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Yoko and Swarfega
Posted by Squiffy on August 30th, 2007
Yoko is our new VW Type 25 campervan. We finally collected her from the mechanic on the 13th August and brought her to my parents house in Leicestershire for a good clean. It has taken a while to scrub her up, mainly due to the UBELIEVABLE amount of dog hair covering the interior (I am allergic to dogs) and the fact she has been neglected for a few years.
I have to acknowledge my parents here who were a marvellous help and put in lots of time and effort to help us, not to mention coming up with unique solutions to our dirt problems. Most successful was my dad’s idea to use Swarfega. He started with a bit on the roof interior and when it worked so well it became the antedote to dirt on everything from leather to carpet to upholstery – it really works and is our top tip for cleaning! For those of you not familiar with Swarfega, it is a solution used by mechanics/engineers to remove grease from things (inculding their hands) but we found it works brilliantly to remove grime of all shapes and forms.
Some of the cushions in the living area of Yoko were ripped and beyond repair, so we had them re-upholstered and now it’s lookng pretty smart in the back. We’ve bought the Haynes manual and the Idiot’s Gude to Keeping Your VW alive and Dave is getting stuck in to the mechanics, starting with an oil change. As Yoko is 25 years old it’s likely she might break down on us at some stage so we are trying to learn as much as we can about how to keep her going. Any advice is welcome in the comments section :o)
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Should we stick to online surfing??
Posted by Squiffy on August 29th, 2007
One of the things I’ve been looking forward to on this trip is doing lots of the watersports I love, namely sailing, diving, white water rafting and surfing. Recently I had my first chance to take to the sea for a spot of surfing. As the last time I got on a board was in Jersey about 3 years ago and I wasn’t particularly good then, I opted to have a beginners lesson. I thought Dave might need some persuading to join me but he was very keen, and so we headed to Woolacombe (North Devon) to join a group lesson. As an aside, I would like to note that I was pleasantly surprised by the number of good looking surfing boys on the beach, especially the lifeguards (check out our gallery), and I’m sure Dave would say the same about the ladies. Anyway, back to surfing. We were kitted out in wetsuits and rash vests and carried our boards down to the beach.
Our instructor, John, sat us down on the sand and explained how we should catch waves and showed us how to ride in on our knees, as a first step. After practising this on the beach it was time to take our newly learnt teachniques to the waves. I’d forgotten just how tiring it is getting out even to waist deep when you have a surfboard in tow. Once we were there we patiently waited for the perfect wave, paddled like mad and cruised in, firstly lying down, then on our knees. We both had pretty good sucess with this, although I caught quite a few steep waves (apparantly due to the low tide) and nose dived a few times, causing me to get a mouth full of salt water and wonder where I was for a few seconds.
Once we had mastered this, John took us back to the beach to practice converting the kneeling stance into a full on stand-on-the-board. This is where it started to get hard: push ups, squats and correct feet placement were all involved. Back to the sea, we were all keen to stand. I found it hard to make the transition from kneeling to standing as I was always so happy just to have caught a wave that I didn’t want to risk unbalancing myself by trying to get to my feet. But with a bit of repetition I got there. Dave did some mammoth paddling and managed to get to his feet for a split second, before plummeting head first into the surf again!
The next morning we were both very sore around the shoulders and triceps but it was well worth it for the fun we had. As with most sports, it needs a lot of practice and we hope to get out there whenever there’s a chance to hire boards. If you fancy a giggle, look out our surfing pictures. We thought we were really cool, but looking at the photos now……..well, you decide.Â
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Oldest Crabber on the Quay
Posted by Squiffy on August 28th, 2007
When we were little, my sister and I would spend many hours happily crab fishing from the pontoons and quay at Dartmouth. Neither of us liked fastening the bait to the line (well, it was cut up fish heads) so my dad would do that bit for us, but after that we would sit and catch the 6 legged creatures all day. There’s more skill involved than you think; you need to put down exactly the right length of line to get the bait on the bottom but still have the line taught enough so you can feel the crab when it bites, they need to be pulled up at just the right speed so that they don’t fall off and you need to recognise when to move along to more crab rich area. Helen and I became experts and our all time record was 147 in one day.
Walking along the quay I became jealous of all the kids who were crabbing to their hearts content. So I decided to part with £4.20 necessary to acquire a line, a bucket and some squid bait (already cut up for me). I found the technology had advanced slightly over the years and I can’t help thinking the new equipment is designed specifically for the squemish amongst us who don’t have a dad on hand: the lines now come with a net, rather like the ones you use for your washing machine tablets, so that you can put the stinky bait straight in without handling it. It probably also sticks to the crabs claws, thus helping you to catch more.
I chose a spot on the quay and dropped my line in. After a couple of minutes I felt a bite and pulled up the line plus crab. However, before I got him up and into the bucket he dropped off and back into the river. This happened several times before I managed to catch and transfer my first crab to the bucket. I say first. It was also the last as I only managed to catch one that day. It seems I have lost my crabbing expertise. Either that or the crabs have become wise over the years. Still, I enjoyed watching the boats go by and chatting to bemused passers-by who came to check out what was in my bucket, whilst looking slightly perplexed that a late 20-something girl was there with her line and bucket. I really must have been the oldest crabber on the quay, or at least the oldest without a child to act as a ruse. Anyhow, I recommend it to anyone of any age for a relaxing and satisfying experience. And perhaps I’ll have another go tomorrow.
Check out my crab pictures.
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Almost famous car for sale!
Posted by Squiffy on August 26th, 2007
Due to other modes of transport (we’ll explain later), I’m reluctantly selling “GOJ”, my faithful Rover 214i.
It is an ‘S’ reg 3 door with a 1.4 engine and has LOW MILEAGE (51 000) miles. Features power steering, remote central locking, Â immobiliser and CD/MP3 player.
It has a full 12 months MOT and 4 months tax. Regularly serviced and recently had 2 new tyres.The interior is in excellent condition and it is has just been valeted throughout!
Selling for £995 which is low according to the book price. Is a really good car to drive and has been very reliable for me – very sad to part but needs must. If you’re interested in buying GOJ or know someone who would be, give Angela (my mum) a call on 01455 239730 for more info/pics/test drive.
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Photo of the Week – 24th August 2007
Posted by Squiffy on August 24th, 2007
A couple of pics from daveb’s first (and my refresher) surf lesson in Woolacombe, North Devon. We both loved it but were aching the next day.
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Introducing daveb to Dartmouth
Posted by Squiffy on August 24th, 2007
After Dartmoor, we drove about 1 1/2 hours South East ish to Dartmouth, where I spent many holidays as a child on our family boat. Here we are lucky enough to be a renting a friend’s holiday flat, so we have a break from camping for a few days.
The flat is actually on the Kingswear side of the River Dart, and it is a fun ride on the ferry to get to Dartmouth town centre on the opposite bank. The town is a pretty mix of upmarket shops and cafes, set around a square dock and along the river front. There are steep hills either side of the river with brightly coloured houses overlooking the water.
On our first day here we pottered around the shops and just enjoyed the views. In the evening we took the car ferry then drove along some very hairy single track coastal lanes with 20 mph spped limits to get to the Start Bay Inn in Torcross. The Inn is famous for its fish and chips. Having sampled them, we can confirm they are both delicious and enormous.
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Dartmoor: Martian Walk
Posted by daveb on August 22nd, 2007
Martian, my Cornish buddy from previous travels, arranged a weekend of camping and walking across Dartmoor for the DFL (Down From London) set. Happily, we arrived at the pub campsite fairly early in the evening and pitched our tent before darkness fell. If the truth be told, we weren’t much looking forward to camping again; the weather had improved from driving rain to light mist — you know, that kind of ‘wet rain’… :o)
The others arrived at varying times between 8pm through to sometime close to midnight. Happily the DFLers had spent last month’s wage packet on the latest camping gear including what is now my favourite camping invention — the two second tent. These things are wild: Picture half an IKEA paper lightshade made from waterproof material, enlarged to comfortably home three people and flat-packed under spring-tension in a circular bag that looks as though it might be a hula-hoop carry case. Here’s how to pitch a two-second tent: Remove coiled item circular bag and throw it at ground. Watch in awe as the device explodes into a perfectly formed three man tent. Bang in a peg or two to keep it in place. Open beer and laugh at fellow campers trying to line up their fly-sheets with their inner-sheets. Boy how things have changed.
The 8-12 mile group walk (I cannot remember exactly how long it was) went well, oh apart from my trousers splitting a two inch gaping hole at the crotch, my trusty walking boots losing their waterproof qualities within 2 miles and then a lace snapping in the last 2 miles! A glorious time was had by all and much beer was drank. Here are the Dartmoor photos:
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Fixed broken comments form?
Posted by daveb on August 22nd, 2007
Thanks to all who have let me know about the annoying broken comments form, which would give the impression of cutting-off long lines of text when using Internet Explorer on Windows. After wrestling with technology for a few hours, I hope that it’s now fixed.
Please would you do me a favour and help me test it by leaving a comment (or a reply to another comment) below?
 If it’s still broken, I’ll be pleading with you all to change to a better browser! :o)
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Camper out back
Posted by daveb on August 20th, 2007
Yesterday movement on the camper van situation was made. We had narrowly missed out on the chance to buy a great Land Rover Discovery 200 (the seller had first offered it to his mate just before meeting us).
Out the back of his workshop we spotted a SORNed VW camper van, just like the one that we had tried to buy in the Isle of Wight. Save the fact that it had failed it’s last MOT is several key places, it was in fact in better shape than the IoW. And it had an interior.
This was quite possibly a diamond in the rough and we talked through what needed to be done to get it ship-shape and through an MOT. A suitable deal was reached and the mechanic said that he’d start work on it right away and give us a call (in a couple of weeks) once it’s roadworthy.
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Camper van movement
Posted by daveb on August 17th, 2007
There’s been some interesting movement on the camper van front. Recall that we were deciding between an empty-shell of a camper van and a Land Rover. Here’s where we got with our decision:
The shell camper van would have no-doubt made an excellent restoration project for a passionate individual with a lot of time, space and tools. This is the sort of project that I would love to take on at some point in my life. Alas, not now. Right now, we’re on a travel mission to open our eyes to our world, and–crucially–not restore a classic car. Truth is, we wouldn’t be able to do the van justice nor would it do us justice on the road [in it’s present state].
So the Land Rover was a winner. Before embarking on this trip, many people had suggested to us that a Land Rover Defender was the way to go. Squiffy previously owned a Land Rover and her father had even driven one from the UK to Australia back in the day when intercontinental travel was hardcore. To be honest, the Defenders that we saw were either in immaculate and as such very expensive, or complete sheds that were on their last legs and probably wouldn’t have gotten us outside the M25. This Landie, a Discovery 200, was in great condition keenly priced too. We rocked-up at the mechanic’s workshop to find out whether his friend, who had first dibs on it, still wanted it or not.
The mechanic had been in touch with his friend and–blast–it was still very much wanted. A little disappointed we were but, hang on a minute, what about that VW camper van that you’ve got out back?
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