The one with the Unexpected and Extended Maiden Voyage

During my 2 and a half months off I was called back to the new boat due to some delays. This was it's maiden sail as a construction vessel so I wasn't as annoyed as I should have been (plus I was probably wearing quite a butt groove into the couch). A one week journey became a three week struggle to have all the systems up and running before we sent her on her merry way to Africa.

We had a number of problems with quite literally all of the systems not functioning correctly. Even one of our Thrusters decided to pack it in and had to be fitted out with new electrical wiring. The crane was doing things it was not supposed to and the A&R winch was taking a week longer than the 24 hours it was supposed to take to set up and get working.

It soon became apparent that we would be racing the clock to be home in time for Christmas. As we entered the final week we began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. This moment of joy was short lived however due to what was described on TV as "the big freeze" moved in. Yet again the UK was surprised that there was a downpour of snow during winter and it's unpreparedness became an issue as all of the Airports began to close.

I finally got off the vessel in Las Palmas (to a blazing 33 degrees) that was rather tempting to stay if it wasn't for my girl being stuck back in the UK. I ended up rolling the dice and jumping on a flight to Madrid. This was a fifty / fifty chance on being able to take the booked second flight back to London. Unfortunately I was not allowed to check any luggage all the way through due to the fact all flights to UK were cancelled.

We touched down in Madrid quite late and I was not confident of making the flight if it was even running at all. Waiting at the carousel for what seemed like an eternity I saw the next flights boarding time creep past me. When my bag eventually came through I ran up to the check in to be greeted by a very relaxed lady who was in the middle of a conversation with her collegue. She gingerly took my ticket scanned it into the computer and sent my luggage on its way. What surprised me the most was we had zero conversation so as I asked if my flight was still going she smiled said thank you and turned back to her friend.

By this time my departure time had passed so I legged it through customs towards my gate. On my way to the flight I saw a queue about one hundred metres long that led into a sign reading "Flights to be re-booked for the UK". My fear was soon eased when I got to my gate to be greeted with a line of people boarding. Once on the plane I was rather surprised to see the flight only a quarter full but certainly glad for the extra space.

After the flight I got in quite late but still had a day of shopping left to get my presents (there is only so much you can buy on the internet for your girl) and arrange a massive feast that would last us 4 days of the holidays.

I guess it was one of those times where all the cogs come together but one little hitch could have sent it all into a downward spiral to a very un-merry Christmas!