End of the Voyages…
Ahoy Land dwellers ~ It has been some time since I have penned a blog update. Truth is a lot of LIFE got in the way that prevented me from doing so or it was too painful to frame it up in words. The good news is…the Jones’ are back on board the good ship …
Onto Lisbon, Gibraltar and Palma
Lisbon – Portugal’s capital is a lively, hilly port with historic trolleys, grand squares, fado (nostalgic bluesy singing), fine art and a salty sailor’s quarter topped by a castle. Suffice to say, Lisbon ranked near the top of cruising destinations this season followed closely by Normandy and Bordeaux. In early morning we left …
To Spain and Portugal from Bordeaux
So we left France bound for Spain. We had a successful overnight to Bilbao, Basque country! A nice combination of sparkling beaches, cutting edge architecture, and proud feisty locals. Bilbao. In recent years, Bilbao has undergone a significant transformation from a depressed industrial city to clearing the way for a new convention center and the stunning …
Mission Impossible? Brittany to Bordeaux
IT issues – A computer crash has delayed this blog. What a mess! But thankfully due to the efforts of dear friends Nancy & Mark Fox back in Virginia, most of my contacts, data and photos were recovered and downloaded to a new laptop! So, with my brain back, I remember that we left Brittany, …
Viva La France!
Ahoy Landlubbers and Mateys! In early May we returned to Southampton, England to wake up our boat Ocean Pearl. Since October she rested on the hard (nauti-speak for stored on land). Out of the water brings enormous peace of mind when you are thousands of miles from your boat. For added protection she was shrink …
Scandinavia Bound
St. Petersburg to Stockholm We left St Petersburg, Russia and returned to Helsinki to pick up our 13 year old swabby granddaughter, Julia. From Helsinki we made an overnight passage to Stockholm. This is a wonderful trip and includes some 30 miles snaking through the Swedish Archipelago. Thousands of beautiful islands. After passing these islands …
Back in the USSR
“Back in the USSR, you don’t know how lucky you are” – so say the Beatles; but no more the USSR, it’s now the Russian Federation, with lots of changes. WOW! The ‘Pearl’ has been on the move. We left London May 22nd and since have landed in 10 countries at 14 ports. We finally …
Baltic Surprise ~
The ‘Ocean Pearl’ has been on the move…here she is, black fenders still down, departing her berth where she spent the winter, just west of the Tower bridge. We set off from London in May down the busy Thames River into the English Channel. The Thames is notorious for destructive floods. These are now …
Baltic Sea Bound!
Ahoy Landlubbers! The Captain and his mate are back on board ‘Ocean Pearl’ located in historic St. Katharine’s Dock ~ London, England. The photo above is a terrifc aerial shot that was taken by an Englishman in a small cabin cruiser that was tied up next to us last weekend. He had one of …