Grado, running aground, Ikea and back to Monfalcone!

Hi everyone..... Got back on line eventually! Having withdrawal symptoms, so had to return to the Bangladeshi internet room in Monfalcone. We have parked our hire car in a multipiano up town to come and blog to you (the things we do!!!).
Stayed in Grado for 4 nights. Beautiful part of the world. Grado itself is a seaside resort, however at this time of the year the sand was piled up on the beach (supposed to be the best beach in Italy) and 90% of the hotels were closed until about April. We tied up to the town quay for 2 nights which was right in the middle of town (not sure if I mentioned that we weren't charged as it is winter!) and walking distance to everything we required. On the third day we decided to explore the lagoons which stretch from Grado in the East to Lignano in the West. To cut a long story short, we were following the marked channel and decided to head to Aquileia where we had been informed on good authority (our pilot guide) that there was a marina. From this, we deduced that a boat our size could get up there. We ran aground not far up the channel! Our first grounding in Shirley. At least we know the keel is fairly well attached (we were on soft mud thank goodness). On our way back we ran aground again, even more successfully! I was just starting to work how many days we could survive for as we hadn't seen a boat for hours when Craig got us off (what a hero!! Hang on, he's the one who ran us aground in the first place!) .
We went back to a marina in Grado that evening and the next day caught a bus to Aquileia where we saw some amazing Roman ruins and more beautiful churches. Lots of photos to come when we can (believe me, this is frustrating me even more than you!).
We had also been given an address of a chandlers to visit to purchase a part to fix the toilet on the boat (which Craig had dropped into the holding tank!! Of course he denies this....) which just happened to be in Aquileia. When we found the chandlers, we asked how they get the large boats up the channel and we were told that they go up on floating pontoons! He gave us a strange look when we said we had been told that we could get our boat up the river. So much for pilot guides!
Motored back to Monfalcone on Thursday morning as we were getting the water maker fitted there. There was dead calm conditions (OK Steve, no sailing, but you tell me how to sail in minus 4 knots of apparent wind!!!) and thick, thick fog like I haven't seen for years. Thank goodness for radar, AIS and Raymarine E80 GPS and chart plotters, which we are still admittedly trying to work out all the features of!
We have been back in Marina Hannibal for 2 nights now. Watermaker has been fitted, but not tested yet. TV \ DVD has been exchanged as it wasn't working (just need correct batteries for remote control so we can test - told you nothing happens quickly). Now have to hang around till Monday as our VHF radio has been recalled due to problems with MMSI numbers. We have therefore hired a car and are taking off touring for a few days.
FOUND IKEA YESTERDAY! Isn't it strange that you feel at home in a Swedish homeware shop in Italy as the lay out and goods are exactly like Australia! Craig even had meatballs for lunch! It was amazing. Some other funny language things have been that the guys who put in the water maker were Italian and Slovenian. They were putting in a German water maker with English instructions for an Australia boat in Italy! Are you confused yet?
Every turn here is a photo opportunity. Even a wrong turn leads you to beautiful places. We arrived, by mistake in a beautiful little fortified town called Palmanova and spent a while walking around looking at the old fortified entrance gates (which still have the fittings for a draw bridge) and town square (which is actually 9 sided!) which had statues dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries at the height of Venetian rule.
Coming back, we braved the autostrada! We are not sure of the legal maximum speed limit, however we were told (we are getting really good at Italian!) that we should only be doing a MAXIMUM of 110kms\hr due to roadworks. The tollgates were interesting. Craig pulled up at the tollgates and handed me the money (think about what side of the road we are driving on here|). Surprised at there being no-one there we eventually found a machine on his side of the lane. Turns out (thanks to a helpful, but slightly irate German \ Italian \ thankfully English speaking gentleman, we worked out that you don't pay here but merely take a ticket and pay when you leave the autostrada. Felt quite proud of ourselves when we finally executed this!
Learning to live on the boat is fun. Have I said before that I am REALLY glad we have a heater! For those of you who don't spend a lot of time on boats, everything has to have it's place and be tucked snuggly away when you are moving. This means that to get to most things, something has to be moved (often quite a few things!). Purchases have to be made for a reason and everything has to have a purpose. Every noise alerts you, especially when you are in a strange anchorage or mooring and there is a wind blowing. Every use of utilities means that they have to topped up at a later stage (living in a drought has been good practice for this!).
Despite all of this, I am growing very fond of Shirley Valentine and it is really nice to come home to our snug little home, especially when it is cold and raining.
Hopefully, we will get some sailing done soon. Need to go now if we are going to get any sightseeing done today. Miss you all and lots of love to everyone.

Regards
Craig and Lesley

Monfalcone to Grado, Italy

Have finally managed to get internet access!! Woo-hoo! Albeit an unsecured network in the centre of town of Grado. We attempted to leave Monfalcone on Friday after taking the boat up the river to the town centre to make a final visit to the Bangladeshi internet place and to wash our dirty clothes. We successfully executed our first tie up to a fixed wharf without a problem, although the water was filthy and disgusting and it really wasn't a place to take our pride and joy.

The town quay is built of stone and was only 1/4 metre above water height when we tied up. The mediterranean does have tides and the tide rose to the height of the quay. The fenders started to float over the top of the quay!!! Thank goodness Craig stayed with the boat while Lesley walked around town in the POURING rain....

We poked our head out of the harbour and about 2nm into our trip were experiencing 30+ gusts on the nose. I piked out as we are not that familiar with the boat yet and the pilot guide suggested that it wasn't a good idea to enter Grado in high winds. We returned to Monfalcone and anchored (successfully without shouting at each other!) in Bazino Di Panzano near the marina where we were originally staying. Sounds grand, however we were actually in the middle of an industrial area with swamps at the back. Anchored in 10 metres of water about 15 metres from the shore (a little bit different to Moreton Bay where we are used to sailing). Was a nice secure and safe anchorage so we decided to stay the next day and night too as wind gusts were still reaching 30 knots even in our little haven. As we couldn't get a weather forecast over the net and haven't worked out how to get one in English on the VHF radio, we rang my son in Brisbane who got on the net for us!! Don't you love technology....

It poured with rain the whole time we were at anchor, however when we woke early this morning the sun was shining, the temperature was minus two degrees and there was sheet ice on the decks... Craig braved the elements and slithered to the bow of the boat to raise the anchor and we set off at last for Grado. Zero wind unfortunately meant that we had to motor the 12 or so nautical miles to our destination. We are now tied up at a public quay in the centre of the city with cafes and pizza shops all around us. People are walking past less than a metre from the boat and we really have no idea if we are meant to be here. An Italian gentleman informed us in broken English that someone may come by for our papers at 3pm, however as it is winter they may not bother! We really need to learn how the moorings work in these places!

It is a little like being a monkey in a cage and we had little children on board for a tour of the boat!

On the home front, we finally decided that the easiest way to get a new computer in English was to appeal to my lovely son's good nature who is now purchasing one for us in Brisbane and sending it by courier to Monfalcone! Phew... learning to live at this pace is a little bizarre, a little terrifying and thoroughly enjoyable overall! Maybe in 3 trillion light years, I will get good at this.... :-))

Anyway, love to all and keep in touch.

xxx Lesley and Craig

Monfalcone, Italy...

Hello everyone!!! We finally made it to an internet cafe. Sorry we have not been in touch for a few days, but internet connection has been complicated. I am sitting in an internet cafe in Monfalcone, Italy to do this posting as we cannot connect at the marina... very frustrating. I had to show my passport to be allowed to get onto the internet! A bit different than home. I didn't realise how reliant I was on electronic communication until I didn't have it any more.
The last few days have been challenging and fantastic all at the same time. Our last few days in Slovenia were very busy. Anthony was working like a crazy man on Shirley Valentine trying to get her ready in time. We discovered that provisioning a boat in a foreign country can be a bit challenging to say the least. Shopping was done by pictures a lot of the time and a lot of guess work. Setting up the boat to live in was like setting up a new home! We now have most of the basics including a dinghy, liferafts, lifejackets, EPIRB etc.. We took a day off to go to Venice once more before we left and caught the last day of the carnival which was spectacular. Lots of photos to come when we get our computer sorted out.
We left Slovenia on the 15th of Feb as planned and had a FANTASTIC sail down to Monfalcone (only about 2 hours to another country!!). Wind was about 10 to 15 knots. For all you sailing buffs, we got up to 8 knots in 15 knots of apparent wind. Shirley Valentine sails well and everything seems to be working OK so far.
Did I say that Anthony has been fantastic! It would be so much more difficult (almost impossible) to commission a boat over here without someone who can help with the leg work and where to source things. Sadly he had to leave us yesterday to head home.
Getting used to this life certainly has it's highs and lows. I am pretty home sick and miss my friends and family and the familiarity of home whilst enjoying the difference and novelty of things here. I am really enjoying living on a boat with hot and cold running water and an electric toilet and shower. It is a real novelty for me..
We have been in the marina at Monfalcone in Italy for 3 nights now as Anthony had to complete some of the commissioning here. Most things are finished but we have to come back next week to have the water maker fitted. We are going to head up towards the lagoons near Gardo tomorrow (weather permitting of course!) to anchor and have a bit of a look around. Looking forward to getting the dinghy out and taking it for a spin although a little nervous about getting used to handling the boat. Craig and I tend to shout a lot when we are anchoring together! :-)
Better sign off now. I have to get a taxi back to the marina as it is a long way from the city centre. Thinking of you all and missing everyone. Will keep in touch as often as possible.
xxxx
Lesley

Additional info re: Ikea visit...:-))

Just an addition to our story about our attempted visit to Ikea in Llubljana (which didn't exist!). The lovely gentleman who told us that Ikea hadn't been built yet did suggest that we drive another 85kms to AUSTRIA to go to another Ikea store! We didn't bother...... Guess Australians don't really think about popping across the border to another country for something. We also found out today that there is an Ikea in Italy which is only half an hour away! Ah well... that's what makes this life so interesting!
xxx
Lesley

Shirley Valentine and Slovenia...

Well, we are slowly settling in to living away from home. We are still in our hotel, nice and warm, with Anthony living on the boat and working in zero degree temperatures. We have spent a few days travelling around Slovenia, which is (surprisingly) very beautiful. It is not somewhere I would think of for a holiday, however we are really enjoying the sights. There is still a lot of snow inland. Went to a castle at Predjama yesterday. No vampires spotted, just lots of beautiful winter scenery (photos on facebook).

Provisioning a boat in a foreign country is proving to be a bit more difficult than anticipated. They don't have shopping malls here like we do and sourcing stuff is hard! We drove all the way to Llubljana (the capital of Slovenia) which is about 100kms from Koper to visit Ikea where we thought we would be able to buy all our bedding etc (Craig's idea!!). We had looked it up on the internet and got the address and everything. Craig thought that we would find it easily as Llubljana is only a town of 200,000 inhabitants. After 4 HOURS of driving around looking for it we had to give up...... BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN BUILT YET! Anyway, back to the drawing board. We are heading off into town in Koper this morning to provision as much as we can then will do the rest as we go. As long as we have warm bedding and somethijng to make a cup of tea with I will be happy!

It is so surreal sitting here. Craig is driving Anthony mad by playing with all the electronic equipment and setting off alarms. I am waiting for the washing machine in the marina to finish doing it's thing and then we are off shopping. The heater is now installed, however we have found out this morning that there has been some confusion with our sound system and we won't have music until we get something sorted.... maybe in Monfalcone! We may have to stay in Koper for an extra night due to some delays, however this suits us as it means we can keep our hire car till Monday morning, meaning shopping will be easier.

Things I miss so far are not surprising..... I am finding it hard having only Craig (much as I love him!) to have an in depth conversation with in English. Anthony's English is very good, however I don't think he would be up for a 'girly' conversation about how dry my skin is etc. Also miss regular stuff such as shopping in the supermarket and knowing what I am buying. I did a real touristy thing and went and bought English Breakfast Tea so that I at least had a decent cuppa! Take my own tea bags to breakfast and everything....

Anyway, lots of love. Need to go and spend some money. How exciting!!

xx

Lesley

The meeting!!!!

We have finally met our girl, all be it in the snow!!! She has arrived from Germany and is sitting currently in Koper Marina. Anthony Camilleri, the broker from Malta is currently with the boat working on her and doing the final fitting out!! Hopefully photos will follow tomorrow. We are having problems with our internet connection at the hotel and are currently in an internet cafe. Thank god for internet cafes in the middle of nowhere in Koper old town. Just stumbled across this one by chance!! Anyway, our girl is beautiful and Anthony seems very capable. It is freezing and Anthony thinks we are mad! Everything appears to be going to plan (although not quite sure what the plan is at the moment). Popped over to Venice last night and forgot my camera!! To add insult to injury there was a carnival on and photo opportunities galore were missed! We will just have to return soon......

Are we there yet???

Is anyone else thinking the above..... It seems like we are never going to get there! Waiting at London Gatwick for the flight to Venice. No idea how we are getting to Koper tomorrow and we have enough luggage to sink a ship (hopefully not literally of course)!!

Craig got intensely questioned at Glasgow airport as he only has a one way ticket to Venice. Luckily we anticipated this and he pulled out the boat registration papers which got him out of trouble.

Running out of money for the internet cafe so will blog some more later or tomorrow.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet..........?

xxxx

Lesley and Craig

Still counting the sleeps....

One More Sleep!!!! We leave for Venice in the morning where we overnight before travelling down to Koper (somehow) to meet our new home.... As far as I am aware everything is going to plan, however I am still a little bit dubious that things will go off without at least one hitch. With the best will in the world, we are dealing with European winter weather and although the sun is shining here at the moment it is not quite the same as the sun we are used to.

Have spent the last few days tidying up loose ends - like insurance for the boat, buying safety gear over the internet and having a few glasses of red with friends and family (got to do something to keep warm).

Watch this space....... it's getting closer!

xx

Craig and Lesley

Snow.....

Well, we have now experienced some real snow. Very pretty, however cold and wet and slushy when it melts (which it did fairly quickly)! Luckily we took some pictures while it was still fresh as it had all but melted by the time we woke up in the morning.

Still having problems uploading pictures so will have to try in another post again!! Hopefully you will see some snow.....

Leaving!! :-((

Well, we have now started our journey in earnest. To be honest, I think it hit me sitting on the plane in the middle of the night just how enormous a change this trip is going to make in our life. I still haven't quite processed it all and probably won't until we are actually on board Shirley Valentine. Things are moving fast now and we are in regular contact with our 'man on the ground', Anthony Camilleri, with regards to final touches. Shirley Valentine is arriving in Slovenia the same day as we do all going well (10th of February) and Anthony thinks we are mad to be considering commissioning in the middle of winter. I must admit that right at this moment I am beginning to agree with him..... (Craig is worried at all!).

We are currently sitting in Scotland looking at snow falling. It is not particularly cold, just wet and slushy!! Leaving Australia was extremely difficult. The last few months have been so busy and traumatic that I didn't really have time to think about getting on the plane and how hard it was going to be. We had so many friends and family contact, visit us and help us with our last minute preparations that we were very humbled. Why is it in life that we don't realise how much we mean to others until we are preparing to leave them for a while??

I bawled my eyes out when I said goodbye to the dogs and also (luckily) as we farewelled our lovely friends and family at Brisbane airport. If I hadn't, my daughter would have told everyone that I loved the dogs more than my kids!! We got some both lovely and practical gifts which we will treasure while we are away... Kathleen and Helen - I am glad I opened yours on the plane as I cried for about 30 minutes after I opened it! Thank you so much, what a great sentiment. Maggie - we have already used the clock and I have now learned how to turn off the alarm. It is fantastic! Kim - Mum is going to inscribe the front of our log for us to make it look really fancy. Can't wait to record all our adventures!

Must admit, writing in our blog makes me realise that all of this is actually happening! Anyway, plenty more to do and people to see before launching so I better get on. Will talk to you all soon. Take care and thinking of you all!

PS... can't get any images to load today. Will try again tomorrow!

xx

Lesley and Craig