All men dream, but not equally.
Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds,
wake in the day to find that it was vanity.
But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men,
for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.
- T.E. Lawrence -

May 2007

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always on your back
May the sunshine warm upon your face
And may the rains fall softly on your fields
Until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand


tamara

The next stage of the final refit before the departure is underway, although the boat remains in the water until 4th April, when we've got her booked into the shed so we can remove the windows again and re- seal them.

tamara in the yard 2004 Tamara in the yard 2004

All qualifications are now complete Targets are:- Complete all inboard works by mid March Lift out 4th April Complete all works below the water line by 1st May Re-float and sea trials, set off for France as soon as the weather permits.

I need to say a very big thanks thanks to Linda and Andy who themselves are heading off this year to do some extended cruising, for their help with my ICC qualification and the night sailing experience. Also a very big thank you to Everyone at TDR especially Bill and Steve, who were very supportive and understanding when the time came to leave.

Navigation planning is well advanced and only the final tidal vectors to be added for when we actually sail. The plan has changed again, now it's weather permitting we will leave Blyth and sail straight to Calais. This will take about 36 hours, once there we will unstep the mast and spend the next two month taking Tamara down to the MED through the French canals, where we'll catch up with the mast. Once down in the Med, restep the mast and off toward Italy calling in at Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily, and then the Greek islands for the remainder of the summer. The plan is to lift out in Turkey for the winter. We will fly home for four or five weeks over Christmas to see the family and catch up with friends. So if you fancy a drink drop either of us an e-mail from the home page, or text us and we'll pick it up when in-reach of a signal.

The mast was removed late December to have the standing rigging replaced. april lift out April lift out
Tamara is to be lifted out on the 3rd of April, we have the use of Safaris trailer for a couple of weeks to allow us into the big shed to complete the repairs,

April the 3rd arrived, the weather wasn't the best, a North East F3, overcast very cold and showers. With Pinto and Safari booked to lift in and Tamara to lift out. With the mast previously removed it was a straight forward lift, tamara in the slingstaking about twenty minutes from entering the dock to setting her on the trailer and securing her. A big thanks to Tony, Pete, Alive and Paul for their help on the day.

clean hull

Her hull is very clean considering she's been in the water two year
Tamara was moved into the big shed so work can begin on the hull and get her ready for the trip, first week in May. We left the yard at 1800 hrs freezing cold.

April 18th

My final day at work and it wasn't what I had envisaged. Everyone at TDR had been absolutely wonderful. Steve, Helen, Dazza and Steve G the business solutions team along with Sue and Chezz took me for lunch, We had a good laugh then returned to the office to complete the hand over and final goodbyes to all at TDR. Thanks guys the tankard will be featured later!

0512 tynemouth
Sunrise Tynemouth April 19th

April 19th

The start of a brand new day, and a new part of our lives. So I was up at 0400 hrs and took a drive along to Tynemouth to watch he sun come up. Normally before we leave the North East I'll always take a trip to see the Tyne bridge, I don't know if I'll get time this trip. The rest of the day was spent ordering/collecting spares and consumables for the engine.

April 24th

Times galloping on and as May 1st draws ever near, we still don't have the windows refitted, sails haven't arrived but I did get time to get along the river and see the bridge. Stern gland has been rebuilt, all the jobs we are responsible for have been complete, we are at the mercy of others, unfortunately. The final passage plan has been agreed and it will be Blyth-Scarborough-Lowestoft-Dover-Calais, all waypoints will be transferred to the charts tonight and loaded into the electronic navigation equipment and double checked. The final time and date still haven't been set this will only be done days or hours before we sail, s it's our intentions to say our goodbyes to friends and family this weekend.

tyne bridge
Tyne Bridge 24/04/2005

May 2nd

Finally nearly one week late, Tamara is ready to return to the water, all the work is now complete, despite still having leaky windows that will have to be fixed on the water. All top sides and deck had been cut and polished, below the water line had to be rubbed down by hand using scotch pads as when we lifted her it was freezing so I didn't wash the bottom off. stepping mast

The mast was reassembled, electronics replaced and connections checked, one or two minor problems cropped up, one of the rigging screws seized solid and had to be replaced, we found during stepping the mast that the rigging screw for the inner forestay didn't fit the chain plate, a quick trip to the chandlers and tweaking with various items got the problem sorted, but not before the chain plate had to be reamed to accept the cotter pin. Once happy with the mast secured, the boat was dropped back into the water, a quick inspection for leaks on the stern gland, raw water strainer and keel bolts, all items that had been worked on. Mast head equipment had to be installed this was eased wit the use of a climbing harness and the jib arm. Once happy the strops were lowered and we moved of to the moorings for the final clean and provisioning for the trip. The electronics need to be check and realigned but no major problems.

afloat again
headgear