I promised Ian and Joan that we would visit them in Cyprus as don’t see that much of each other and we’ve spoken about this for the last three years.  However the real reason for going was to see the ‘boat’.

I had no idea of the size, weight, cabin capacity etc. so imagine my surprise and delight when we arrived at the marina and finally saw ‘Lothian Sky’ and could take in its length, its towering mast height, its broad beam, the wooden decks; this wasn’t a  boat this was a yacht no matter how Ian played it down.  Once on board I mentally donned my cap with the words’ Captain’ in gold letters and tried to assume command until I realised I didn’t have a clue what to do so I let Ian take me on a tour.  As he showed me the owners cabin he nonchalantly said it sleeps eight, I said “What the owner cabin” he said “no the Boat.” First gaff to me! Toilets, showers double beds I began to realise this was better appointed than my house in England.

As Ian did some work on board I was able to walk around, climb over the decks, hang on to the rigging and bang my head on the main spar (twice) but I began to get a feel of the size and power of ‘Lothian Sky’ and image myself at sea with all sails set and mountainous seas all around; a bit of a dream has I’m not sure if I suffer from sea sickness or not.  All too soon Ian had completed his work, shown me around and we left the mooring with a promise we would come back and take her for a sail.

Stuart