What a Difference a Day Makes!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

The Golden Cloud 27/01/2013

So you may all be wondering why I dragged out a 4 month wait between the last blog and this one. Well I’ve been terribly busy!

In September 2012, Lloyd of the boatyard offered me a chance I felt too good to refuse. Golden Cloud, no matter how much we’ve gone through, with her 5ft8 max headroom is kind of too small. Lloyd himself had a 30ft Snapdragon for sale. It came with 6ft2 headroom, a toilet, 2 double beds, and shower. Seemed too good to be true. Lloyd offered me a fantastic price and a good deal on part exchange. Added to this because of his knowledge that I couldn’t leave the boatyard without his help, he said I could buy “Ob-la-dee” in instalments but could move in straight away!.

Ob La Dee is the big red one in the river

So on a Sunny Wednesday morning, after thinking it all over, I called up Lloyd and said I’d like to go ahead with buying ObLaDee. So started an amazing series of events.

At Lunch time I went to speak to a good friend (Nathan Thomas) to tell him the news. During this conversation Dr Alun Hubbard (of BBC Frozen Planet, and Operation Iceberg fame) overheard, and wanted to give me his 10ounces of advice.

Alun himself could be seen as a familiar face, and a knowledgeable one. As my 1^st year degree tutor he told me during a congratulatory meeting after getting very high results in exams “Joe you obviously don’t have enough fun, Go out get drunk more often!”, I went from a 92% average grade at this point to a 67% final grade in my degree so I obviously follow his advice intently!

Alun has owned the 47ft Sailing Research Vessel Gambo for a little while now, and was one of my first ports of call when I needed advice on getting Golden Cloud. His words in December 2011 were… “A boat is a hole in the ocean that you fill with money” and after hearing what Golden Cloud was like “You can’t polish a turd”. Spurred on by his positive tone I went ahead and brought Golden Cloud. His advice was now again coming at the operative moment.

It was however, not quite as I expected. His words were “If you want to go to Istanbul in a Yacht, take a few months out, join me in Greenland on my research vessel for the winter!”

It was an opportunity of seeing Greenland and learning a lot on boats… I couldn’t resist.

Soon I found myself on a train to Keswick in the Lake District. I was off to buy expedition clothes spending my boat upgrade kitty in the process. Later I met my parents to clear out Golden Cloud, and tell Lloyd…“For now I can’t buy your boat!”

Half packed bag full of gear!

3 days later I was in a van with Alun driving from the Cash and Carry in Aberystwyth to the Container dock in Alborg, Denmark. I manically searched the internet on my phone, in attempt to learn how to fill in a Customs Export Form in time for Dover. Between the M25 and the dock I cracked it and we were on our way.

Over weighed wheel axis!

At Dover

Next day I woke up near just outside Anderlecht, the van’s axel struggling under the load was wearing the bearings in a eery squeeling grinding sound woke me. It was now also my turn to drive. So it seemed a perfect opportunity for Alun to inform me about the issue with the Brakes… Brake hard and they jam open (not braking), you have to brake slowly, and/or engine brake (in an Automatic!)… Great for the first time driving on the wrong side of the road! We had 20 hours left to get to the container port, offload the van into the container, then get to Copenhagen Airport to fly to Greenland at 9am the next morning, I’d best get going.

With only a handful of miles to go before the German-Denmark Border (sounds corny I know!) with Alun back at the wheel it looked like our game was up…. (Continued in Next Blog)

Getting a bit choppy

Getting a Bit Choppy
The Golden Cloud 16/6/12


As You may have heard on the national and international news, over the last week or so, the river I call home (the River Leri) has has some serious flooding. Luckily like Noah, I got myself an arc before these floods arrived, and so unlike the villages of Tal-y-bont, Dol-y-bont, Borth and Llandre, as well as the countless caravans who I share the valley with, when the floods came, the water just passed peacefully under my keels!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-18378124


The event was quite exciting and kept me onboard for a few extra hours but other than that was just another adventure!!! 


The day when the floods came started like any other at Ynyslas... Windy.
But that day the wind was different, it blew hard and strong, and for once being on the water was quite different to land. Every gust changed my perspective on life, from sea, to sky, to sea, to sky! It was getting a bit choppy.

As I knew I had no chance of paddling ashore as per usual, I decided at that point to row an anchor chain from my boat to shore, that way at least I knew there would be a way out if things went wrong!


In the process of putting in the anchor, I had a bit of a bear grylls style manly moment. A gust of wind (on that day we had gusts up to Force 10!) blew me back on the bank, and as a result I slipped and gashed a hole in my foot. Needless to say in the moment I didn't even notice, but by the time I returned to the boat, it was starting to hurt. So I decided to reduce the gangreen risk, and boiled up some water, put in a dab of flash, and with a scouring pad brushed out all the mud from the river... I must admit it kinda hurt!

The cut post cleaning up, was alot more impressive when my foot was covered in mud and blood with the cut open wide!

Then I settled down with a mug of hot cuppa soup, and got ready to sleep through the storm.


As the night went on, the waters only rose, the tide never went out, Lloyd of the boatyard tried to wake me up by beeping his horn and flashing his lights at me from the bank. He'd been told of what was to come and wanted me to get away to saftey! (although in all honesty I was probably in the safest place!) Needless to say, I slept through it like a baby!


I woke in the morning to the sound of police sirens, then Lloyd tried again, and this time I woke up! He took me to shore, for me to find the area a police cordon and was being evacuated! The flood waters rose all around. We sat on the bank watching it all, as the land around us flooded the boatyard was fine! Maybe I shouldn't be supprised, as Ynys is Welsh for Island, and Ynyslas boatyard was the only land for miles around!

As the morning became evening, and the weather settled, I hoisted my bedding up the mast to dry it out. Tomorrow was another day, and this was just another adventure!

The flood was just another story for the boatyard, but it also brought with it free gas bottles, and firewood, we even saw bikes and tables float by!


Since the floods have receeded, and I've been back to the usual ways, with the exception of the extra fun of collecting tree's from the river and sand bars for firewood!

During my search for firewood yesterday, I also harvested a bucket of Samphire, a small succulent plant highly prized in culanary circles, should go nicely with my dinner!


Onboard the flood showed up a few leaks and a few worries, so I've now wired up the VHF so I can call for help if the worst happens, practised crank starting the engine and rigged up an interior tent so I'm dry from the leaks.


This evening the rains are falling again, and the wind is howling too. Who knows what will float down the river tomorrow!