Sail on in seas with no time.

 Here we go again, off down the Solent, were adventures or usually in my case misadventures begin, where the memory of past trips and people you have met emerge from your mind bank. The first thing I had to do on this trip was to keep a promise, on my last trip Malcolm (Scoop) Tucker introduced me to two charming Ladies who added immensely to the fun and enjoyment of that trip, Brenda and Hilary. Many cruiser will have come across Hilary during many cruises, a fun loving fiercely patriotic Welsh lady, who loved sport was knowledgeable about sport in general and her beloved Manchester United, and she could explain 5th edition offside rule. Shortly after we returned from our Panama Adventure the news reached us that after a very short illness Hilary had passed away, robbing the world of a vivacious, intelligent, deeply caring person who loved life and people and in return everyone who met her loved Hilary, despite her always being fashionably late and wearing heels that defied gravity. After the funeral in Wales I promised Hilary's extended family that I would put a red rose into the sea as we left Southampton, today I fulfilled that promise with the Isle of Wight in the background Hilary's rose went overboard, I said a little prayer and on that grey day the sun broke through. Sail on serenely Hilary.

 

A bright light in many lives