The Last Post

When I was a little pup there was a period in me life when I didn’t get treated so good. As I got a little older, I found meself on board a boat. It was very big boat and it was a scary place to be for such a little dog as me an da man that lived there didn't care about me. Then one day, some people showed me how it was to be loved and how I could be free to be me. This was the day I met me dad – aka The Dogfather – and the mum aka mumpty! You can read the whole fing ere.

Course, I never knewed it then but they was gonna turn into me foreva fambly and we wud never be separated and I would grow old wiv dem. They was always there for me and I for them. We sure had some fun togeva, first on Atlantis and then in various houses and countries. I even had me own pool for swimming in. Mum an dad got me a ramp to elp  me in an out.

As we know tho pals the day comes when it is your time to go and yesterday it was my time. I has left em boaf broken earted but they dust not need to be becoz of me bein over rainbow bridge wiv some true legends like Marley, Bridie, Ted the Legend, Rohan, Zowee, Ginger an Mac, Harvs, Bunners, Gunner, Sydpie, Brutus, Frugal Dougal, Rosie Posie, Annie, Bonnie, Jacky, Dusty, Tiggy, Pepi Smartdog and oh so many many many pals. We is avin right larf I can tell ya! Now we gonna has a #pawpawty we never gonna forget :). Rainbridge is gonna rock rock rock!

Don’t be sad mum, don’t be blue dad, coz you was the bestest fambly a girl could ever wish for. Now … get on wiv dat boat will you! I wanna see you boaf in Malta. I be watchin and prolly post from time to time to let pals know ow fings be progressin.

Now me gonna sign off.

Lexie ....... out.

A new home for Atlantis - part 38

Ello is me again! Bin a while ain't it? I forgot where I was. Oh yeah we was gonna find annuva moorin for Atlantis an move her an they was gonna finally get to work again after a lonnnnnnnnnng time of not being able to get on board her (legal fings).

Well, true to her word, mum found a moorin. T'was in a place where they had looked years ago funny enough. Lowestoft! So the mooring was found, the deal was done. All they needed to do now was get Atlantis seaworthy enough for them to get her up there.

Now, why dus these fings always ave to appen in Winter? Poor old mum and dad spent 5 months from November to March getting Atlantis ready for her trip. I was supervisin the whole time of course, keepin em on their toes.

First fing dad ad to do was find out what was urgent to fix and what we could live wiv for the trip wifout danger to life! Atlantis had been laid up so long , there was a lot to do! So, his list looked a bit like dis:

• Fix the raw water pump without which we couldn't run the engine
• Weld the wheelhouse so we could put in the navigation lights
• Weld the Portuguese bridge for added safety whilst at sea
• Install new batteries for the 24-volt navigation system
• Clean and prepare the fuel tanks
• Fix the anchor windlass (that's a winch to you landlubbers)
• Repair the crane
• Get new ropes
• Fabricate new bollards
• Get rid of all the rubbish (mum's job!)

Water pump - the raw water pump was rotten so dad had to machine a new shaft, new seals and gaskets.

Making sure we could anchor safely out at sea was impawtant as we couldn't make the trip in one go. The anchor's hadn't been lowered for quite a few years so we had to test em. Dad had to get sledgy out again.

You might remember we did also get Bandit wot is our rib that is our tender and our life raft if we needed it, wot we didn't I am glad to report. We took her out for tests on the Blackwater during November.

More next time on all the fings wot we dun. I hope you enjoy the bloggy and is good to be back!

Lexie out!

Dreamers, tyre kickers and time wasters need not apply - part 37

Ello! Is me again, Lexie. Where was I? Oh yeah, sellin Atlantis *sob*,

bedroom all shipshape

So, the decision was made. Mum an dad had agreed. It was time to sell our beloved Atlantis. They were heartbroken.

The mill and the marina manager were ringing and emailing every week, putting pressure on mum and dad to move her. Move her where?! There was nowhere to go. So mum put Atlantis up for sale on a boat website. They knew it was unlikely someone would av the vision an ability to finish er but it was either that or they was gonna av er scrapped!

spray foamer

They dun a bit of tidying up in case anyone come round to look and removed some of the tools and equipment like the spray foaming machine. Mum even washed the duvet!

Mum got a call a few weeks later from someone wot was intrested in buyin er. I won’t tell you wot the asking price was, but let’s jus say it was a knock down once only price. Well this man an is wife came to look at Atlantis.

The came about 4 times in all I fink. Dad was there to talk through his vision for Atlantis and even offered to elp advise and guide his contractors (he wasn’t gonna do it imself). Looked like it was gonna appen.

Dad did some work on the engine to make sure she would run ok and be able to leave the mill. Then, the man sended an email, an email mind you saying he fort it was too  much to take on and was gonna start his own hog roast business instead! A what now? Pftttt weirdo!

tidy (sort of) engine room

Then annuva man says he wants er. So he comes to see her. Well, first fing he says? You wanna put some paint on that! Ha really? What a great idea, we never fort of that.

Then, whilst surveying the river through the awesome wheelhouse wot dad built, he says ‘what you wanna do is cut off the front of this wheelhouse and put some patio doors in and then she’d make a lovely houseboat’.

Lucky, dad wasn’t there. Coz if he had been, I fink he would have made the bloke walk the plank (if we ad one). Mum says I don’t think this boat will ever be a houseboat. Thanks and goodbye.

Mum rings dad. Come to the boat she says to im. So off we goes to Atlantis and meets mum there. Mum was crying. She says ‘I can’t do this. She doesn’t want us to let her go. We have unfinished business and it’s time we finished it’.

Dad says ‘ok, well, find me a mooring and I will do it’. Mum telled me later she felt so appy inside, knowin we was gonna get this fing done an we weren’t gonna sell her.

Now all she needed to dus was find annuva mooring! I'll tell you next week if we dun it .. but I fink you already know the answer to that one :).

Lexie out!

Let's have a quick recap - part 36

Atlantis in Maldon

Well ello me pals and my oh my ain’t it bin a while!? Well, yes achewly it as. First, I will give you a potted histry of wot we bin doin over the last few years.

As some of you knows, we has got a boat, hmmm, a ship I mean. We as got a ship. She is called Atlantis. Mum and dad bought her way back in 2003 when she was a fishing boat in Ireland. You can read about all that on some of me old posts.

Anyhoo, in 2010 we moved her from Kent to good old Essex where we was gonna make her all bright an shiny, then sail off to Malta! That didn’t work out too good. The marina manager (boo hiss grrrr) weren’t it turned out, a man of his word. So, we gets to Essex an he tells us no, you can’t live on it, no you can’t weld, no you can’t paint, you can’t do noffink. In fact, he says, I don’t even want you ere. So for the next 5 years he moved us from this mooring to that, each one worse than the last. We finally ends up on a mooring next to a flour mill.

We was forbidden by the marina manager (boo hiss grrr) and the Mill elf an safety manager (quite nice man really) to set foot on her apart from to check her ropes and make sure she wasn’t sinkin!

Atlantis view from port side

We was at our wits end abowt  wot to dus. They coddn’t see how we was gonna ever finish Atlantis or even get on board [we went to Ibeefa to run a dive centre but that’s annuva story wot I tell you laters]. While dad and me was working hard in Ibeefa mum tried to sort fings out once and for all.

She did the only fing that made sense (at the time) – to sell Atlantis! Mum an dad had fort about it long and hard and could not see any uvva alternative. Their dream had come to an end.

Well … find out in the next excitin episode wot appened! See you in the next chapter pals! Remember, stay slinky :).

Lexie out!

Doggie-paddle-tastic

Hello! Is me .. Lexie! Ow fings? Well pals, as you might know, I dus like to swim heehee. I fink I may of mentioned it a few times ;).

Anywoof, mum and dad luvs to see me enjoyin ma Skamper Ramp. I dussnt be scared of the pool any more and can get in an out easily wiv ma ramp. See ma uvva post for a better look at da ramp ere.

Coz they dus be scoobin divers they got all their gear at da pool for practisin so they decided wod be fun to filum me from under the wata coz they fink ma legs is so funny happarently!! Pftttt cheek! I am like a glidin swan I says ;).

So there you go, doggie paddle from under the water courtesy of the dad! Oh, ignore mum showin her amazin underwater skils (NOT) for the camera. She is a right silly moo ;).

Fanx ma pals ... paddles off ... paddle paddle paddle

Is it gettin otter in ere?

Hello ma pals! Ow fings? Is me Lexie!  Now then, as you may or may not know, I dus like to av the odd swim ;). Til now, I dus mainly do swimmin in rivers and the sea.

However, a few munfs ago all dat did change and turns out mum and dad has gone an got me ma very own swimmin pool! Errr ... well ok they didn't get it just for me, I has to share it wiv dem unfortunately pfffftttt.

Fing is, even tho I dus love to swim (as you may or may not know teehee) I was too scared to swim in the pool because I has to have a way in and a way out. Well ma very good friend on Facebook wot dus be Elizerberf telled me abowt this fing called a Scamper Ramp and ow we could get one an put it in then I cud get out of the pool easy.

So, mum opened up her wallet (moths were flying everywhere BOL BOL) and buyed it for me! Took ages to come. It came all the way from Americy. That wasn't the hard bit coz it achewlly arrived wivin 5 days. The big problembo was the customs! Took em free weeks to sort it out. Doesn't matter, coz its ere now.

Ere I am checking it all out

Seems to hold ma weight ok ;).

Doggie paddle is the stroke of choice in this house ;).

I fort you might like to see a bit of video of me  using it wot dad done. You will see mum in da background floatin around as lifeguard on standby in case of incidents ;)). Fink she needs some elocushun lessons - she gets more Essex every day pffffftttttt.  Just a short swim first:

An a bit further this time:

The best fing about it is that if, for some reason, I fall in the pool (unlikely) and they ain't there, I can scamper up ma ramp quick as a flash and be all safe an that.

Woofhoo!!! Well that's it for now, talk to you soon, this be Lexie signin off, lovin life and livin it to da max baby heehee!

xx

Home sweet home - part 35

Hello pals. Well we have moved again! Atlantis is now moored it what we hope will be her home for the next year at least. The funny fing about it is it is where we started off in 2010! 

Here we are heading off up the river to our new home, under our own steam I might add! This is view from the port side (the left). If you wants to remember that port is left, we use a little phrase - no port left (as in the drink). 

Here's the view from the starboard side. Not much in it I guess!

Here's our little tender following along behind.

 

Here's some pals helping us more up in our new exciting surrounds. The view is not great, but at least we know we can do all the noisy messy work and no-one will complain. We also are able to get on and off when we like and don't need the tender any more. Bet we can get a few quid for that!

Dad moves her into her new spot, nice and slow. You can't see it but mum is waiting wiv fenders (in this case some classy large tyres) to fend off from the wall.

A neighbour in the dock over the way. A Loyal Class Fleet Tender having some work done.

A view from astern.

Our new gangway across to land. I'm summoning up the courage to go first.

Nope! Decided to send mum over first so I could make sure it would hold me weight ;). Seems ok.

Here she is safely moored up in her new home. We have shut up shop for the winter and waiting for Spring. Dad will then finish off the wheelhouse inside and out (think I've said that before) and there is talk of a new galley and bathroom for 2013.

Well it's been slow progress for the last few years as you can tell but 2013 looks to be fun. Not least of all because dad has another slave helper in the form of his son!

Thi has been Lexie, signing off for now.