It was late and dark when I managed to run my little yacht hard onto an East Coast mud bank. It was suprisingly sticky mud and despite lots of rocking from side to side and the engine kicking up stink in reverse there was to be no shifting her. As there was a stiff breeze blowing us further onto the bank I decided to pump up the Avon and row out into deep water with my trusty kedge anchor. I use an aluminium Fortress Anchor with a long warp and it is a joy to handle. With the Fortress in...

Great News from the Twister - Pouncer! I got a bit worried when I heard that Charlotte may have to seek shelter from a gale to avoid entering Archangel before her visa had started but she decided to press on and instead of being reprimanded was given a rapturous reception and all the Russians were wonderfully helpful. She has been joined by Svarte and Hugo and should be well ensconced into the canal to St Petersburg. I am hoping we can twist her arm into giving us a Arthur Beale talk when...

On Thursday evening about fifty people turned up for our special evening presented by the Riddle of the Sands Adventure Club. Before we all watched the film, Tim and Lloyd served up some home made Edwardian grog to get us in the mood. They introduced us to the films fascinating history and showed us some dodgy tinned meats that may have been the kind of provisions on board the Dulicibella. One of the really lovely aspects to these Arthur Beale evenings are the delightful people who...

It will be a busy week as I am hoping to get away sailing on Friday and we are intending to change the Arthur Beale shop window on Tuesday plus we have the Riddle of the Sands Film evening on Thursday! In the meantime I still need to do some work on my yacht to get her ready for the sail. My surveyor gave the good ship a glowing report but did say that the deck planking is nearing the end of its life and that I should consider getting them replaced in a year or two. Water has got under a...

I got a fantastic text last night from Charlotte Wilkinson's satellite phone to say that she has safely rounded the North Cape of Norway in her Twister called Pouncer. Charlotte is heading for Archangel to clear Russian customs before sailing to Belamorsk and entering the Russian canal and lake system. If she doesn't get lost she will arrive in St Peterburg about three weeks later (the visa expires after a month!). Pouncer will then head for her home port of Umea...

If you are still thinking about going to the Beale Park Boat Show then that's tough because it is all over! Our stripey stand is all packed away and most of the goods have been put back in the wrong place at the shop. I know the show pretty well because we used to exhibit under the guise of Flints Marine but because of the kerfuffle with the take over of Arthur Beale's we decided to skip the show last year. Things have changed a bit while we were away.

On the plus side,...

Arthur Beale’s are now stocking Rocna and Fortress Anchors. Luckily our decision regarding anchor choice was very easy as all the hard research had been done a few years ago while planning a trip to the world’s most Northerly volcano on the remote Arctic Island of Jan Mayen. The island has no secure anchorage so one of the biggest dilemmas was how to leave the yacht and the anchor crew in safety whilst we climbed the mountain. The choice of anchor and chain would be crucial to the success...

If you have recently been to South Dock Marina in Rotherhithe then you would have had the opportunity to rest your eyes on this lovely Dallimore yacht. Blue Trout has been moored in the dock for many years but the brightwork is normally protected from the sun with lots of blue covers so it is a real treat when they all come off! She looks quite wonderful. The designer Norman E. Dallimore had a great eye for small...

Last night while all the politics was going on we were treated to a very special talk by Paul Heiney. In addition we decided to have our very own election to decide who you would most like to skipper your boat. Paul joined in the spirit of the election by cleverly suggesting Nicola Stugeron would be good, especially for those who may suffer from sea sickness. (Just in case anyone is unaware, Stugeron is a very effective anti sea sickness pill). Paul then whisked us across the Biscay, called...