Aleria's Adventures

Screen grab from Dr Bush's instructional video Exercising on a small boat can have its challenges. Do you find your life afloat too sedentary? Are you looking for a simple way to keep your body in shape? Here is a good one. Four minutes, three times per day. No equipment is necessary. Can be done anywhere in the space in which you stand. Could  this be the best onboard workout for cruisers?  Dr Zach Bush has created a 4-minute work out that done 3 times per day will help build muscle and keep joints functioning smoothly. It's based on the principle of nitric oxide release. He calls it High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). In less than 15 minutes per day in total, you will be promoting physical fitness and combating detrimental inflammatory processes. It's based on some well-known principles. Your muscles have a certain amount of energy stored. If you use up that energy, they'll release nitric oxide as a signal for your body to recuperate. Nitric oxide is fo...

Hosted by the Monte Real Club Nautico de Bayona Baiona, 27-29 October 2017 In attendance on behalf of OCC: Daria Blackwell, Rear Commodore Alex Blackwell, Regional Rear Commodore, Ireland Representatives from 24 yacht clubs and cruising associations from Britain, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal and Spain took part in a 2½ day conference on cruising in Galicia, Spain. Several specialist media representatives also participated. Representatives from ten marina and service organisations were in attendance as were members of the regional tourism and harbour development authorities.

So you made the decision to go cruising with your family to expose them to a richer life at the edge of nature and replete with cultural experience. You just buy a boat, pack up your kids, and shove off, right?  Oh no. How will you provide for their education, feed them in exotic places where the foods are all different, wash diapers and ensure their safety.  Until now, there has been no resource available for families afloat. Thanks to these authors, everything is now about to change.  

Recipes to keep your crew from jumping ship Birthday cake I baked for myself while on an Atlantic crossing. Alex catches a small tuna mid-Atlantic.   Anyone who has done any extensive cruising will have had to deal with provisioning and stowing food, cooking while underway in rough conditions, keeping a diversity of crew happy, dealing with unfamiliar ingredients, having either too much (fish) or too little (fresh veg) food available, substituting ingredients, the art of the pot luck dinner, and disposing of packaging. There are plenty of other elements to deal with, like cramped quarters and availability of gas, so voyaging by boat can be a tricky thing, and getting ideas from other people doing the same thing is always helpful.   I decided to compile a list of cookbooks for boaters and was surprised to find there were so many new ones on the market. Most are available in both print and electronic formats, so you can have your preferred edition and access...

Crown Estate approves new wave and tidal installations   Last week, two separate proposals from opposite sides of the Atlantic drew the attention of groups that represent the interests of boaters.  Although very different issues, they illustrate what happens when a body makes decisions in the absence of input from all affected parties. A case in point is the Crown Estate's eager approval of proposals by commercial ventures to explore wave and tidal energy installations. This is not a go-ahead but it is a nod in favour of continued development. What they failed to take into account is the precarious navigation in some of the chosen locations. The RYA, rightly so, and the ICC on behalf of Irish cruisers, are preparing arguments against such development.

Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day in the US which marks the beginning of the Christmas "shopping season", has now crossed over the Atlantic  wreaking havoc across Northern Ireland.  Shoppers queued from 5 am at stores in anticipation of the bargains announced for the day. The stampedes caused at least one shopper injury and spread fear among the workers in the shoppes.