"Settled" is a relative word, of course. In the roughly 120 or so days I've been paying rent on this place, I've probably spent only 60 nights in my bed. Still, it's nice to have a sense of a base to return to.
The area is still heavily influenced by British naval operations but not nearly as much as about ten years ago, when Gosport was considered a seedy and rowdy sailor town. This entire northern end of Gosport (my end) is undergoing heavy development and renovation into high priced homes and apartments. Click on this GoogleMap link to see an aerial photograph of where I live (though at the time of the photo, it was just an empty field). You can zoom out to get the overall view of where I live in England.
The marina where all ten of the Clipper Ventures' 68ft ocean racing boats are moored didn't exist at the time of the aerial photo as well, though I can see the tops of their masts from my balcony. I could even hit them with a snowball throw (or two...maybe three) from here if it ever snowed here.
I doubt it will, though. The area is too influenced by the relative warmth of the sea to ever get appreciable snow, even though I'm further north than any part of the States. That's the miracle of the Gulf Stream, which has influence even up into Iceland. I'll be sailing all winter long and be far more comfortable than I would be in any waters off Virginia.
I've put a 16 picture slideshow of Gosport on Shutterfly. Click here, and then select "View Pictures" then select the pink button; "View as Slideshow."
The best thing about this apartment is the great view from my balcony, allowing me to enjoy many sunrises over the Portsmouth harbour with a cup of coffee in my hand.
