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!

The Future

The Golden Cloud 7/4/12

The Future

And so for the last week or so once again I've hardly spent any time on my boat, well save for an evening fighting some metal ontop of the chimney.

Now this time its not the hotel, but I'm residing in a plush Ikea showroom of a house, as I dog sit for a lecturer off on his holidays.

The week has been an interesting one of self discussion over what I want from life, what my aims are, and what I enjoy.

One thing that has been revived spending time in the epitome of all that money can buy (including a double bed sized bath tub) has been my realisation that although its nice, it doesn't make me happy. In all honesty the best bit of the house, has been the view, and you can get a view from a shed, or a cardboard box.

Lupus the Dog

A joy of the house/dog sitting has been the time outside walking Lupus the dog. Admittedly the dog itself has been a pain, its a big (expensive) pedigree labradoodle who has defiantly been spoilt every day of its life. Every walk you spend most of the time forward planning how to avoid it seeing that grandma on crutches or that chew-able chiwawa. But on the occasions when I have found a deserted woodland, an empty beach, a open hilltop and the dog runs off, you soon realise how amazing nature's world is, and how important it is to not ruin it. 

During this time outdoors I often look out to sea with the water flat calm and a breeze blowing back my hair thinking soon I could be out there. Next on the footpath though is some woodland, and as I walk past the mushrooms, wild garlic, and other abundant food it is hard to forget that my allegiances with the boat are shared between sailing it into the sunset, or using it as a house in a sustainable life onshore. 

If any of you are unlucky enough to be a friend of mine I'm sure you will know I have 2 dreams that I want to choose between come autumn (and not the sharing life with a Girlfriend or a Puppy).

With a desire for the opportunity the boat offers me I have come up with 2 plans. Both are based on me saving my wages and using them to invest sustainably to make my future life more affordable both for my wallet and my planet.

Option one

The obvious choice for someone who owns a boat, make the boat seaworthy, sail into the sunset and just keep going... abit like this couple  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17084034

This plan has a lot of merrits, not only how much fun it sounds, but also with the limited space and access to shops at sea, you have to live sustainably to survive.

Option two

I have always wanted land, something inside me wants a small stream or lake, some woods and a horse. 

As a youngster who had been brainwashed by society to thinking that a masssive career was all important, I decided I wanted to work my socks off in the city get rich and retire to a large wooded lake. My Dad was going to be the gilly (his job would be to sit all day fishing then tell people how to catch) and mum would be the gardener.

But now this plan has simplified, I just want enough to live. According to the Feudal System of Medieval England that would be about 1/16th of an acre of land for food production, plus a few shared tools, access to a woodland and an ox.

Mark Boyle (Author of Moneyless Man, and Free-economist see www.justfortheloveofit.org) regularly updates facebook with links and sustainability motivation. One quote he posted was that of Mahatma Gandhi "be the change you wish to see". And like Mark I want to see a reinvigoration of society, reconnection between producer and end user, a reduction on reliance of the monetary system, sustainable lifestyles etc.

Now on that line of thought Option one although fantastically amazing I know a boat with humans is always going to need to come ashore, at least to get an orange to stop scurvy. But if I plough my money into a yacht I will have to buy my way on land. To buy i need money, thus a job, and for a job I need a fixed long term abode, and a bank account (all quite hard on the ocean waves)

So Option Two, work my ass off this summer, put all earnings into savings, buy a couple of acres of woodland/pasture. Move my yacht onto the land (temporary structure so no need for planning permissions). Then my life expenses suddenly over time will diminish. 

Housing - Land and Yacht owned outright = 0 P/A

Food - crops off the land, foraging, hunting, fishing = small inputs in first year, decreasing through time

Heat - existing clothes replaced by skins and wools from land, fire fueled by coppicing and managing the woodland.

Straight away I bet your thinking How can you afford that on one summer's wages. Well land is surprisingly cheap (<6000 an acre in parts of the UK) and I only need a small amount.

For doing this I will be the change I wish to see, I will need to grow links with the local rural society to survive, I will reconnect with local producers and barter my wears, I will become overtime increasingly dependent of the monetary system and I will grow a sustainable lifestyle....

So for now, I will only pay for things on the yacht, which can be used if the yacht is on land as well... In case I never go to sea in her.

Mussels on the Woodburner!

The Golden Cloud 27/01/12


Being tired from a long night chatting through thoughts and religion last night I came home today as early as possible to have a lovely evening by the log burner. 



The tide was out upon my arrival home and so I set about a foragers dinner... moules sur le poêle à bois. (Well thats what google translate calls Mussels on the wood burner anyways!)


Recipe number 2! Mussels A La Woodburner!


First walk the 10meters from your boat to the mussel bed!

 (Mussel bed is the gravelly looking stuff bottom right)

Collect a few mussels, choose the biggest ones as they've had time to live and make plenty of babies. Take only what you need, leave some for tomorrow.

Now bring them home put them in a shallow dish with some oats and slightly salted water, leave for 2 to 10 hours (according to the books i've read, i've heard slightly more and slightly less. Too long and they die, too short and they're full of grit and poo)

(My mussels purging in the frying pan)

After the time has elapsed pull the mussels out, if there open tap them on something hard, they should shut, if they don't discard. Then put them in the wood burner fire box so that the crack between the shells is horizontal.

Shut the door, and enjoy the smells and noise from the stove for 5-10 minutes.

While this is happening finely cut some garlic and some parsley in some olive oil and butter, and cook on the hob

After a while check the mussels, any that are open take the worst shell off, and keep the meat in the other shell, drizzle over a teaspoon of garlic oily butter, over the meat and put back in the woodburner to sizzle some more.

 Once the meat goes abit rubbery and all the fluid is gone, pull out and enjoy!
(Beware shells and woodburner = very hot)


Enjoy the mussels!

 Cooked Mussels

 Empty shells at the end!

A Whole New Chimney

The Golden Cloud 25/1/12

Today was a great moment as I got a Whole New Chimney!

I've been having a lot of trouble with this fire, tar flowing out the chimney, back smoking, not drawing, giving me headaches both in anger and in asphyxiation!

So I chatted to the boatyard owner to see if he had any ideas. (After scouring the internet, I'd got some of my own ideas too!)

I thought what the issue was based around the diameter of the pipe and height of the pipe being tooo small resulting in not enough draw, and the single skin of the pipe getting too cold causing the smoke to cool too quickly resulting in tar build up.

The boatyard owner thought the majority of the issue was with me burning wet wood.

So today he said, get the stove out and he'd put you on a bigger pipe....

So I got the stove out! and loooky here...

The Chimney was soo chock a block with tar it was too tight to fit my finger through!


I blamed the cold pipe, and the boatyard blamed what i burnt! 


The issue for me is, thats the build up from 10 days fire!
I cannot afford posh wood from good sources dried in a barn for 38 years! I can afford free wood off the beach, the woods, and the hedge, the end.


So the opinion was taken to enlarge my pipe that way i'd at least have more time between having to clean the pipe, (once a week takes the Michael!)


So out came the plasma gun and the welder and bingo the new chimney was on!


Does it look a bit ott?

New Chimney

Old Chimney!

New one looks a lot more industrial and a little less homely but it most defiantly does the job... exemplified by the logs up the side catching fire just!

Right best be off! Got to get ready for a boat party on someone else's boat

Nos Da!