Christmas Weather
Winter has finally arrived, even in Ashkelon. We were hopeful that being this far south we would escape most of the rain, but of course, this year unusual weather patterns have made Ashkelon one of the rainiest areas in Israel! However, winter is late arriving, and only December has really started to be cold and wet, with the last cormorants still migrating south until last week. We are snug and dry under our winter tarpaulin, double mooring ropes secure Chasamba and Sheva has her corner under the sprayhood arranged to her satisfaction.
Ashkelon is one of the best fishing areas in Israel, and this week the white tuna arrived in huge shoals- the fishermen catch them in strong nets, and the delicious smell of barbecued fresh tuna wafts over to us from their wharf. We catch crabs- small but delicious- and try whatever the fishermen have brought in- this is a baby shark which was tasty in a garlic and red wine sauce, and fed three adults and Sheva!
Christmas was nice- Orens parents kindly volunteered their house, oven and crockery, and the turkey was really good. My traditional chestnut stuffing was enjoyed as usual, and Russian champagne was as good as ever. Christmas here is a bit different to England though- no-one has the day off because it isn’t a Jewish holiday, so the kids were all at school until Christmas dinner, and opened their presents after that. ( Actually this may be an improvement, it certainly makes cooking easier!)
So now we are setting out on another year, a year in which we will probably be tied up most of the time, although I hope we will at least get over to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus in the holidays. I have an article due to appear in Yachting Monthly- about our shaft falling out in Turkey, get it and see!, and plan to start writing full time. Oren is working as a driving teacher again, but rest assured, this is temporary only, and we will soon be off again, we have no intention of getting dragged back into the rat race. ( Only the marathon race, ha ha ha.)
Yes, you heard right-in the mean time I have an intermediate goal- to run a marathon. The one I am going for is the Tiberius marathon, held at the start of January each year. ( I’m going for next years race, in case anyone was wondering.) At the moment I can run about 3 kilometers, so I will hopefully build on that base gradually through the year. Why do it?
1) Because its now or never!
2) Getting a bit chubby.
3) Just read about a 61 year old Israeli woman who won the Ironman contest.
4) Because everyone has got used to me living on a yacht and realise that I probably will sail round the world, so I need a new reason for people to think I’m crazy.
I will update you on my progress weekly ( well, lets face it, probably monthly.)
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