Nope, I’ve never heard of one either. But as we left Teignmouth and set sail for Dartmouth in thick fog we saw a white rainbow or fogbow, which is an atmospheric optics phenomenon. Great to see, although I’d prefer some sunshine and visibility! I’m glad we bought that fog horn (which somewhat deafened us when we tried it in the shop to much hilarity – thanks Matt), now where have we packed it?!

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It was wonderful to have some family time with the Devon crew, whilst we also sorted some repairs. Adam and Sarah’s hospitality was amazing as the washing machine, showers, baths took the full brunt of the Hall’s arriving. We were also spoilt with amazing home cooked scrumptious meals, it was going to be very hard to leave Teignmouth! We were taken for a gorgeous walk on the moors where the boys loved scrambling on the rocks with their cousins Wilf and Stan. Huge thanks to Adam for cooking bacon sarnies on the moors too, amazing.

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Yes as the title suggests, it’s not all been plain sailing. The front hatch leaks, and the batteries are running flat too quickly, and the heating (yes we do have some!) is making strange noises. But Russell is sorting it all, and it’s all in hand. Never an idle moment on a boat!

It was an early start to get round Portland Bill (notorious for the English channel’s roughest water) at slack tide. All crew fully prepared today with seasick tablets and warm clothes, as we headed into a Force 6 to do a passage of 50nm. We made cracking time, with speeds up to 9.4kts and arrived much to my sister Sarah’s surprise 4 hours early!!

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Well done to all the crew, fabulous work, thank you.

We’ve spent a great few days in Studland Bay and into Poole where we’ve collected family (Adam and my nephew Stan) for the next leg to Teignmouth, Devon.

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The new crew get settled as we set sail for Portland, a 30nm sail into the wind and against the tide. Seasickness did get to the children unfortunately with the choppy seas and it was a welcome relief to arrive into Portland harbour.

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We’ve had a lovely sail today, managed 18 miles to Studland Bay outside Poole Harbour. Apart from minor bruises from our knees and heads getting used to stepping over and under things we are all doing well. Off to explore the headland tomorrow and later to Brownsea Island.

Well it’s not not exactly the longest first sail (maybe 8 miles?), but we are slowly going to work up to our 4000 mile passage across the Pacific! Probably best to gently ease the boys into our new lives and for us to still tweak, adjust and get used to everything. What a gorgeous day for a gentle sail to our first “new island”. The boys loved finding the beach and playing.

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No words to express, but it was a sad and difficult farewell to family and friends today. Tears, hugs and excitement too. Huge thanks to Mac (Grandad) for everything, we couldn’t have have realised this dream without your help and support. Thank you to both Sue and Richard for driving down for the day and seeing us off, an emotional goodbye to all. Thanks for the champagne and treats for the boys, we will treat ourselves tonight.

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Thanks to Chloe for being our guest No.1 for the trip to the Isle of Wight. The boys were very excited. It’s a delight to have guests, and we have space, so we hope family and friends do join us on our trip, all welcome.

With 48 hours to go, the minor leak is all mended (thanks to Mac, saint Clive and saint Vincent) and we have been safely moved and lifted back into the water. Phew, all good, no more water in the engine room. Huge thanks to Paul for driving down for the day and helping to prepare for the lift and then putting on sails, pumping up the dingy and a variety of jobs easier with more adults than children! Much appreciated Paul.

It is always quite a nervous shock to see your boat being driven across a car park, but all beautifully done. How strong are those straps??? (How many books have I loaded aboard for Hugo…)

She’s safely moored up and I can continue loading her up, without a perilous ladder from the ground now. Nearly ready….

Not the best sentence to utter as we stare into the engine room less than two weeks before we set sail on our big adventure! No prizes for guessing the answer..

Then follows a slight panic to source a slot to get the yacht lifted and find someone to help diagnose and sort the problem, it’s now peak yacht lift/work time and everyone is flat out and there are no lifting slots available. It turns out the propeller (stern tube) seal has corroded and water is seeping in along the shaft. Solvable with time…

Not the sight I wanted to see! But huge massive thanks to everyone at Lymington for fitting in an extra yacht lift at short notice and for Clive/Vincent for your expertise in working out the issues and saving the day.

We hope to still be able to leave on 23rd May…fingers crossed! (Albeit technically the boat is on asphalt/concrete currently, not very conducive to sailing….)

It is great to have the engine fully working, huge thanks to everyone who has helped (Clive Rochfort you are a star), we even managed 3,200 revs. Wahooo! Time to go for a sail and check everything is working fine. All good so far.

Whilst playing in the dinghy we had our first man overboard instance! Felix slightly misjudged stepping out of the dingy to the pontoon and went for a surprise dip in Lymington river. I think mummy was the most panicked!