San Diego, California, USA

It's good to be back home after a long drive from Portland via Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. We got some doctor visits done and a visit with old friends Tom and Kathy and Len and Kathy.
Northern California was very dry and many brush fires are burning. Bring on the El Nino!
Some photos of Portland

brush fires in Northern California

A lovely day on Cannon Beach

Thai food from the many food trucks in Portland. Not quite Chang Mai but not bad

Beers at the Deschutes Brewery

Breakfast at Mother"s A Portland institution

Portland, Oregon, USA

We have been in the USA for more than three weeks now and in Portland for ten days. I don't know where the time goes but the calendar seems to change more rapidly than ever.
It's good to be back in the USA despite the looney politics. San Diego is as we remember it and the weather has been delightful not that we were there very much.
We took a very long road trip to Portland to bring Josette some stuff for her new apartment. There are a few trees here. The city is a little different and there are many aging hippy types wandering the streets of downtown. We have been wandering about and fixing things in the apartment and we are off back to Rancho Mirage today to see our friends Len and Kathy and get some doctor visits done and then back to San Diego for a bit of a rest.
Some photos of a tree or two will follow

Limehouse Basin Marina, London, UK

Lots to do in London. Wondering around the city and visiting with family. We have been blessed with the most marvelous weather.

We return to San Diego on Thursday.

A view of our dock at the marina . All houseboats of various descriptions

Canadian geese off the port bow

Lounging about on the foredeck

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Limehouse Basin Matina, London, UK

We've been at the Limehouse Basin Marina for 3 weeks now. It's incredible how the days just melt into one another. We have been blessed with mostly sunny, warm weather with very little rain. It's been good to get re-acquainted with family and friends and wandering around London. The marina, it turns out, has been a very good choice. The people are friendly and security excellent. The Cruising Association is next door and all the transport connections are very good. We have had a few visits with Jessica and the babies and they are back again on Friday. On July 4th we had a little get together with a bar-b-que and dressed the boat up for the occasion. About 40 guests showed up over the course of the day and a good time was had by all.

I'm going to up date the google maps plug in over the next few days and there is always the regular boat maintenance and repairs. Soon enough we will be back in California.

Sydney the Navigator

Dinghy ride at the marina

the Admiral and her nursing friends

July 4th

Sydney and Jen

Sydney aged 3 1/2

Genevieve nearly 6 months

more July 4th in traditional shirt. Jen and Ed and Ruth

the Callisto swat team. Guernsey flies beware!

Limehouse Basin Marina, London, UK

We arrived at Limehouse Basin Marina last Tuesday and this long and arduous cruise is finally complete. We stayed in Ramsgate for an extra day after all. We were going to leave at 0330 0n Monday morning but we popped our heads out of the back enclosure and the temperature was about 12 degrees and it was blowing about 35kts so we went back to bed. We had a nice visit from Ben and Jessica and the babies and the wind finally settled down in the evening and we spent the night on the hook outside Ramsgate Harbour and left at first light on Tuesday. We had an uneventful run around North Foreland and into the estuary. Very fast with the tide and into the lock at about 1430. This was a bit exciting as the there was considerable wind and current.
We are moored up with lots of barges and narrow boats mostly liveaboards. Limehouse has been completely transformed  even from seven years ago and totally unrecognizable from what I remember as a boy 40 years ago. The river has been developed and gentrified all the way down to Canary Wharf which is about 15 minutes walk away. There are lots of neighborhoods to explore. More photos of Limehouse to follow.

some bubbles to celebrate the end of the cruise

close encounter with a ferry Thames Estuary

sliding under Dartford Bridge

approaching the city of London

limehouse basin marina our home for the next year

martians in the thames estuary

Ramsgate, Kent, England

We still have not made it into London. The cruise from Guernsey was mostly pleasant. We filled up with duty free diesel at 68p (about a US Dollar) and left St. Peter Port at about 1400H. We were forecast to have nice SW breeze for 20 hours but it petered out to less than 10 kts after about 2 hours. Still, the weather was clear and we made good progress, especially through the Alderney Race and then jumped on the favourable tidal current from Selsey Bill to Dover.
Dodging ships in the Traffic Separation Scheme was no problem but the ferries coming in and out of Dover were very exciting. Once past Dover we ran out of  useful tide and the wind also veered from light SW to F5-6 NW and the last 20 miles from South Foreland to Ramsgate was very slow with a foul current and headwinds we made about 3.5 kts over ground. It began to rain and got very cold and nasty. We had intended to anchor overnight outside Ramsgate and wait for good tide to take us up the Thames Estuary but F6-7 NE were forecast so we went inside the Marina and had a good curry dinner and a good sleep while the wind howled like mad outside.
We had a visit from Ben and Jessica and the babies this afternoon and tomorrow it's the Thames Estuary and up to Limehouse Basin Marina which will be Callisto's home for the next year.

Dodging ferries off  Dover. These guys go 20+ kts and don't stop for anything

inside Ramsgate marina. Very rough outside

Sceaming through the Alderney Race

Ramsgate. Very peculiar architecture

One of the few clear sunsets we have had in the past few weeks. English channel.

New baby Evie,now 5 months

More boat envy. A brand new Amel 55 direct from La Rochelle rafted up to us in Guernesy. This one is the convertible version. Very nice German owners

St. Peter Port, guernsey, UK

Very busy for the last 48 hours. We went on the hard via a slipway on Thursday and had the dings in the gel coat repaired and while we were out changed anodes and applied new bottom paint to all leading edges and the water line and did some general buffing and polishing.
On Friday the bow thruster parts finally came and it took about two hours to replace the brushes and springs and the solenoid and control unit.
The thruster now works as new and we got launched at 1400h in 20 kts and major rain. We took on some fuel and went back to the dock but there was no space on a pontoon with a walk way to shore.
Fortunately, a brand new Amel 55  straight from La Rochelle arrived and after a boat tour and a few bottles of red, they launched their dinghy and we went ashore for a nice last night on the town.
We are just stowing and securing for sea and doing some last minute shopping and it's off at about 1400H with the tide.
Next stop Limehouse Basin Marina on Monday