SteveO

Good. We are off to see Twelfth Night on Wednesday evening. Looking forward to it!

Four days of bright blue skies and mild temperatures in a row here. Definitely feels as though spring is on the way. Wish we'd been able to spend time on the boat but had to hand the grand-nipper back to his parents this weekend.

I hear that charcoal biscuits are available from good pet stores.

Erm.... shouldn't it have had about 92 coats of varnish, each rubbed down between coats to within an inch of its life and the last 10 applied by the light of a blue moon?

I think it would be the smell that would get me.

I never got stopped when I had a Citroen XM - got a few speeding tickets though

I think I would be blanking a few cylinders off - or fitting rowlocks

At least that's more sensible than dry January. Only 28 days!

Well thank God that's over and ended well. I have followed every inch of the journey over the last few days and it has been a hell of a journey! As a pensioner, I heave a sigh of relief that the UK's productivity figures have now returned to something like normal and if they haven't GET BACK TO WORK, YOU LOT! Seriously, you have all learned a lot about Indy, her capabilities, and foibles, about each other and about yourselves. You should all be proud of your achievement which, given the time of year, the weather and the fact that Indy was a relatively unknown quantity , should not be underestimated. HATS OFF TO ALL OF YOU. Cheers Steve

Just gone through according to AIS. Appear to have a pilot escort!

I I can imagine the whole of the last 2 days being way too exciting for me. That sea off Dungeness made a 50 foot boat look like a 25 footer.

Wonderful pics. Seas like that make even a 50+ft boat look small.

Hampton Safaris are good boats and would give you no problems with bridge access. Although small (25ft), they feel like a "proper" boat but are relatively cheap to moor, toll, run and insure. The design is clever and maximises available living space, unlike an aft cockpit boat, half of which is a "no-go" area in cold weather. The first boat we ever hired was a Safari and we did the whole of the broads in it, in a week. The only negatives we found were i) the saloon can be a bit draughty when it is cold (but most owners keep a few lengths of foam pipe insulation to shove in the gaps ii) there is nowhere on the boat to sit and fish other than in the saloon with the hood slid back and iii) I used to get dripped on from condensation on the rear cabin side windows in cold weather. Some friends of ours fitted double-glazed windows to theirs for this reason. Hamptons also have an active owner's club, so plenty of advice, meet-ups and other activities are available. These boats might seem expensive but in my view you get a lot for your money and, if you chose wisely and look after your investment well, you will get your money back when you eventually come to sell.

Just been up to Lympne churchyard for a look over the Channel. Could just make out Indy with the Mk1 human eyeball right on the edge of visibility and coming in and out of view depending on the weather of the moment. Glad to be back in our nice warm house. Hats off to you guys out there!

Give us a wave as you go past Hythe.

Now past Hastings and heading for Dungeness at just over 9 knots. The present course prediction on MarineTraffic has them going straight through The Pilot - a pub renowned for its massive portions of cod and chips. Interesting...

Just approaching Eastbourne. Look to be making good progress although at these speeds my estimate of fuel usage looks now to be hopelessly naive.

Blimey it puts the £200 a year or so that I spend on diesel into perspective.

I think that is where they are building the Rampion windfarm.

Looks to be out of the melee now. Inbetween Bembridge IOW and Hayling Island. Clear water ahead.

Well done lads! Hope you only see your breakfasts the once.

Can see them on the webcam in Weymouth harbour now.

I may be missing something, but presumably when we can't "see" her via AIS, then other vessels can't either. Of course they should be keeping watch and using radar, but we all know they don't always do so. Still making 9.7 knots according to AIS.

10Km south of Brixham now. 10.8 knots!