Ships are always a female … so you refer to your yacht as a she. This is some consolation when you are sitting at the bow of the ship trying to fix some disaster involving a jammed sail with the waves crashing over your head and the cold water dribbling down your neck … in such instances it feels good to shout the b**ch-word into the screaming wind. But at other times she is a gentle companion that keeps you company on the cold lonely nights … at these moments the female attributes of the yacht are a balm to the hard edges of a grotty yachty alone after several nights at sea without a soul to talk to let alone a shower to wash in. But no longer. Now this grotty yachty is seriously outnumbered with two girls –Widdershins and the whimsical Léonie. As a result this sailor guy has had to clean up his act somewhat and also give Widdershins a bit of a scrub-up to prepare for Léonies arrival.

So no longer is it simply Pat versus the world and Two in the Blue is really on track as we set off on our one month shake-down cruise from the south of Norway to the north.  So some changes? You betcha! To start with this is no longer a solo act, so from now on expect a new view on things as we pass through this wonderful land …. Things like ballet I expect … Léonie just punched me.

After a few days of acclimation (fancy word for feeding the fish and lying prostrate under the table) Leonie is on board and excited to be feeling the wind on our back as we head north. Over the past two days we have left the south of Norway behind us and have truly reached the west coast at last. Stavanger in in our wake and Lysefjord lies ahead with towering 900m vertical cliffs and plunging waterfalls to be our view from the cabin window tomorrow.