by Patrick | Apr 21, 2021
I last posted in May 2020 and just before that in March 2020, where I mentioned our plans to relocate to the UK. Well, ‘you know what’ pretty well scuppered all that! But suddenly, things are looking up! We eventually arrived here in the UK in November 2020. My wife... read more
by Patrick | May 10, 2020
And some more bridges on the Netherlands waterways that we encountered on our cruising – Flood Barrier Well I suppose technically this is not a bridge – but a pretty imposing structure – the flood barrier on the Hollandse Ijssel, near Rotterdam.... read more
by Patrick | May 9, 2020
Even though we no longer have Shangri La, I still love looking back at the photos and reminiscing! We think those few years were the best of our lives. I was reminded of the huge number of bridges on the Netherlands Waterways – which of course is not surprising given... read more
by Patrick | Mar 8, 2020
Lisson Grove – Regents Canal Regents Canal It has been nearly a year since I last posted. Did not really expect to be posting at all. Thought my canal days were over! (We sold Shangri La in 2018). Well maybe not! Given the situation in SA, Karen and I are... read more
by Patrick | Jul 2, 2019
And here are the last of these interesting boats we have seen – this time mostly the rather deadbeat and derelict ones in France! Interesting colour scheme Saw this one somewhere in the Netherlands. Would love to know what inspired this colour scheme!... read more
by Patrick | Jun 18, 2019
Here are a few more pics of funny and/or interesting boats we have seen on our boating travels on the inland waterways through Netherlands, Belgium and France. Antwerp – Willemdok Havenmeester This was a one off – in Antwerp the Harbour Master, complete... read more
by Patrick | May 28, 2019
So here we are, well into May. Normally by now I would have done masses of route planning and have our 3 months cruising all set, as well as wintering possibilities for the end of the year. But Shangri La has a new owner and we are boatless! I am a mixture of... read more
by Patrick | Mar 15, 2019
What a season it was! Great from the point that we sold Shangri La to a good home, and that we achieved a reasonable price. Not so good from the cruising point of view. Map with 2018 cruising route With regards to the first point – when we bought Shangri La at the end... read more
by Patrick | Jan 27, 2019
Thursday 30th August to Monday 24th September Part 2 – The sale of Shangri La About a week after we left the boat in July (see South of France and Sojourn in England), I had a message from the H2O broker that we already had an offer on Shangri La, obviously subject... read more
by Patrick | Dec 30, 2018
Thursday 30th August to Monday 24th September Part 1 – The cruising Shangri La at fuel jetty – St Jean The final episode on Shangri La was somewhat of a rollercoaster ride, with loads of mixed emotions – happiness, sadness, relief and frustration! I had hoped to... read more
My love of boats goes back to my early years when I went on holiday with my parents to Knysna in the Cape.
We stayed at a hotel on stilts, and I played in rowing boats and little motor boats on the lagoon.
