Welcome Aboard! •
Welkom Aan Boord! •
¡Bienvenido Abordo!
Whether through the fault of man or because of natural changes in the climate, the Spanish region of Murcia has for hundreds of years been an arid one. Some say that anciently this was a lush, forested place but that Bronze Age man felled the trees to make way for his own choice of vegetation. This led to a decrease in rainfall. Regardless of whether he was to blame, having entered upon the scene and set up camp, man had…
What do you picture when you think of Spain? Sunshine sparkling on a blue sea. Sandy beaches fringed by a never-ending border of hideous apartment blocks. Red wine; orange groves; bull rings; flamenco dancers… If you have visited the interior you will also picture villages nestling on rocky outcrops, and mountain ranges fading into the blue. If you have come here for the skiing you might picture crisp white slopes – or, then again, you might picture brown ones, on…
The year before last, Caesar and Xoë learnt to dive. And ever since then I have wanted to learn too. At the time when my brother and sister learnt to dive, I was only eight. Xoë and Caesar were 14 and 16. They each did several training dives and then they did an exam. They both passed with 100%. Then they were both proper, qualified Open Water Divers and had to be brought all sorts of expensive kit such as…
WHY TEST YOUR LIFEJACKET ? The majority of yachtsmen never, ever use their lifejackets. They may wear them on deck but most are careful enough – or lucky enough – never to fall in, and most are blasé enough – or careless enough – never to get round to trying them out in the water. This makes no sense. How many times have you bought something – a camera, perhaps, or a tool, or a cooking utensil – and found…
When she finished the last instalment of her GCSE exams in June 2007, Xoë was almost in tears. She couldn’t wait for us to sort out the materials for the next lap of her education – her A levels.
Antifoul has always been a hot topic aboard Mollymawk. We have always been troubled by the knowledge that conventional antifouling paints are expensive, highly toxic and, to a large extent, ineffective. Eight years have passed since we last slipped the boat and slapped on a coat of something nasty. In the intervening years we have kept a listening watch, hoping to hear of some new discovery which will solve our worries. Surely, there must be something which is bad for…
Today the ship’s dog finally took the plunge. All summer long she has been making a nuisance of herself, barking madly and snapping at the heels of anyone who jumps or dives from the side-deck – so we decided that it was high time she joined in the fun.
It’s been many weeks now since any rain fell on Isla Perdiguera and, from a distance, the island looks as if it is dying. Get a little closer and you find that it is actually just coming to life. In the tenth part of her report the Ship’s Naturalist tells us about some of the other creatures which live here alongside the yellow-legged gulls.
In which we bid adios to one of the leading actors.
Time is rushing by, summer is here at long last, and the nests on Isla Perdiguera are falling into disrepair. The one time tenants of those feather lined hollows are now taking to the air, but all is not entirely well on the desert island paradise. Roxanne’s latest report commences where the last left off, in early June.