Mother's Day Weekend

I think the weather this weekend was fitting to all those mothers out there. It was beautiful and calm.

Both days were outstanding but both different in what we saw. Thousands of Guillemots have arrived and look very settled too. The nations favorite, the Puffin has returned and looks as beautiful as ever.
The Shags look stunning and we even have a pair on an egg already.
Looks like this weather has pushed things on nicely but I don't think it will last long but for the moment I'm really enjoying being back on the water.

On Saturday we had a very inquisitive harbour porpoise which came up to the boat for a look and was really showing off too. I have never witnessed this behavior before as they are usually really shy, but this little fella blew me away with his cockiness. I have also never seen a porpoise in this area either which was very surprising but sometimes the unexpected happens and you just have to embrace it.

 
On Mother's Day we were treated to a pod of 50+ Bottlenose Dolphins past the harbour. I cut short our trip to go and see them and boy was it worth it. They were all in fine form and wanted to show off. Some were jumping out of the water, some were just cruising along, others were playing with the bow of the boat and others were spinning around and around.

I never got any decent pictures as I was playing with my camera to see how it took video's which sort of worked well. Mind that might be the man behind the lense.
We were also blessed with beautiful weather once again so it made the trips even better. I also did my first live link on facebook which was a bit weird but also fun. Have a look if you fancy it. FACEBOOK 

Over all it was a fun filled weekend and if it was going to be like this for the rest of the summer then I will be a very happy lad.

Once again thank you for reading 

OVER AND OUT

Serenity III and the MCA

Serenity III has been down at Amble boat yard for a little while but now she is back in Seahouses and raring to go for the season.

While she was at Amble the MCA did her out of water inspection. This is when the MCA come to the boat and inspect the hull for any damages, check the sea cocks, propellers and rudders. This is standard practice and its done every year. After that the boat goes into the water and then they come and inspect the rest of the boat.

They do all the safety checks. For example, they check the life-rafts have been tested, the flares are in date, the life jackets are in good working order etc. After that they check the engines, bilge pumps, hand pumps, fire hose etc and see if they are working fine. If not then you have to get them fixed before they will give you your license to operate for the season.

Its really standard stuff and it all makes common sense and to be honest if my boat was not in good working order I would not get on the boat myself, let alone putting guests on her.

After everything is looking good and our paper work is all up to date then they will grant you your license for the year, but half way through the season they will appear unexpected for a mid term inspection. This is to make sure you are doing everything correct and not pulling the wool over their eyes.

This happens every year to every boat that is coded with a P6 license.

Serenity II has had her out of water inspection but not her in water one just yet. This will happen in a few weeks time and then it will be all good to go for the season.

 Leaving Amble Harbour

 Amble Pier light

 Looking back up the river

 Passing Dunstanburgh Castle on the way home.

 Serenity III being inspected

 Putting the ropes up after inspecting the engines

 All Done

 Chilling with a cuppa

 
Once again guys thank you for reading and I do hope you enjoy the updates. If you ever have any questions the please let me know.

OVER AND OUT

Iceland 2017

I went to Iceland last year and the weather was so dreadful I hardly took a picture but this did not put me off as I could see what it had to offer and I was determined to go back.
Fast forward to this year and what a difference.
I went with a friend who really likes his photography too (much better than me) and we decided to leave it until the last minute in the hope that we would see the Northern Lights.

We waited until the signs looked good and then booked everything. All packed (well sort off) and ready to go, until we received an email saying that we could not pick out camper-van up until the next day as they were closed, plus the had just had the biggest down pour of snow since Iceland's history.

In 6 hours through the night they had 52cm of snow fall and Reykjavik came to a stand still. Our hearts dropped but the flights were still going and we decided to go and get a hotel until the next day and see if you could get the camper.

You have to give them their due as they pulled out all the stops and cleared the roads as best as they could and everything started to move once again.

When we arrived at the camper van place and everything was good to go, so off we headed into the snowy but beautiful landscape of Iceland.

I could go on and on about adventure but I would only bore you so I'm going to keep it a little bit short and let the pictures do the talking.

We hardly slept as the weather decided to change and become one of the best 4 days Iceland had produced for a long long time. Hardly a breath of wind, glorious sunshine everyday and crystal clear skies at night. We were in heaven....

We travelled along the south coast stopping at every waterfall, beach and lagoon but by far the best place was the Glacier Lagoon in Jokulsarlon. This place is totally amazing and the only thing that kinda spoilt it was how many people were there, but that's just me being greedy and wanting the place to myself.
I only wished we had stayed there longer and maybe gone a little bit further around but I can defiantly say I will be back and I will be heading straight to Jokulsarlon.

The only thing that really went wrong during the trip was that I had the wrong settings on my lense and nearly all of my pictures were rubbish. I did manage to save a few and lessons have been learned so it will never happen again. Yes I have given myself a few slaps. Never mind, I do hope you like the pictures and if you have ever thought about visiting Iceland then do it, you'll love it.

Some TLC for Serenity II

Serenity II is having a long overdue upgrade. She has worked really hard for us and we can't complain about her one little bit, so its time she got a well deserved rest and some major tlc.

I should have blogged about this a while ago but we worked hard on her and then people have been grabbing holiday's in between so I forgot to let you know sorry. Anyway better late than never.

She has been washed down and polished until she's looking like new and that's all down the Andy and Tony.
 
My brother, Ron and myself I have taken out both of the engines and new ones are just about to go in. She has had lots of little things done to her which will never be seen again but we know they are done and that's all that matters.

She survived the tidal surge we had a while ago which was great news and it will not be long until we put her back together once again and then she will have the pleasure of showing everyone those beautiful farne islands.

We are hoping be up and running in a few weeks time so watch this space for all things happening around the Farnes and keep up with all the breaking news. 

Thank you for reading 

OVER AND OUT