Friday (9th), my crew turned up on the Harbour Masters boat & straight away fired up my engine, no messing, just turned the key and I responded immediately to show I was capable and ready. With my iron sail ticking over, the intelligent regulator recharging my batteries with a hard hitting baulk charge, my crew set about dropping my jib. With it down it was tied to the guard rail and so I was prepared with slips made and the spring lines brought aboard. With the bow thruster lowered and tide accelerating with time behind me, skipper pushed the bow out in to the main stream. With the crew ready in the pull pit I was hanked in to reverse and my 21" props bit in to the tidal stream and I eased back removing the tension in the stern warp.
The order to slip the line came and the gear box was shifted in to forward, skipper aware that revs needed to be applied if the rudder was to do its job, a lesson learned a while ago, when I came against my neighbour Polly Agatha. The prop blades soon had me across the Medina and power could be eased as the tide was carrying us upstream, skip kept me over to the port side as the Red Funnel ferry was making its way towards its berth at East Cowes. Typically one of those annoying instructors was getting his crew to practise boat manoeuvring within the marina so skip gave him a loud whistle to get his attention an told him what his intentions were. Once level with the south entrance, I was shoved in to reverse and revs increased, those 21" blades bit again and stopped me as the Red Funnel ferry passed, soon I was heading backwards as skip turned me in to the marina. Once he was happy that he had control, turned me in, power came off as he lined me up for the waiting pontoon for the crane. Fettling my throttle, skip brought me at low speed alongside the pontoon, where the shoreman was waiting.
Once tied up, My jib was moved on to the pontoon and folded whilst the crane crew had their tea break. I was then hoist out of the water and the Medina mud removed from below the water line. This year I was taken round to the far side of the hard, closer to the high speed Red Jet terminal. Since then my skipper has been back and washed off all the salt from my hull, the heaters and dehumidifier are on and he's put back on my spray hood,
It seems that the next three months will be my time.
This is my new home for three months, I've just been washed
This is my prop one year on, Anodes shot to bits but still present
better than some previous years and no pitting.
This is my prop now, 2 days ago (19.12.16), all cleaned
new anodes back and forth. Just the sail drive to anti-foul
No comments:
Post a Comment