Over wintering

Noisette became ours in November 2012 and we have over wintered her in Gosport.  The plan was to spend time sailing her and understanding her.  Unfortunately the weather had other ideas and although we have spent a lot of time on board, apart from the occasional day sail we have been no where.  We have seen gale after gale - been blown onto and blown off the pontoon, torrential rain, deep frosts on the pontoon and ice and snow on deck - even snow drifts.  The weather at times reminded us of sailing on Europa in Antarctica - but that is another story.

We have, however, put an incredible amount of equipment on board and studied the buttons, knobs and even the instructions for the electronic gadgets to the point where we are almost confident we know what they are trying to tell us! The storage space is vast and even now we have empty lockers...How long for remains to be seen.

The sailing we have done has given us the opportunity to test the new Rocna anchor, selected to cope with the thick kelp in Scotland, and the cruising chute, in addition to getting to know Noisette's sailing characteristics.  

There is lots more learning to do and lots of adventures to be had but Noisette is ready to start her Cruise of 2013 and we are increasingly excited about our departure in the second week of April.