Winter on the boat

Well the summer was spent sailing along the south and east coasts of the UK and the north coast of france, along with some jewellery making (me) and boat refitting (Jack).

October saw us anchored in the River Dart, the most beautiful anchorage of the year. A turn in the weather made us head back to Brighton marina who offer a very reasoable winter rate for berthing from October through to March.

We plan to stay here until the end of March and if all goes to plan we hope to sail around England next summer, heading anti-clockwise and up to scotland for May.

I have found a little workshop space in Hove and I share with a really great artist Katherine. Jack returns to Essex a few days a week to work on the same boat he was working on this summer.

I love having a workspace set up where I can make a mess! I am currently working on a new resin range and also some silver and teak wood pendants, which are made from remnants from the boat building workshop.

Afloat on the River Crouch

Hi

For the month of July our boat will be moored in Brandy Hole, on the River Crouch in Essex. It's a drying mooring so we spend most of the day looking at mud! It's beautiful when the tide is in though and there's plenty of wildlife to look out for.

Jack is working on a boat in the boatyard at the moment as well as making some changes to our boat. We are making some preparations for wintering aboard, such as lining our lockers with foam sheets to prevent condensation. Other improvements include a waterproof chart holder for the cockpit, so we don't have to go in the boat to use the chart table when we're sailing.

I packed my jewellery workshop away so that we could go sailing this weekend, but with gale force 6-7 forecast we decided to stay put! I am setting the workshop up again today to continue working on some new resin pieces. I hope to try a new epoxy resin which I am hoping will set quicker and speed up my production times....

You can see some of my resin jewellery in my Etsy store. If you've never been to http://www.etsy.com before you have to! It's a huge site where crafters from all over the world sell their handmade goods. I sell my jewellery on there but I am also addicted to browsing and adding things to my favourites list - here's one of my favourite sellers - I can't wait to get one of their hip flasks: http://www.moxieandoliver.etsy.com/