Sundowner II log – 2006 update 22 – Gaeta

June 2006
Well now it’s June all of a sudden and we are preparing to leave the marina in just over a week’s time, the past months of the new year have been spent mainly in Scotland working to top up the cruising fund. We did try a return back home to Somerset but were unsuccessful spending as much as we earnt proving once again that you should never step backwards but carry on forwards. Our previous visits to Italy have always been during the Winter so it’s kind of strange to be here in the summer even stranger as we can’t use the computer because for the last 6 hours thunder and lightening and torrential icy rain has been sweeping down from the surrounding mountains. The locals are a bit bemused as even the winter was exceptionally poor even having snow the marina and on the decks which hasn’t happened for many decades. It’s a bit scary and doesn’t bode well for our plans of a leisurely cruise down the coast maybe as far as Sicily before returning again to winter in Gaeta. It has been a good winter for visitors with visits from our friends in Guernsey, Lee and Jan, for New Year, our son Alex and Tania for 2 weeks in April, our parents at Jacci’s for Christmas and a fun weekend in Milan with Seb. Our first visitors though were Adam and Ali all the way from Scotland, we had met them back in Mahon Menorca aboard their catamaran Sanskara and it was at their house in Aberdeen that we worked for a couple of months (we have just disconnected all electrics as the lightening seems to be landing across the street and amongst the rain hailstones the size of sugar cubes are battering and bouncing on the deck and coachroof - amazing stuff). It was a truly memorable time with Adam and Ali’s hospitality and friendship knowing no bounds and the work shaped us up both physically and mentally Sandra sporting some rather impressive toned muscles and Dennis has a rather red Santa Clausy type face from the copious cider and wine that was taken daily for the purpose of relaxation. Expenses down to a minimum the cruising fund is rather healthy and with the cost of travelling so low now we even managed to get from London to Aberdeen for £14.00 each on the train and having never been to Scotland before enjoyed the coastal trip from reserved window seats. Sundowner is looking and feeling good and just needs the canopy off, bimini up, sails out of the bags and put back on, food stocked, anchorages studied then the fun can begin, oh to be waking up diving into clear water, scraping the barnacles off the bottom again.