Our month-long social visit to the UK ended up in Felixstowe, once a grand Victorian Suffolk seaside town, which now has England's largest container terminal in its backyard. Just across the harbour is the historic town of Harwich from where my way-back ancestors sailed, and it was from the Stour/Orwell estuary that Antiope began her voyage to Europe 12 years ago.
Some folk in Felixstowe have too much time on their hands.
Our trip across the North Sea was again overnight, but this time in a lovely cabin aboard the 240 m ferry, Stena Hollandica. Definitely a more comfortable ride than last time, according to Annie.
Before leaving London, Annie and I made the Thameside walk from the old Docklands to Greenwich including the must do 'Cloud' cable car ride over the Thames. We finished up with a reviving pint in the bankside Trafalgar taven, then a swift 'Uber' ferry up into central London and a further walkabout. There is so much more to see of London by foot than getting around on the 'Tube'
The Greenwich meridian crosses the Thames at this point
It then heads on South through docklands all the way to NZ
Once back aboard Antiope, she was smartly launched and we began the long delayed task of removing 'Zanussi'. The task made more difficult as Zanussi (the washing machine) was a big beast, wider than any of the boat access ways and we suspect built in before the original interior fit out was completed back in 1996. Zanussi had been misbehaving for several seasons and was on its final warning. Pre Covid I had cut out a big enough hole and made a larger forehatch. This week the test, having dismantled it as far as possible a mobile jib hoisted the 80 kg up through the hatch. We knew that if we could get one out, a new one would fit in.
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