We’re in the nitty gritty of Holland within the nitty gritty of boats.
Tall ones, short ones, long, fat, thin, smelly, smart, expensive and cheap – boats glorious boats.
It sounds ideal, driving around Holland in a loaned camper van (we have great friends here) and viewing boats, but, to be honest, it is better than ideal!
Spring continues to put on a good show for us in Europe with clear skies, sunny days and cool nights. Holland is green, flat and neat. The Dutch couldn’t make an ugly house if they tried.
After buying boats in Australia and San Francisco, it is interesting to see how the brokers in Holland differ. They don’t. There must be an international brokerage school they all go to. When we comment on a defect they talk around it, if they have no answer they become suspiciously quiet. They hear what they want to hear and show us boats they think we should buy.
“Don’t look at the price.” One said as if it bore no relevance; then proceeded to show us boats twice our maximum budget . . . wasting everyone’s time.
“It’s very different to sailing.” Another says, when we explain we have sailed. He doesn’t listen to our further explanation of living on board our first boat for nine years, which was 34’ without a fridge and we traversed many canals (including France) on this wonderful boat.
It’s useful allowing brokers to assume we are ignorant, some tend to talk themselves in circles, revealing more than they’d like.
But not all the brokers are this way. The brokers that showed us boats this morning are quiet and gentle. They let us peruse without pushing the hard sell – which is the worst thing to do to us, indeed it would put us off most boats. The boats we are viewing at the moment do not have thick, new paintwork which has almost been poured on, ‘trying’ to hide problems. The problems are on display, as they should be (well, we hope).
What we want: A good sized boat for two with two cabins for occasional visitors to have their own space and a well maintained boat with one engine that is big enough to push us along nicely, but not too big. Additional sails would be nice (small mast to lower) – but they seem few and far between. A wheelhouse is necessary- it is cold here sometimes!
What we don’t want: Teak decks, rust, ugly (we will need to re-sell it), toilet in the galley (and there’s a few, what were they thinking!), a diesel-eater (not heater, which is what we do want!) but we are on a budget.
Type: Whatever fits the above – we’re viewing all sorts to help with research and hopefully feel that little flip flop of excitement when we find the right one. We learn something new on every boat.
Keep it simple is our motto, which we did on Mariah and so far they were our best days (years) on board.
We’ve been here less than a week: our other motto we try to follow, is : patience.

COMPETITION TIME!  We’ve been cruising for years – the thousands of photos have been whittled down to a ‘few’. Please take a look and make a comment/like/share your favourite for a chance to win a print.  http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/jackie+and+noel+parry/all?page=1

Winner (or winners – if there is enough!) drawn next month . . . http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/jackie+and+noel+parry/all?page=1

Link to sailing pictures – ours is here with others, If you want to see more of our pictures just search Jackie and Noel Parry on this site (FineArt America) – or click the following link for a selection from different photographers/artists.

<a href=”http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/sailing/prints&#8221; style=”font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;”>sailing prints</a>

All the advice received says Holland has the best selection and prices for boats. We have friends in Holland, we have cheap accommodation there too (payment in the form of copious beers for our friends-so maybe not too cheap!). France, we are told, has more expensive boats and after lengthy days searching on the net, not that many boats within our budget/desires.

So, of course, we are going to France! We will view ONE boat. I can’t bring myself to tell you how much this is costing. I am converting all the GBP payments to $AUS and having minor (but constant) palpitations.

“Go taste and enjoy the French wine.” Says one friend. “Breathe.” Says another! Okay, this afternoon’s mantra is “I am lucky to be able to do this next venture at all.”

On Monday we travel to France and view the boat in the afternoon. Tuesday we go to Amsterdam to see our great buddies, Natasja and Dennis and their gorgeous twins, Debby and Kim. We haven’t seen them for six years. I know they will laugh at my grey hair that is staging a takeover bid; they will tell us off for wasting money by going to France, and then they’ll straighten us out and put us on the right track in just a matter of hours.

They will also drink way too much beer and we’ll ruin our livers when we try to keep up (speaking from experience).  But we can’t wait to see them and hopefully view more boats.

We viewed two boats today on the Thames. I’ll cut to the chase and answer the first question.

“Did you see anything you like?”

“No, frankly I wouldn’t take one of the boats I saw today if it was given to me.”

Seriously, how can people put a healthy price tag on ‘boats’ that are rotting via (1) mould that could get up and make its own cup of tea and (2) rust that is now 90% of the boat’s total material.

I was afraid to stare at the port holes too hard in case they caved in and the spores from the mould induced our lungs to start screaming as soon as we opened the door. The second cabin was a mattress in a cupboard!

All hope is not lost though. This was a research mission and we learned a lot. When we were searching for Mariah II and Pyewacket II, the same thing happened. We viewed a lot of boats fit for fire wood before we found some seaworthy vessels.

The search continues . . .

Here’s the second cabin:

Would you like to come stay?

After jumping on the noo-poo band-wagon, I am jumping right off – for now.

Extreme bad hair day – I decided to shed my guinea pig guise after a haircut – a bad haircut. As a member of a closed group on FB who live a similar lifestyle to me, I preached about how easy it is to cut your own hair. I then cut my own hair, as I have done for years and was horrified with the results. A lawn mower and whipper snipper would have produced better results!

Who’s fault? – I promptly blamed the no poo regime on the state of my hair. After a quick BS/WV wash my locks were sticky, almost gummy, oily and dirty. I looked a bit like a crazy hobo. It didn’t hang softly, it just sort of stuck out in the middle like a wire fence that has been sat on – and therefore it hampered my cutting!

Calm, considered action – I decided to tackle this as a level headed grown up – I threw a tantrum, reached for the shampoo bottle and thoroughly enjoyed a full-on sudsy, chemical laden wash!

I had also noticed that the BiCarb Soda was breaking my hair. I have since read that massaging very gently is necessary, but I really didn’t scrub my head. I was gentle. I used BS twice a week and each time I could see more breaks straight after ‘no pooing’.

The WV (white vinegar), was nice. I had not one tangle. My hair tangles easily, being quite thin (but a lot of it – I am told).

A new approach – I considered using the recommended ‘beer’ from my old friend google. I can do that, drink, pour, drink, pour, slurp, slosh, hic! Or Lemon/Lime instead of vinegar . . . . perfect with Vodka . . .  has anyone tried that yet?

Life after guinea pig – Now I use a tiny dob of shampoo, if it doesn’t sud-up it doesn’t matter. If it becomes too foamy I have used too much and then I have to use heaps of conditioner! If I use just a little shampoo then my hair doesn’t work its way into such a tangle.

Although I haven’t yet, I may use vinegar as a conditioner, after shampooing. I liked it before.

I will start to try natural shampoos, use little, use vinegar if I need conditioner, buy beer to mull it all over and probably a bit of vodka to go with the lime.

Skin with no soap– still the same, soft, but dry from time to time. I now use a tiny-weeny dab of Virgin Olive Oil. This created much mirth in the Parry household, “you’ll smell like a salad!” The amount I used probably equates to a drip size. I rub it into my hands and then rub my hands across my face. It doesn’t feel like there is anything left on my hands (they have sucked up all the oil) – but my face and lips feel better.

My lips are no better. They are better than they were a few months ago, but still need something. The oil helps a bit, but I am in the UK now and with dry air and chilly days – so I am back to lip salve. This will be a constant battle.

And finally, I am glad I had a go, but I just don’t think it is for me. It is nice having soft, manageable hair again – everyday. I have neatened up my hacking job and I look reasonably sane now (to a blind horseman galloping past on a dark night). Beer is definitely a consideration, but to consume not cleanse.

Things are looking up. From my guru (google) I have carried our more research and ignored the bits of advice and don’t like and am using the bits of advice I do like!

I have stopped using BiCarb soda every time I wash my hair and it is much softer.

Routine now is:

Washing hair every other day with WV (white vinegar) diluted in a cup of warm water.

Wet hair

Squeeze out excess water

Use squeezy bottle to apply WV and water

Gently rub in – leave for a few moments and rinse.

Hair is much happier, far less dry and is soft and manageable.

Once or twice a week I use BS (Bicarb soda) prior to the WV.

On the skin/dryness front: I have, twice, exfoliated with BS, which helped and although not perfect, my skin is much better. There is no tightness now and very little dryness.

The same applies with the skin on my lips, the dryness is almost completely gone now.

So this week I am far happier. I very very nearly gave up but I am so glad I didn’t. I have read (and been given advice) that WV is not so good for your hair. So far my hair is okay, but I will keep plodding along and see what happens. In a week or two I will switch to Apple Cider Vinegar to see if there is further improvement or change.

Considering I applied moisturiser twice a day, lip balm of some kind-constantly and washed my hair with shampoo daily – so far I am very happy with results and considering the experiment a success.