain with a photo bomber

Maria all alone at the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona.  This is the famous Gaudi designed church, still under construction!

Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família with typical tourist crowds in Barcelona, Spain

What a great thought, on a window in Barcelona

Cruise ships call into port at Barcelona too

Uncrowded street scene in the Gothic Quarter, Barcelona, Spain

The beach at Salou, Spain

What a great place to visit the beach, just an hour south of Barcelona

S/Y Savannah Sky – June 22, 2023 – Log #4

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

Port Zélande, Ouddorp, Netherlands (Holland)

 

On to Spain!

 

The Portuguese don’t really care for Spain, since they still carry a grudge from past wars with their powerful neighbor.  We were ready to see the changes from our last visit to Spain 10 years ago when we sailed there.

 

 Salou, Spain is a beach town that was fantastic.  There was a very long beach right on the Mediterranean Sea and oh so many reasonably priced restaurants, cafes and ice cream places.  Yes, we seem to still be eating our way through Euroland.

 

 Arriving in Barcelona was a shock with thousands of people crowding the wide avenues and side streets during day and night.

 

 But all is not well in Spain, as we experienced in Barcelona, our next stop on the Steve Is Still Alive Tour.

 Air conditioning in Spain essentially cannot be used.  The lower limit is 80 degrees, nothing colder!  And Heat cannot be set warmer than 66 degrees so shivering is common.

 

eat

This is due to a new Spanish Law because the energy grid cannot support people AND electric car charging.  Hmmm.

 

Oh my.  All across Europe, new laws are going into effect with similar changes.

 

 This will be interesting to watch once the heat of summer arrives, along with throngs of unhappy tourists.

 

 Then there was my morning run, at 5 am, when I thought people might still be sleeping.  Wrong!

 

 I stepped out the door of our hotel to the stench of human and dog urine, cigarette smoke, sewer stench, rotting trash and late night party people gathered everywhere as the sun came up.

 

 This was not my favorite way to enjoy a morning run. So much traffic and people sleeping everywhere were other obstacles to avoid along the way as well. Geeze.

 

 At least the restaurants are good and tasty, along with the best people watching ever!

 

Steve and Maria

Knights Templar and Lisbon, Portugal

 

Knights Castle at Almourol, Portugal

Knights Castle at Almourol, Portugal on the Tagus River

So many restaurants to choose from in Lisbon, Portugal

Fatima, Portugal

Maria standing where Fatima's three children were photographed in 1917

Kirsten Neuschäfer's sailboat.  She became the first outright and overall winner of a major solo sailing around the world race in 2023.  WOW!!!  Les Sables d’Olonne, France

Les Sables d’Olonne, France, home of the Vendee Globe

Les Sables d’Olonne, France and the finish line for the Vendee Globe around the world solo sailboat race

 

S/Y Savannah Sky – June 13, 2023 – Log #3

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

Port Zélande, Ouddorp, Netherlands (Holland)

 

Knights Templar and Lisbon, Portugal

 

Driving south and into normal traffic at Paris.  Wow, that is not for the faint hearted!

 

After nearly 2 hours, we fought our way out of the City of Light, thanks to our trusty GPS.  Paris is at the top of our cities to avoid driving through.  No wonder Steve’s hair has changed a much lighter shade of blond, ha ha.

 

Navigator Maria gets to point out what turns Steve has missed along the way.  “Take the fifth exit in the round about, and immediately leave the roundabout and turn left then right.”  Now what kind of directions does that voice/graphic display give us? 

 

There isn’t even a chance to look at our navigation screen with busses, trucks, cars, bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, pedestrians, baby strollers and dogs mere inches away and as we creep by.

 

Once out of Paris, thankfully, we saw the Golden Globe solo around the world winning sailboat at the dock in Les Sables d’Olonne, France. 

 

Of course the boat belongs to Kirsten Neuschäfer who became the first outright and overall winner of a major solo sailing around the world race in 2023.  WOW!!!

 

Then it was on through Spain and into Portugal where we visited Fatima and the Knights Templar castles.

 

Maria was thrilled to see one of the most important religious pilgrimage sites in the world: Fatima.

 

Steve was a tag-along on the Fatima experience but absolutely enthralled to see the legendary home of the Templar Knights.  The Templars have been popularized lately and taken on a different meaning than their actual history as the wealthiest and most popular religious military orders in Western Christianity.

 

Tales of the Holy Grail and Arc of the Covenant, popularized by Indiana Jones movies, are just that – Tales, and very far from the truth, as we found by visiting the home of the Templars outside Lisbon, Portugal.

 

Whatever the truth may be, it was really fun laying hands on history at both places.

 

Steve and Maria

Friends and Land Touring

Maria and Deb walking and shopping around Amsterdam

WWII German Bunkers in the Netherlands with Tim and Deb

Tim found his favorite place to rest - WWII Bunker latrine

Nice $200,000 race car just sitting in the marina parking lot

Lovely Amsterdam canals, with wind and cheese of course

Maria and Deb enjoying the cool but stunning beaches in the Netherlands.  No bikinis here yet!

Tim and Deb visiting Savannah Sky at Port Zelande Marina

Vincent van Gough museum in Amsterdam

My all-time favorite painter, Paul Gauguin, who painted with his imagination...

More Amsterdam canals with liveaboard boats lining the banks

Ah, this painting is very special to my heritage.  The sailboat in the middle of the picture is carrying Prince Charles II, who was exiled to Holland by my relative, Sir Oliver Cromwell.  Sir Oliver also lopped off the head of Charles I in England and abolished the monarchy, way back when.  The painting shows Charles II returning to England to bring royalty (a king and queen) back to England.  This historical voyage happened in 1660 and as we all know, there is still a king in England now.  Maria looks very impressed, ha ha.

Now this is a magnificent library in the Netherlands National Museum (Rijksmuseum)

I like the two people in mid-air, flying down the chute on a typical cold and blustery day in Holland

S/Y Savannah Sky – June 7, 2023 – Log #2

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

Port Zélande, Ouddorp, Netherlands (Holland)

 

Friends and Land Touring

 

Working day and well into the night on Savannah Sky has pretty much taken all of our time and effort lately.  Who would have thought a bigger boat needed so much TLC?  Ha ha.

 

Our friends from Colorado, Tim and Deb, came to visit us on Savannah Sky.

 

We entertained them by walking on long beaches, hiking to WWII German bunkers and watching windsurfing antics in the 58-degree weather kept us busy.

 

Driving around, Steve got a hidden camera speeding ticket for going 1.86 mph over the speed limit.  I guess they need the money in the Netherlands?

 

Yet in the parking lot at the marina, we see so many Porches, Mercedes and even a $200,000 race car just sitting around.  Kind of interesting in a socialist country with so much obvious wealth?

 

We also visited the windmills at Kinderdijk before heading up to multi-cultural Amsterdam.

 

In Amsterdam, bicycles outnumber cars yet we only saw one pedestrian vs. bike crash and resulting fist-fight because the bicyclist claimed the right of way over a walker. Wow!

 

Steve and Maria

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