a slight pause......

The Taj Mahal at sunrise

Having recently returned from India and Nepal I was hoping to find a shiny, newly painted Brown Eyes waiting to greet me at the marina. Unfortunately this was not the case and she is still in the paint shop waiting for the last coat of paint to go on........something to do with the weather has caused the delay, evidently!

So things are on hold until after Easter now.

Contemplation at Buddha's birthplace

We had a fantastic time on our travels and I will drip-feed a few photographs onto here over the coming weeks.

I do have a some more races coming up in the next few weeks to help focus my training and keep me busy; including The Gauntlet (Mucky Races) and another half-marathon - it would be great to break the 1hr 30mins barrier this time......it would also be great to have some more sunshine!

Elephant bath-time..........

but it was us getting wet......

Masts Down.....

Brown Eye's Masts

The masts have now been 'stepped' on Brown Eyes and she has been moved over to Fox's Marina ready for having her hull resprayed.

Looking a bit different without covers, masts or sails.

I also removed the cockpit covers and these have now been repaired where the UV sunlight had deteriorated the stitching.  Later in the week I plan to look at a used main-sail.  Hopefully, if it is in good condition, that will then become the "in use" sail and then the current one will be stowed away as a spare.  The current sail is still usable, but is now getting quite old and has several repairs.

All ready for her respray

Hopefully, once Brown Eyes is back at Neptune I can get on with some of the cosmetic work inside and start making preparations for a circumnavigation of the UK later this year.

Keep on Running........

Finish of the 10k Insane Terrain

As well as working on Brown Eyes, I have stepped up my physical training regime.  This is because I have entered and committed myself to one of the hardest races there is in the UK........more about another time.

Reminded me of old times...

As we all know, it is important to set ourselves goals in order to stay motivated and focused on the task in hand, so I have been taking part in some of the local races here in Suffolk. 

 The water was there to wash all the mud off. 

The start of 13 miles.....

The Fitness Unit Team

Mile Eleven....

I finished my first half-marathon for over a decade in 1hr 32min 19sec (my PB back in the 90s was 1hr 14min, so not too bad) and finished in the top 10 of the Insane Terrain race at Woodbridge - so at the moment I am content with my training......but still need to step it up a bit.....

Adnams Distillery Tour.....

These barrels contain whiskey.......well nearly!

A great day out in Southwold culminating in a tour of the Adnams Distillery.......yes distillery, not the brewery!

More information by clicking here:

There is lot more information on their website, the only important thing I need to note here is they will have their first batch of whiskey ready in December 2013........a date for the diary I think.  

Hope you like the photos......

A selection of the Adnams Ales 

The view over Southwold