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Thank you…yes we were keen to get out early in the season before the Portuguese trades kicked in. There was a lot of motor sailing to be fair! But fair play to you doing it multiple times…once was enough for us! 😊😂⛵️

Thanks Richard 😊

Cheers Jim…glad you got to see Gibraltar…hope you enjoyed it? Great that you’re seeing some of the places we’ve been 😍⛵️

Hi Iain, good to hear from you.. No I haven't finished any future episodes yet. Trying hard to get ahead of the curve as we are away for most of January so I want to get a few in the bank. But to sum up whats going on, you may be a little surprised if you haven't been following on insta or Facebook. We arrived home in June time having not really enjoyed much of this voyage home and being well and truly done with sailing. We sold Intrepid Bear but after a very stressful selling process, due mainly to an incompetent buyers surveyor, pivoted from the motor boat we had planned to buy to a wide beam canal boat! No I still can't really believe it either! The main reasons for the canal boat were that we bought one from 2017 which is basically a small floating apartment. Had we bought the 50+ foot motor boat then we/I would be continuing to deal with an almost 40 year old boat which I was struggling to face after some issue that i had to address on the Bear. Also the inland marina leaves us with lot more disposable cash each month than a south coast marina would. I still need a saltwater fix so hope to get some freelance work as a motorboat skipper from time to time. We plan to continue travelling by more conventional means, we also have a caravan now for UK exploring. We plan to keep making videos of whatever travelling we do but once we have completed the voyage home I can't be sure we'll have enough material for regular episodes but we'll see. We both know that we'll, quite understandably, lose most of our sailing following but we love having the videos to look back at ourselves and enjoy the creative process of making them. So yes that's us in a nutshell right now, happy to be home, happy to have a car and a little normality but still settling back in and working out exactly what we want next. I don't think we are finished with the sea but are taking a break for a few years in terms of where we live.... There you go! Probably not what you expected... it wasn't what I expected just a couple of months ago either!

@@FollowIntrepidBear Many thanks for such a detailed reply, Iain; most interesting. We've pondered the idea of a narrowboat too, and had a lovely long walk down the Kennet & Avon at Devizes earlier this year. The lifestyle seems a world away from the constant stress of dodging weather, finding anchorages and Schengen stupidity with the bonus that you'll keep fit operating all those locks.... I'm glad you're going to keep doing the videos and I wouldn't be surprised if you retain a good number of subscribers. I wrote earlier that you both come across as 'anti-celebrities' - real people who others can relate to against the plethora of others in YT who seem up their own backsides and who are often just fan-boys for whatever gadget some advertiser is sponsoring them to peddle. Far more real than reality TV. I'll ask the missus to weave whatever magic is required to get on FB so we can better follow your progress. It would be fabulous to host you on our boat at some time as we cruise the UK as I bet you've both a lot of untold stories to tell.....a dram or two wouldn't be amiss. I'm pretty sure you'd be welcomed into many an Association or Club as a speaker as well as your style is compelling. All the very best again.

@iainmacdonald1170 thank you. We actually bought a widebeam, which significantly restricts the area we can cruise but gives us a huge (compared to a yacht or narrow boat) living space. We will potter around the local canals from time to time but a lot more of our adventures will be land based for now or flying somewhere etc. Nothing is set in stone but we’re enjoying being stationary without the worries you list for now! It would be great to get together to swap stories sometime so if you can find your way onto Facebook (or Instagram) you’ll know what we’re up to in much more real time to see if we’re in the same area. It’s also easier to get or stay in touch via messenger etc. We have our caravan as well so maybe, next year, we can pitch up somewhere near wherever you are and catch up for that wee dram! Cheers for now 😊

I ‘sea’ what you did there 😂….very good! Hope you enjoy the voyage home although it was a challenge. Cheers 😊

Thank you Peter. Overall we’re very happy to be home but, without being a multimillionaire, we can’t have everything we want and yes we miss the winter climate in Gib or the Algarve so still waiting for that lottery win so we can have it all! 😂 We’re fortunate though that we have some winter sunshine booked in January for a few weeks and we very much hope to spend a month or so in warmer climes each winter. Nice to now have a U.K. base but have options to visit warmer places. The voyage home was tough in many ways and we perhaps didn’t film as much as we used to but I hope you enjoy following along in any event. Thank you for your support 😃

@@FollowIntrepidBear I enjoyed every minute of your Med experience. Thank’s for sharing. As I said, I haven’t caught up with your present journey but will in due course. Cheers! P

Hi, thank you I’m glad you enjoyed the video. The canal really was an awesome experience 😍 And yes if you’re 33% Scottish in your ancestry the sound of the pipes will be in your blood…that’ll be why you love to hear them 😍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. Next we set off back towards the U.K. The videos are a long way behind at the moment as I haven’t had time to make them but things have changed a little and we’ve moved to the inland waterways on a different type of boat. I will still make the videos of intrepid bears voyage home starting soon 👍🏻😊

Nice part of the world and you can’t beat a good Spanish Paella! 😍

Hi, so there’s been a bit of a change. I’m afraid the grand sailing adventure is done, albeit there are still videos I need to make about the voyage home from Gibraltar, and we have moved to the inland waterways. We will still make videos of our adventures afloat and ashore as we love making them for our own memories but the content will move away from sailing once I’ve caught up so I know it won’t be of interest to many of our existing viewers so we’ll see what happens but, as I say, we’ll keep making them for us 😊 You’re welcome to check out our instagram or Facebook for more up to date adventures but I will be back with a few more sailing videos before we’re done 😊⛵️

@@FollowIntrepidBear I enjoyed your sailing episodes. Very well done, I must say, close to Sailing Fair Isles professionalism. Goals, dreams, and priorities change, and I'm sure you will make the most of your retirement in nearby waters. I look forward to your final sailing part from Gibraltar to the UK. Cheers, and thanks for all the effort you put into producing the videos and for the happiness you brought your viewers.

Thank you…very kind words. We spent winter with FairIsle in Montenegro in 2022…lovely people, honoured to be compared to their production standards 😊

Very kind words thank you. The old stone slipway is located just on the south side of the road bridge at the north (Corinth) end of the canal. You can see it on the aerial footage just down to the left at around 9:26 mins on the video… Let me know if that describes it for you? Cheers 😊

@@FollowIntrepidBear yes I have found it thanks. Keep up the good work.

If I work “on” how to pronounce Gijon will you work “on” how to say work “on” instead of work “in”? See I make mistakes in Spanish and it appears you make them in English so we’re even I reckon 😉😂😂 (p.s. yes I’m sorry I’ve since learnt how it’s pronounced and will try harder in future 👍🏻😊)

Good point! I will then improve my English Is good to know the details of a foreign languages and accept the correction from native speakers Can you do the same in French Castellano Gallego and Italian for me please ? I would love to perfect my English 😅😊

@@manuelnunezdominguez2291 just English and a little French I’m afraid…😂

Thank you…really glad you found it helpful. Best of luck building your experience going forward 😊⛵️

Hi, thank you,…that’s a very good question. I’m sorry to say we don’t have the boat anymore so I can’t check it out for you. I suspect heavy duty screws into the thick toe rail wood but not something I ever checked out so could wrong 😬

@@FollowIntrepidBear Ah, no worries… thanks for the swift reply and your videos! You helped me choose Lat Bros… not cheap, but I think it will be worth it 🤞🏼

@@peterhaymaker7562 thanks Peter…We’re working as hard as we can to bring you the voyage home and hopefully we’ll have an episode out by early October (sooner if we can) In the meantime you can always go back and watch some of your favourites again! 😉😊⛵️

@@FollowIntrepidBear OK and something to look forward to. Thanks, P.

If we’re honest it’s been a battle since Gibraltar so getting home was more relief that we can ease up rather than sadness. The Bear has been sold and it was more of a fond farewell than sad….Its been fabulous and we wouldn’t change it for the world but we’re ready for a different, perhaps more relaxed, adventures 😊😍⛵️

@@SVImpavidus oosh…that’s not cool. How has that happened? Did you pay EU vat or were you U.K. vat paid but in the EU on Brexit day? Either way it suck’s if it’s stopping you heading home when you want to….

Wow! High praise indeed….thank you 😍⛵️

Hi…we’ll be back and forth to the Bear in the coming week. Give us a shout if you see us. You’ll have to excuse us if we’re elbow deep in sikaflex but otherwise it’d be great to say hi 😊⛵️

Thank you, I’m glad you are enjoying it. For us it’s awesome to be reminded of last years adventures 😍⛵️

Hi Iain. Yes, in real time, we are back in Poole and The Bear is on the market. Our lives and cruising will be very different going forward as any boating will most likely be power and there’ll be a lot more exploration by road. I hope to keep making videos as I enjoy doing it and it makes fabulous memories for us but the content will diversify somewhat so probably won’t appeal to our current sailing audience. However we don’t even know how our plans will pan out or how the videos will evolve going forward! We’ve still got the voyage home to produce when I get a moment but settling back in at home is proving a bit busy right now. However I will get those videos made even if it was more a delivery trip than a pleasure cruise. Thanks for your comment and support and hopefully I’ll be back to finish the chapter soon 😊⛵️

Sad but not surprising. I don’t think that people who’ve never gone long-time cruising can appreciate the subtle but considerable stresses, whether it be missing family or the constant need to be checking on weather, the next passage or the plethora of challenges a boat provides before you even raise a sail. Then you’ve had the pettiness of Schengen to cope with. Still, 3 (I think!) years of it and the things you’ve both done gives you the right to be proud of yourselves; you certainly have my respect. We’re very fortunate in having a home in Cyprus & the boat in the U.K. so we can get the best from both worlds. I hope you can find something that works as well for you both - but I’m glad you’ll be videoing whatever it is as I enjoy the authenticity. Your photography has developed exceptionally well. We send an informal blog to family & friends in the US who are amazed at the variety of the UK’s coastline, so much so that one is coming over for a cruise. Potential market for a new audience for you?!? We’re back in Gosport to rest before taking family up to St Katherine’s in London - weather allowing. All the very best to you both.

Thanks Iain, yes it’s those subtle but continuous pressures that took the edge off the fun and tipped the balance back towards a more home based lifestyle. There are so many factors that influence it but full time liveaboard cruising with no other home to go back to for a break is intense. I didn’t know you had a home in Cyprus as well….that sounds a great set up. I’m sure we’ll find the right balance for us. Watch this space! Thanks again for your support 😊⛵️

Hi Nick, thank you, glad you’re enjoying the videos. Porto Montenegro charged us €3100 which was a 7 months for the price of 5 deal so we arrived on 1st October and departed at the end of April. Our boat is 12 metres. I’m not sure if they still do that deal and have heard prices have gone up…this video was made in 2022. It was a great place to spend the winter out of Schengen 😊

⁠many thanks for coming back to me so fast. We have purchased a Bavaria 36 and I plan to take her from Fleetwood U.K. to Gibraltar in May next year. Then cruise Spain and head over to Italy, Greece maybe over 2 seasons. Just getting the boat ready now. Thanks 🙏 Nick aka “Sailing Sea Star”

Back home 😍⛵️

You know….id never made that link! This was for a different Bill, a follower of our channel who wasn’t very well but I do know of Bill Millin and that line from the film very well….just never put the two together! Anyway thank you for your kind words 😊

​@@FollowIntrepidBearIt really was my pleasure.

Yes..I was sad to leave Gibraltar but it was very special to play this tune as we left 😍

Thanks guys….glad you liked it. Gibraltar is cool. Hope you get a chance to explore it 😊🇬🇮

Thanks Robin…the trail actually felt a lot more solid underfoot than you’d think but it’s not for everybody…we loved it though 😍

Thanks Jim…1915nm is too much movement! And thanks yes we love an adventure for sure, the caving was brilliant and the Camanito Del Rey breathtaking, oh and thanks re the pipes, for me it was one of the best bits of being there 👍🏻😍

It has been helluva season! It almost feels like several seasons in one! How is it only a year ago we hiked Vulcano?! 😃⛵️🌋

Thank you…we loved Gibraltar and Andalusia this past winter. We will be sad to see Intrepid Bear go but after 3 years full time living aboard and sailing too many miles we’re ready for the next adventure a bit closer to home and travelling further afield by more conventional means. Intrepid Bear needs a new crew who will take her to far flung places. Truth be told the Bear is more intrepid than her crew! 😬😂😂😊

@@FollowIntrepidBear my wife is trying to get me to leave and retire 3 years earlier so we can buy a boat and sail!

@@russcharlotteward33 if she’s trying to get you to go sailing she’s definitely a keeper! (No doubt why you married her 😉😍) Anyway I agree with Charlotte, go today we have the perfect boat for you to buy 😉😂😊⛵️

@@FollowIntrepidBear ❤

@@FollowIntrepidBear not sure my lump sum will stretch to cover Intrepid Bear unfortunately

Thank you. We loved Gibraltar and could happily have stayed longer. Everyone says what a lovely chap Sir David is as evidenced by him not wanting to leave anyone out and the very nice personal letter of thanks he sent to the band. It was an honour to play for him. Would have been great to meet him 😍

A few people seem to have a dim view of the Guardia Civil but we can’t really comment as we’ve not had a lot to do with them. We were boarded at 4:00am by armed Spanish customs a couple of years ago and this interaction here and both were pleasant and polite but I know friends have found the Guardia to be overbearing and officious so we just got lucky. Don’t think they’d have known we were UA-camrs though…we’re not that big! 😂😊 It was between Christmas and new year so maybe they were just in the holiday spirit 🤷🏻‍♂️

Thanks James…Secretly I am a motor boater on a sailboat but don’t tell anyone eh? 😉😂 Glad you enjoyed the episode 👍🏻😊⛵️

It is an epic walk! Almerimar in Spain is one of the cheapest but a bit utilitarian, friends say Motril is really friendly family run and great value but never been ourselves..loads of marinas down there though so a few to choose from! Good luck 😊⛵️

Thank you…not sure the style is intentional it’s just kind of evolved that way but I’m glad you like it. And Gibraltar….yes I (Iain more than Kate) could definitely have been tempted to stay. I really miss the band they were great Gibraltar has so much that I could happily spend a long time there 😊

Aha! Yes I forgot you didn’t know we spent 3 months of winter there as we hadn’t got to that video yet! 😂😂 It was a fabulous stop and I loved playing with the band. I wanted to upload the full parade before the episode so that I could link to it from the episode if anyone wanted to see more 👍🏻😊

I was in the parade Robert….watch again…guest piper, only one in a red kilt 😊

@@FollowIntrepidBear So you were, so you were, well turned out too. Should've read the preamble up top. I just knew you couldn't pass up the chance. A cracking show. ('ere, who do you know in the Gibraltar sea scouts pipe band to get an invite? Was it one of those handshakes?)

@@robertstancer4469 oh you wouldn't believe the devious tricks I had to use to get to play with the band...I did this very devious thing... I asked them! haha! I don't know anyone there and my handshake is very standard. Just sent them a message saying I was a piper visiting and could I join them for 3 months. They were very welcoming 😃

@@FollowIntrepidBear How did you know they were parading in a civic parade and why did you want to parade with them? you exhibitionist you. See this a a rhetorical question 'cos i think we all know why. You love wearing a skirt.

Thanks guys…was awesome to play there 😍

Longest “pedestrian” suspension bridge…you’ll see it if you watch the video, it’s quite something 👍🏻😊

Thanks guys….Yes really enjoyed this winter, especially Gib, more footage of Gib in the next episode 😍🇬🇮

Thank you I’m glad you enjoyed it 😊

Thanks Jim, it was an awesome little hike but as you say a narrow ledge! Great fun though. As for boat hunting yes having fun dreaming but still need to get Intrepid Bear back to the U.K. and sold first and the weather is not playing ball with that at the moment…patience required! 😬😊