Porky & Beluga cook at sea

Music, sunshine and bare feet...  Utopia A former boss once said to me that his staff with screen-savers bearing Utopian images of setting suns, beeches or desert islands, were dreamers with no ambition. I learnt a lot from him, but how wrong he was on that occasion... he saw everything very clearly, in either black or white... I arrived back in Cascais last Thursday, much later than I'd originally planned. I'd managed to pick up a stinking cough and cold plus the skipper's arrival was delayed by more than a week; that worked out well for me as it happened. Anyway, it's really good to be back here, still quite warm with fewer tourists - Utopia? Well almost. The music and sunshine are good but not quite bare feet conditions yet. So now I'm installed on the boat with Gunnar, the skipper Grunde and their friend, also from Fredrikstad, Stenar. One Brit with three Norgies. The crew - Me with Stenar, Gunnar and skipper Grunde Last week Gunnar

The Gib'sea 37 moored in the marina in Cascais Having found myself a boat that's sailing to Las Palmas in the Canneries, I have finally achieved my second goal.  The boat, H. Breed, is a Gib'sea 37 equipped with radar, AIS, auto-helm, two large Genoas, water maker and a pleasing but sparce little galley. It also has a large, well-protected cockpit, two double aft cabins and a massive double bow cabin. The boat was sailed down from Fredrikstad near Oslo, earlier this summer. The 3 man Norwegian crew are about to start a two-year, around the world adventure, beginning with the 5 day sail to Las Palmas on the 15th or 16th November, where they'll pick-up their additional crew member. Gunnar was left aboard as boat keeper. I met him in Skipper's bar in the marina. We got chatting and have subsequently become good friends, meeting for a beer and a chat most days. Last night I stayed aboard with him and have left the majority of my kit at my former Hotel,