Apologies again -This was started in November but......
However, one of my New Year Resolutions is to get the blog up-to-date and this is the first go at it!!!
However, one of my New Year Resolutions is to get the blog up-to-date and this is the first go at it!!!
Following on from the post before last!!
On the Monday/Tuesday I flew back to Horta where Chris had been very busy sewing sails, really tough work as its often through multiple layers of thick sail material! but unfortunately he had not been able to do the bit of welding we needed as there was a boat tied up outside Moontide and with quite a lot of wind around it was just TOO bouncy and if a spark had fallen on the other boat it could have caused a bit of damage and certainly an unhappy owner!!
However, by the end of the week it was due to calm down and the boat next to us was leaving then so we had a few days just sorting some things out and stocking up the boat ready to complete the work and hopefully leave the following Saturday. (Very few sailors will start a voyage on a Friday on the basis that they need all the help they can get - the superstitious lot!!)
However, by the end of the week it was due to calm down and the boat next to us was leaving then so we had a few days just sorting some things out and stocking up the boat ready to complete the work and hopefully leave the following Saturday. (Very few sailors will start a voyage on a Friday on the basis that they need all the help they can get - the superstitious lot!!)
The delay was really unfortunate as, on the Thursday before we set off, a boat, Garua, tied up alongside the quay at right angles to us broke two of its mooring lines in heavy swell and came round and hit us damaging our wind vane self-steering, essential piece of equipment and, being steel, almost our only vulnerable area!!!
We were both in a bit of a state of shock on Thursday and TOTALLY gutted but felt a bit better by the weekend. On the Friday we went to the office to get the owners details and on the way spoke to the guy who was meant to be “keeping an eye on” Garua while the owner was away who told us that he was not currently in contact with the owner and that he would not be back until the 27th of July! We hoped to be able to claim off his insurance (assuming he had some!!) but had to get the work done anyway so went up to Mid Atlantic Yacht Services (MAYS) to arrange for them to come down and check it out. It’s a busy time of year for them so MAYS were not able to get there until Monday morning but we fixed up a time for us to be lifted out on Monday as well.
Over the weekend, with not a lot more we could do, we decided to update our wall painting and Chris did a great job re-painting the picture so that there was room to add our trip and MY name!!
The self-steering was bent out of shape and several bearings had been broken so we arranged to have Moontide lifted out to check to see if any other damage has been done as well. It would have been really difficult to bend it back whilst still in the water and we were worried that parts could dropped into the water which would have caused even more problems as the s-s is a modification of the old Blondie Hassler gear and parts would be impossible to replace.We could also do a really good job on the gudgeons and pintles just in case the self-steering did not work and we had needed to use the electronic steering a lot more than we had planned |
The marina has a travel lift big enough to lift us but it was in a very awkward position and we needed help from the staff to manoeuvre Moontide in and then the problems started! Because of Moontide’s keel shape she is quite difficult to lift safely and it was decided after quite a few tries that the only way to get the strops in the right position was for us to take down the fore-stay! Needless to say by this time, Chris was getting quite agitated and needed one of the marina staff to help before he gave himself a heart-attack!!
Finally Moontide was safely out and settled into her cradle. We knew we would be out of the water for 3 to 4 days so thought we would treat ourselves to a hotel but couldn’t find one that had vacancies for the whole period and initially thought we would stay on the boat for the first night. There were no facilities around that area for yachties and eventually I put my foot down and found a different place for that night as well!
The hotel looked really close on the map and we could see it form the marina, but to get to it by road was back round the town quite a long way and up a steep hill! It was a little annoying the following day (although actually really great) to discover that there was a way straight down to the ‘main road’ on foot!
The hotel looked really close on the map and we could see it form the marina, but to get to it by road was back round the town quite a long way and up a steep hill! It was a little annoying the following day (although actually really great) to discover that there was a way straight down to the ‘main road’ on foot!
Mid Atlantic Yacht Services checked Moontide over and started work on the bearings on Monday but their “metal” man was not available until Wednesday. Once there, though, he quickly sorted out the problems, welded up the gudgeons and pintles to make sure the rudder was totally secure and the repairs were done!! |
Moontide was lifted back in with much less trouble and the guy from the marina came round once we were back in the water and reconnected our fore-stay.
The owner of Garua came back on the Thursday and on Friday morning he took us round to his insurance company. I think he had taken out his insurance when he arrived in Horta and went into the marina; so the agent was just round the corner! Right next to a glorious beach! The agent didn’t speak any English and the owner’s (George) English was only a little better than our Portuguese but between us we managed to explain the problems and give the agent all the details (well most of them) of our claim. |
She advised that we should hear by the following Wednesday and we got our money through within a few days - how quick was that?!
This delay meant I missed my “Fairport’s Cropredy Convention” festival which I was REALLY looking forward to (having been every year I was in the UK since 1998!) and especially as Rob and Sarah were coming and it would be the first time there would have been a Norbury trio there!!
As it was the 50th anniversary of Fairport, it was really going to be a good one. I was SO gutted about it that I did think about flying home again but with that extra delay, I think Chris would have left without me!! Not something I wanted as I did want to complete my circular trip and also I did not want him to single-hand it home!!
Really can't believe our bad luck this year.
Hey ho that's the sailing life!
Hey ho that's the sailing life!