With temperatures forecast to reach freezing in Cowes over the next few days, I am quietly grateful not to be on Exeat at the moment. As the name suggests, Jeanneau designed the Sun Odyssey range to be the archetypal summer boat / Med cruiser: cue open, spacious cockpit for balmy evenings and on-board BBQs. Insulation? Not so much. By mid October, when the sun sets in the late afternoon here in the UK, we’re ready for the land-based joys of central heating, hot baths and a crackling wood-burner – although it does feel quite a novelty to be in one place for more than a night at a time, after five months of sailing along the UK’s south-west coastline to the Scilly Isles and on to France’s Atlantic coast and her many idyllic islands en route.

For now, Exeat hibernates in the marina yard while her various components get revamped (sails cleaned, engine serviced, new canvas sprayhood, stanchions replaced, fresh coat of anti-foul etc). Meanwhile, we dream of where to take her once her winter berthing is up at the end of April. We’ve sailed across to Brittany and south to La Rochelle for the past two seasons, and tempting as it is to return to France’s beautiful sailing grounds, perhaps it’s time to venture somewhere new. I’d love to sail to Scandinavia and explore the myriad beautiful islands that fill my Instagram feed, but Skipper tells me Exeat is not the boat to do this in. Heading up the northern coast of France, past Belgium and on to the Netherlands is another option…but so is the northern coast of Spain and nudging round the corner to the Spanish rias. Obviously this means crossing Biscay, which is a slight mental stumbling block for me, and a logistical juggle with a dog on board.

Also, as ever, in the back of our minds is the Brexit constraint of only spending ninety days in Europe, so alongside our research of destinations is research of visitor visas, pet entry requirements, and environmentally-friendly ways to get our teenagers out to join us at the end of their school terms (ie: by ferry and trains rather than short haul flights). Luckily we have several months to dream, investigate and for the jigsaw to shape up. Watch this space…