Yacht Mollymawk

Forty years ago the Spanish were still claiming the western half of the Sahara and fighting to keep a hold of that territory. It was not to be - they lost the land - but the way things are going they need no longer feel aggrieved by the loss. The Sahara desert is now all set to hop across the Straits and occupy Southern Spain. Continue Reading…

It’s February 1st… and we’re still stuck in La Manga. Those of you who know us well won’t be at all surprised at the delay, but everybody else keeps asking us, “Why…?” Continue Reading…

Thank-you for having a go at our Mix ‘n Match Bird Quiz. The first completely correct entry came from Sue. Susie was on the right lines with the yellow-legged gull. John, you were so nearly right with everything that I suspect you simply pressed the wrong key a couple of times…!
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The Ship’s Naturalist has been very busy these past few weeks. She has at least two articles in the pipeline, but transferring her observations from the Nature Diary to the computer is a long, slow process. In the meantime, we thought you might enjoy a little nature quiz. Continue Reading…

Searching for a way to win back her figure and fitness, but without the expenditure of any unpleasant effort, Jill discovers canoeing. There is just one problem, and that is the matter of stowage. If you think a couple of canoes take up a lot of room in your garage, try fitting them onboard a yacht! Clearly, the answer lies in acquiring a pop-up version which, at the end of the day’s play, can be magicked away and hidden under the bed. A spot of on-line research turned up half a dozen different makes of inflatable canoe and two dozen different models, but can any of these vessels really be paddled along like the real thing? Our intrepid team of testers set out to discover the truth. Continue Reading…

How can you holiday and see the world on the cheap? Answer: as a backpacker. But how can you do that same thing with three kids and a dog in tow? That’s what the boat is all about. With a boat you can travel, in your own home, to the far corners of the globe. However, there are times when a boat can be very restrictive. You can travel the seven seas, but when it comes to terra firma you can only get at the edges. When you want to travel and live cheaply on the inside of a country then you need the terrestrial equivalent of a cruising yacht: you need a camper van, or motorhome. Continue Reading…

When you live on a cruising yacht the world is your oyster - but it’s an oyster which comes without any dressing. Liveaboard yotties, drifting about on the seven seas, have to do without many of the things that Westerners generally take for granted: there is no hot and cold running water out here - not aboard our boat, anyway - and there is no national grid to provide our electricity. We also do without television, the Daily Mail, postal deliveries, and baths. And our children do without school. People who choose this lifestyle seldom have trouble managing without the frills - but school hardly fits into that category. The parents of a liveaboard, itinerant school-aged child have to find some other way of imparting to him the accumulated wisdom of the world - or else, to quote the late Bing Crosby, he may grow up to be a mule. Continue Reading…

Mollymawk is currently based in La Manga del Mar Menor, in Southern Spain. Cruising Notes for this region will eventually be posted… but the Log Book will not begin in earnest until we set off, again, into the wide blue yonder.