The summer family holiday is an opportunity to spend quality time together and also to top up your tan.
Whilst there is nothing more exciting than the knowledge that you are about to head off on a family adventure in the sunshine; there is also a chance that you might be terrified at the prospect of entertaining your child on the flight.
After all, no-one likes to sit near a screaming child during a 6-hour flight and really who can blame them? Continue reading
For those lucky enough to own a large boat or yacht, a requirement for certain ports and certainly for entrance to shallow water, beaches and coves is a suitable boat tender which can be used to travel from the boat to the shoreline.
With a large range of tender options for boat owners, we’ve put together a guide to making the right decisions when purchasing a boat tender, as it’s a costly error if you get it wrong!
There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a new tender to go along with your yacht or boat. Here are a few things to think about.
It may be stating the obvious, but you need to consider the size of tender required. This can be determined by a few different factors. Firstly, consider who and what will be using the tender.
If you are required to move bulky items and lots of crew quite a distance to and from shore, then a lightweight, two person inflatable tender really won’t be appropriate, however if your tendering activities are limited to getting into the odd beach and cove from a moored yacht then one of the modern ranges of inflatable tenders such as those from 3d Tender would probably fit the bill very nicely.
Add to this the fact that you really need to consider where your inflatable or semi-rigid tender is being housed when not in use. If you have one of the newer cruisers which has an integral boat house then obviously size of the tender is dictated by the physical dimensions of the boat house, however even those who store on-deck need to consider size.
Fully inflated tenders do take up quite a bit of deck space, which can have all sorts of safety and practicality issues. If your on-board tender is blocking access to actually getting on and off the boat on a diving platform, or even blocking access to the rear of the craft or engine bays then this is obviously not a good situation.
In the case of having limited deck space, perhaps invest in a true inflatable which can be stored in it’s packed state, this way size is not an issue. Some inflatable tenders are now capable of being deployed in less than 15 minutes, so this option is hardly limiting for those without the on-deck space to accommodate a full sized tender.
Of course, choosing the right size of tender is just one of the factors you need to consider when choosing a new tender to go with your boat or yacht. What you really need to think about is where you will be using the boat tender and how much.
For pleasure boaters who have direct access to dock, a tender will probably only be needed for occasional use, but for those who moor out in the middle of a busy harbour, getting the choice of tender right can make the difference between being buffeted on every trip and having a safe and reliable trip to shore.
As a rule of thumb, if you are one of those boaters who moors mid-channel then think about a larger semi-rigid or rigid hulled boat tender, perhaps a RIB which uses some of the newer materials like Carbon Fibre to cut down on weight and increase strength.
If you do have the benefit of a full-time solid mooring and don’t move away from home port too much then one of the much lighter fully inflatable tenders for occasional use will probably be better use of on-deck space.
Towing is always an option for any tender, but bear in mind that any towed inflatable boat can be tossed around in rougher seas.
Tow line length, the height of swell and even the weight of the inflatable can have a bearing here, so if you plan to tow full time then bear in mind both the weight and the design of the tender you buy. High fuel usage and even a lost tender can be the result if you don’t get it right!
Packing for a lengthy holiday has never been the easiest of tasks for me as my trips generally involve a variety of activities and destinations which all have their own wardrobe requirements! Packing is straightforward if you are just going to spend two weeks on a beach because shorts, t shirts and a couple of bikinis will suffice. This year I thought that a couple of weeks on the beach was exactly what I was going to get until I decided to add a three day visit to a ranch, throw in some horse riding and promised myself that I would keep up my running whilst I was a away. Continue reading
When I travel I love to investigate local crafts and often find wonderful things that I would like to bring home. My luggage is often somewhat heavier on my return journey than when I set off! It isn’t always possible to accommodate everything that I want to buy and sometimes I don’t have the funds available anyway. After all I have just financed a holiday! If luggage space is the problem then I can usually get things delivered but I have been frustrated by the fact that adding to my collections at a later date has often proved difficult because many of the traders that I have met do not have a website where I can view my options. Continue reading
Caravans are the Marmite of the holiday world. You either love them or hate them and passions run high on either side of the debate. Whilst motorhomes are undeniably cool caravans have garnered a rather less fortunate image, at least in the UK. Continue reading
When I was a very little girl I experienced many long drives from Bristol to Kent to visit family. After miles and miles of countryside with few sights to occupy the mind of a youngster we would enter the metropolis and my Mother would point out landmarks and buildings to keep me from boredom. It was the Firestone Building which always stuck in my mind as we would travel during the Christmas period and Firestone always had a wonderful display of Christmas trees in front of their Iconic premises. Continue reading
Most of us have to travel for work, leisure or both. Packing can sometimes be a challenge as luggage allowances always limit how much we can take with us. Choosing the right selection of clothes is important to ensure that you have enough outfits for the trip and that you have all eventualities covered. In addition to considering your clothes you must also decide what accessories you need and how much of your jewellery to travel with. Continue reading
Anyone who has been forced to travel on a limited budget will probably have experienced a holiday where they have had to share a room or an apartment with several other people and that unfortunately means sharing a bathroom. You kind of get used to that at home but when your friends have eaten all sorts or drunk too much on the trip, the bathroom can become a very smelly place, if you know what I mean, so anything to alleviate the nasty niffs is a bonus. Continue reading
I have never been a great fan of hotels, preferring instead to rent a holiday home when I travel. I enjoy the additional space and freedom of a home from home and have learnt that choosing the right one can truly be the making of a great holiday. It might sound crazy but I would even go so far as to allow my choice of destination to be dictated by the available property. That is because a great house in a brilliant location can be such a delight and will totally transform my evenings after my adventures during the day. Continue reading
Most holidaymakers like to bring back some sort of souvenir of their trip but treating yourself to something will eat into your spending money and tourist traps are not known for their bargain prices. It has to be said that a lot of what is brought back is basically rubbish which people wouldn’t dream of buying any other time of year so why do they buy it when they are on holiday? Continue reading