Audio links

Some of the yarns on this site are recorded & you can play them through the following links; (You might have to copy & paste),

Stuck in the mud:
www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes/rams/2007/4auguste.smil

Climbing the mast
www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes/rams/2008/7january4.smil

Lifting out
www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes/rams/2008/17march3.smil

One for Ireland
www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes/rams/2008/4aug4.smil

Gijon, Spain
www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes/rams/2008/1sep5.smil

Leaving France
dynamic.rte.ie/quickaxs/209-pategan-2008-10-28.smil

Some retirement

“What did you do before you retired, Pat?” Rory from “Whale Song” asked. “I'm not retired”, I shot back, “I'm a full time sailor”. He chuckled back, “Good answer”.

But I wasn't joking, at fifty two I'm not even thinking of retirement, I've got stuff to do. Aside from that, my meagre savings and pension fund were inadequate to provide for my old age before the markets went pear shaped, so retiring now is out of the question.

And yet, everyone thinks I'm retired, “living a life of leisure”, “swanning around on my yacht”. How can I blame them when even a fellow traveller like Rory makes that assumption.

Indeed my life these past few weeks would further enforce the view. I have managed to make small progress on the Winter To Do list, on top of the routine chores of cooking, cleaning and shopping. But in honesty the progress is slight, and Catherine both leads the domestic front and takes the lion's share of the work.

Still I must admit in the last twenty days, since our return from Ireland, I have taken my foot off the pedal for a much needed rest. Cruising down here, port hopping about thirty miles at a time, did fulfill our objective of cruising Brittany, the North of Spain, and Portugal. Doing it all in three months, although not exactly whistlestop, was still quite a rush. Added to that was a continual pressure to meet natural milestones as Autumn approached; to get through the North of Spain and around Finisterre before the August fogs took hold; Then get around Cape St Vincent and into the Algarve before Catherine left to catch her prebooked flight to a wedding in Boston.

My pal Erland came to crew while Catherine was away, and we took Aragorn to her winter berth in Portimao. Still, there was no time to relax. I had a week after he went home to sort out the boat, trussing it up so that I could be confident it would be secure when unattended. Half an hour's work you say, but you'd be wrong. Dinghies had to be deflated, and they and their outboards had to be stowed, no mean feat on a liveaboard, where every cubic inch of stowage has already been accounted for. All that done then Aragorn had to be cleaned top to bottom, inside and out. This in addition to the mundane stuff of keeping body and soul, shopping, cooking, laundry. Plus, a couple of train trips to Lagos and Olhao to arrange liftouts etc.

Two weeks back in Ireland, but no let up. Year end accounts had to be got in; there were a few chores to do; promises to keep; catching up with friends and family; tying up some business loose ends; preparing and delivering a talk on our experiences so far in Pool Beg; and finally catching the Irish leg of the Boston wedding before returning to Portugal.

It has all been great! We've thoroughly enjoyed it. It's been exhilerating. And it's been exhausting. So no I have no compunction about taking it easy for a few weeks. I'm doing no more than the essential, plus whatever else takes my fancy. I've earned it. Next week we have two batches of visitors, which by itself will crank up the pace of activity. After that I just might attack the To Do list with new zest, but that's definately a maybe.

It is true that we have yet to find a method to generate funds out of our enterprise, so perhaps this too suggests we are retired, but let me just say one thing; if this is retirement, then it is no place for the old!