Pull up a bollard.

There is an old saying in the Royal Navy ‘pull up a bollard and I’ll spin you a dit’. It conjures up an image of an old salt sat on the quay side chewing on his pipe and spreading his tales of strange sea creatures, far away islands, storms and calms to anyone who’ll pass the time of day with him.

Stories are the life blood of people, an important way of passing on our history, sharing time together; a bonding, learning experience. Being captivated by a good story can take you far away from your normal life creating pictures in your mind of fantastical creatures, heroic deeds or life in a different time. It’s also how information is passed on - entertaining, informing and sometimes embellished to make a better tale. Sailors when they get together not only talk of storms, near escapes and terrifying passages but also swap information and advice about places and things, a valuable part of the story telling

Now the internet means that ‘dits’ can be spun very differently, we can write our stories in one part of the world and friends and family in other countries can instantly read our tales of people, places and new experiences. With our blog (and the facebook page) we enjoy sharing our adventure with family, old friends and new friends we meet along the way and maybe it will help or inspire others who are planning their own adventures. We also join with others to pool advice in some of the many forums around giving support and encouragement, passing on information and advice, still by word of mouth but in a new way.

Thanks for sitting on the quay side with us, listening to our stories and sharing the adventure and to those of you who cruise alongside us, thanks for the advice and fair winds to you all.