We have been in La Rochelle 2 days now and Sea Star is slowly coming back to a state of acceptable cleanliness. We are moored next to Blue Hour, which is a Westerly 49, the same hull as Sea Star, but a few years younger. Blue Hour has been at sea for nearly a year with Jonathan, Nina, Joni Jonas from Canada, so is completely lived in and comfortable. We are working on Sea Star’s scruffiness (apart from anything else, we have friends coming soon, so we need to look ship shape) and will soon look good lying next to her. They have a 6-7 month old greek hare hound called Sirius who they picked up in Greece, who has instantly become Toby’s best friend.
Sadly, they are off today, sailing North with talk of Sweden, Norway and Scotland, some of which they visited on their way across the Atlantic via Greenland and Iceland. Sounds amazing, sailing amongst icebergs and polar bears and whales and eskimos, but we would need to ensure the heating on the boat is working before we venture north.
We are preparing to go south rather than north so are focussed on biminis, aircon and sun hats, but in the meantime, we have the washing machine, engine, generator, lights and, and … to test and prepare. After a couple of days of unsettled weather, the sun has appeared which meant breakfast on deck, which Toby thought was very interesting, as everything was in reach. We need a plan for that!
So today is teak deck day. For those who have not encountered teak deck management, they are lovely to look at when clean, but six months wintered up, even in a mid France climate, with fresh water falling from the sky, rather than salt water from sea, a curious green algae starts to propagate. You have to remove this with care, as the deck needs to last another 20 years, which all takes a little time.
Sea Star is her name; MMSI 235106866, VHF call sign 2HUZ9 for anybody who would like to track our progress on 
Sea Star goes South 