5 in 5 - MELANIE - July 2016

Melanie is my friend who lives in Australia and she loves photography.  Every month since the start of this challenge Melanie has taken part in this monthly meme and as she doesn't have her own blog I post here. I love that we have found a way for her to take part so over to you Melanie:

Now here we are in July and over half way through the year.  I hope in the Northern hemisphere you are enjoying some summer weather.  Here in Adelaide it is definitely winter and many people including me are coughing and sneezing as those winter bugs circulate. In Adelaide overnight on July 4^th there was heavy rain and gale force winds.  Adelaide had its wettest July day in 75 years. It was even cold enough for a light dusting of snow on Mount Lofty.  Mount Lofty is about 15km from the centre of Adelaide and the highest point in the Southern Mount Lofty ranges.  I had been awake on and off during the night listening to wind and rain and when I awoke to the news of how wet it had been and saw TV photos I thought I would use puddles for my July 5 in 5.  However I think that the strong winds meant in our area much of the water was washed away, running down the gutters to the sea.  Next morning when the rain eased off I went for a walk and was disappointed that there was not more evidence of the rainfall especially when TV news coverage showed parts of Adelaide parklands under water.  I guess I should have taken a trip into the city but I didn’t and so my few ‘puddle’ shots do not really emphasize that overnight rain. If you check out the following web page you can see a couple of good photos of the parklands wetness:- 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-05/adelaides-wettest-july-day-in-75-years/7568882

I ended up taking photos around the vicinity of our house.  Here are my photos:-

It seems what ever part of the world we live in the rain has been more than usual this year.  Thank you for joining in Melanie, and I like your abstract images this month. 

If this has inspired you to pick up your camera and take part the next challenge starts on 5th July. It's great fun and you can see more posts here. And if you want to know more 5in5 this post should answer any questions and give other information that you need.

Hopefully Melanie will be back next month and I look forward to you joining us. Thank you for popping by, it is great to have your company.

5 in 5 - July 2016 - A sailing adventure

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of

each month I post 5 photos that I have

taken in 5 minutes.

If you follow my blog you will know my love of the water and sailing.  So I was hugely excited to take part in a Round Britain Sailing Trip in aid of Macmillan nurses.  The trip was organised by First Class Sailing East Coast and two boats set off from Essex on 2nd May heading up the coast.  I followed their progress through videos and Facebook updates and was excited as my own journey approached.

I caught a coach to Plymouth marina where I caught up with two of the crew. With four on each boat, there would be eight of us in total including 2 skippers. I didn't know until the evening before that I was the only woman!  Luckily I was embraced as a team member and everyone got on really well.  We started off next day and stopped overnight at Brixton, Weymouth, Ramsgate and Burnham on Crouch. We opted to do a night sail rather than stop at Brighton, this proved character building as we sailed through a storm in relentless rain, and did 3 hour watches. Sadly I killed my mobile phone as I forgot it was in my waterproofs pocket and it turned out not to be waterproof in such awful weather.  A costly lesson but one I won't make again.

One of the highlights was being accompanied by a pod of dolphins. They swam in the bow, leapt along side and swam underneath. It lasted a breath-taking 5 minutes and was magical.  As I was at the helm I couldn't take photos but the skipper managed to take a video on the Go-Pro. You can even hear the dolphins talking to each other.

I was on the boat for 8 days in total and managed to complete quite a bit of my Competent Sailor qualification. One of the things this included was learning to tie knots and ropes are everywhere on a sailing boat. So I decided to use these as my theme for this months 5in5 photos:  

  

I had a great experience and learnt a lot. Having sailed before on Thames sailing barges I knew life is different at sea and we are dependant on tides and winds. This time I also learnt that we are sometimes dependant on an engine too, and that when this breaks down things don't go to plan. But it all adds to the adventure and experience. Congratulations to Colin Stracey for all his hard work organising this Round Britain Sailing Trip and for making this a worthwhile cause. I don't know the final figure donated to Macmillan Nurses, but I know Colin is thinking of doing this again next year so if you fancy taking part in one or more of the legs do let him know.

                        _________________________

It is always fun to have company so if you feel inspired to take part in this photo challenge here is what you do:

1.  Choose a location.
2.  Have your camera ready.
3.  Set a timer for 5 minutes (I use my mobile phone).
4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.
5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool below.  

   Please note:

You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos to the link and you can take  your photos any time. They do not have to be taken or posted on 5th!

If you would like more information please go to the original post here where you will find more.