Plymouth Progress 2

Current Location: Ebley, Stroud, UK

For Christmas last year the girls bought us a night in The Pig on the Beach in Studland Harbour. However, as I was in the middle of chemotherapy our booking had to be cancelled. But now, superfit with an undectable PSA and my own personal trainer we re-booked on our way down to Mehalah. Thank you girls. We had a fab time!

And then it was on to Plymouth, again in appalling torential rain. We had Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday to fit in....a lot. Because Saturday was to be 'berth holders Christmas dinner'!

10 miles from Plymouth I realised I had left the socket set in Ebley. This was a critical tool for the next few days so Mrs Google led us to the local Toolstation where we were able to smoothly purchase a replacement in the pouring rain. The rest of Wednesday was spent opening the boat up, connecting batteries (one pole lost its thread so there's another job to sort), runing the 220V cable from power post to boat etc etc. But not before I had handed over the old cooker to the lucky eBay winner. He only lived in Torpoint so this turned out to be a successful transaction all round with Jon the Oven saving himself £40 of transport costs.

Then to work. Gilly filled the starboard water tank carefully ten litres at a time to spot where the known leak was. As the tank reached capacity water started to seep and then squirt out of the seal joining the top to the sides of the tank. NOT GOOD! And this in a new tank installed just before we purchased Mehalah. We've already alerted the supplier to the problem (and indeed the port tank may be leaking too) so we foresee a long, probably futile debate with him ahead. At least we know what that problem consists of now.

The worst 'squirt' from the new tank

Next day was 'oven and stainless day' with a visit from Mike and sister Ali thrown in. When the visitors arrived Gill and Ali began polishing stainless on deck in the drizzle whilst I set Mike to work on devising a system to install the new microwave kindly donated by Harry and Sandra, or to be precise, Sandra's aunt. The trick was to wedge the microwave in place so that it could not escape if the boat was turned upside down. Mike's prototype of a piece of wood in the receiving hole with small holes drilled in it to take the feet and then a second piece of wood screwed down from the shelf above was to prove successful the following day when adapted with thinner pieces of wood scrounged from the porthole project temporarily on hold. Thanks Mike.

Component parts

Installed

Delivering!

Meanwhile I was on a wild goose trying to get the cheek blocks for the main oven planed down by 5mm each. I had purposely not cut more off them back home in order that they would not be too thin so I was prepared for this. Otherwise they were ready to go. I had sourced these nice pieces of hardwood free of charge via Nextdoor a local virtual swapshop for services and goods. I wanted 10cm x 15cm x 3cm but it turned out the first little old lady who got in touch only had smaller pieces when I got there. Doh! Waste of time. The second respondent though came up with the goods and I sanded and varnished them up a treat. However....it turns out that 15cm is too short to go through a joiner's planer so in the end I had to purchase new pieces for cash in hand over lunch time far out of Plymouth. There's another two hours gone. Yes Gilly, I know I should have rung round first! All that meant that I was late to receive the stainless steel guy who was quoting for solid guard rails at the back of the boat to take solar panels and granny bars at the mast to stop old farts like me being swept off by a big wave. We had all of these on Petronella and knew we wanted them on Mehalah too.

After soup and bread courtesy of Ali it was back to work on the main oven. Wood was drilled, measurements were taken, measurements were re-taken and then we took some measurements. Each side of the new cooker has a rod sticking out of it on which the cooker swings. This is known as 'on gimbals'. When the boat rocks the cooker stays still. The boat moves around the oven - wierd when you see it for real, especially once you are used to the motion of the boat. So the trick was to get the brackets that support these two rods in just the right position from 1) front to back, 2) side to side and 3) level. The cupboards it was to fit into of course, weren't square themselves and the adjoining worktops not at the same height. And level was not level because the wind was heeling the boat over by a few degrees. In the end we said, bugger it, let's just screw the blocks on and hope for the best. And indeed it was the best. Here you go.....

The forward bracket awaiting arrival of the cooker

Up a bit...

It's in!!

So that was a great success. I just need to take out the new blocks and varnish them here at home and take them back with me next time we are down in Plymouth. As you can see it was dark by now and as Mike and Ali left so Dick and Mary arrived for a natter and a meal at our favourite restaurant, Suphas - fresh Indonesian food cooked in front of your eyes.

Friday was Mike Stone day. Mike had helped Dick when he was outfitting Alacazam here in Plymouth and we had asked him in one day to..

- Service the Beta engine
- Understand the Beta engine better (gear shift plate, lagging etc)
- Change oil in generator?
- Understand the generator better (fuel filter etc)
- Fix generator diesel leak
- Discuss proposed stainless work
- Review and resolve bilge pump situation
- Decide on shaft brake solution
- Look at skeg bolt
- Discuss approach to Aries bush freeing
- Experiment with Aries drive options
- Discuss dinghy, davits, steps, Aries options
- Review hose/jubilee clip replacement
- Look at mainsheet winch

Basically I was looking to shortcut the learning curve. Most of this I could probably have done on my won but with Mike on hand we saved loads of time and I know now to do the jobs properly. As it was we did all but the bilge review. Pretty damn good for one day's work. I was knackered by the end of the day and Gilly had spent much of the day shooting out to chandlers to buy the odd little things we needed like smaller jubillee clips, PTFE tape and tinned wire. The new Beta engine looks to be in good shape and tightening the negative battery terminal means she starts up like a dream.

Impellor housing

Oil filter

One of the Racor filters (some diesel bug here!)

Air filter

Guys. Are you really interested in all this stuff??

The diesel leak in the generator turned out to be, as I suspected, just the wrong sized clip and the impellor was the wrong one but that didn't matter because it didn't need changing anyhow.

We talked about how to install a shaft brake to stop the prop shaft rotating horribly when we sail. Mike has found a neat solution using a secondhand VW electric handbrake driven by a little computer called an arduino [yes Chris B, you know them well]. I'll source the brake for next time we are down.

Finally we addressed the 'back of the boat' issue. We need to sort out the location of the dinghy, the davits, life raft and the wind steering. Basically the wind steering (Aries) and the dinghy on the davits can't co-exist. What to do? Mike had a brainwave and we're going to make the Aries removable. That way we can use the dinghy on davits when we're at anchor and when we are passage making we would anyway put the dinghy on the foredeck and put the Aries back on the transom. Simples.

And that was that. Saturday saw us at the Christmas dinner where we met up with many of the others berthed in Sutton Harbour. The main action from this social occasion was that we must book our spring haul out sooner rather than later to ensure a slot.

Happy Christmas all.

Plymouth Progress 1

We've decided to split our time between Stroud and Plymouth during the winter. At present we're working on window seal replacement and cooker replacement. We're back down next week to work on the windows but meanwhile we've taken out the original small cooker and purchased a larger shiny new Force 10 replacement.

Next week we hope to get the new one installed.

Old cooker - nice but too small

Old cooker removed

Shiny new replacement on the dock

Old cooker at home after cleaning

Successful eBay sale!

Mehalah - A Visitor's View

Current Location: Boat - Sutton Harbour Marina,Plymouth, UK, Us - Ebley, UK

Mehalah is now settled in her excellent winter marina in Plymouth. We've loads to do on her still to be ready to set off for Spain next spring but we're hopeful that will prove possible. I'll post later on the work we've done already which, as always, is two steps forward and one step back.

Meanwhile though, here's a visitor's eye view of life on board. Ali and Mike stayed with us for a week as we pottered around Cornwall. Ali is Gilly's sister. This is her, unedited, account of the week....

Landlubber’s Blog 4th September – Written by Ali

Mike and I went to stay with Gill and John and ‘met’ Mahala for the first time, having heard all about her! I had ‘in my mind’ what it would be like to be onboard and I was keen to see what life was really like for them and to understand why they are so passionate about sailing and the associated lifestyle. These were my thoughts as we boarded the dinghy and gently made our way out to the pontoon for the start of our sailing adventure!

We were really lucky with the weather as it had been raining and windy the week before.It was not hot, but certainly pleasant and dry and we got our first glimpse of her in the beautiful sunlight with calm seas. She certainly is a beautiful boat and offers much more than Petronella in terms of comfort and space. We slept very well all week, although at first it seemed very strange to be climbing up onto a bed, which was at chest height and facing the wrong way! It was also interesting to visit the loo in the night as we had to remember to navigate the obstacle courses at each doorway! Lifestyle was ‘early to bed and early to rise’, partly because of the lack of mains electricity and poor lighting without power from the generator.

G and Ts on the aft deck on the River Fal

On the first full day, we set sail and saw Mahala (and Gill & John) in action!!! My image of gently cutting through the waves, with music and a glass of wine in hand was way off the mark! Everything was hard work!! Just having water in the taps involved an excursion to land to fill up the 4 jerry cans and plastic containers, followed by siphoning each one in turn into the relevant holding tank, using Gill’s jiggy jiggy!’ (don’t ask!!). Sailing it seems is a constant process of monitoring water depth, the weather and tides, the direction (Mike loved steering her!), looking for oncoming ‘traffic’, checking the state of the sails and ropes to ensure the right ones are tight, and in order to do this, using a winch handle and superhuman force to tighten each one to Gill’s satisfaction. I look at my sister with new respect – she must have arms as strong as an ox!!

Safety was a key part of the routine too. Each task we carried out had sensible and vital safety elements to consider – any lapse of this could result in loss of a finger – or worse!

It also made me realize why they cannot ‘plan’ precisely what and when they are doing. The sea is a very powerful force and the tides and wind direction have a huge impact on what is feasible to achieve. Conversations about these things are commonplace and it explains why the blogs that I have read talk about setting off at unearthly hours to get the right conditions.

I also got to see Gill and John in their ‘natural habitat!!’ (I sound like David Attenborough!). They absolutely love their lifestyle and all things nautical. I must say, that when Mahala was cutting through the waves and you can feel the wind in your hair and hear nothing apart from the crashing waves, it is a wonderful feeling! Everything else seems a lifetime away and the only thoughts in your mind are about the sailing and what you are going to eat later on!!

We have only experienced sailing in the South coast of Britain, but I can understand how the life on the wider and warmer ocean waves appeals so much to Gill and John!!

Multi tasking...

..with some limited success.

Thanks guys for a great week!!


Glad you had a good week Ali. We enjoyed your company.

Is this the most expensive disc of plastic in the world?

When we bought Mehalah the two staysail winches had cracked plastic tops.

Note broken black ring

This meant they did not grab the rope properly. "Get some new ones" my 'good' mate Dick said. I ordered them. Each one cost £24 and shipping was £5. Not cheap. But necessary. And presumably a complex piece of plastic moulding.

Yesterday they arrived. Along with Dick who bought them from Plymouth. Thank you Dick.

I unwrapped them. Bu**er me. £24 quid for each of those!! For some reason Dick seemed to find this amusing!

24 quid - EACH!!

Still, I had them now. So today I fitted them. In the sunshine. At last. Here they are.

Renovation in progress

And a lovely new black ring. Do NOT break this one!

Unfortunately I need to buy some winch grease to complete the restoration. But at least they work now. Thanks Dick.

Meetings with Friends

Current Location: Fowey River, Cornwall

We had a great week with Harry and Sandra. Not much sailing but then that was the plan as it was Sandra's first time on a big boat. But first it was 'gardens'. There are several famous ones around Helford and Falmouth and we made the most of them all. For once our National Trust memberships came in handy. One day Dick and Mary came to visit.

Dick, Mary, Gill, Sandra, Harry and Me.

We also spent time with Harry and Sandra at Frenchman's Creek of Daphne du Maurier fame. Unfortunately for Gilly, who has a bit of a thing going for the Frenchman, La Mouette was nowhere to be seen. I've since started and finished reading the book.

Where's that Frenchman?

Soon it was off to the anchorage at Falmouth and a bit of sailing for us all. The anchorage cleared out nicely and we had a good night before making our way up the River Fal. Beautiful. Nice pontoons to tie up to and interesting people to meet. We dinghied up to Trellisick House and sneaked a sneaky overnight in the car park first for Harry after an adventurous road trip to retrieve his car from Helford and then for us once we realised that no one really cared. Our car is still there after I drove it back down from Ebley (thanks for the lift back there Harry). Fishing is good. Horse mackerel have fed us on several occasions.

Hand lining on the Fal near Malpas.

Then it was Gill's Uncle Sydney's turn. Well into his nineties he's one of our favourite people. He never got to see 'The Good Ship Petrronella' but he came down to King Harry Ferry with son John and daughter-in-law Julie. We did a 'fly past' for him on Mehalah, dodging the ferry as it crossed the River Fal. Great to see you Sydney.

Hey there Sydney.

Later we met up again with Simon and JoJo for Gilly's birthday lunch at the famous Heron Inn Malpas. Unfortunately I took no pictures of the event and with a series of other omissions it was, to say the least, not Gilly's best birthday. [Serious note to self....].

After a few days we felt it was time to move on so yesterday in 20 knot winds we sailed eastwards to Fowey, a major sailing centre. Dinghies, big boats, old gaffers, there's a bit of everything here. And at last the weather is brightening up.

Fowey with Mehalah (blue hull) in the centre.

We're getting back into life aboard now. Here's a pretty picture.

Washing Day.

Somehow it reminded me of our days in Greece!

Drying Day.

Electrickery

Current Location: Anchorage off Falmouth town.

Gilly was ashore waiting for Harry and Sandra and I was busying myself stowing things away and wondering where the mysterious 0.4 amps and now 1.4 amps was draining away to. The usual thing to do in these situations is to turn off the breakers for each circuit one by one until the current disappears. Then you know where to start your hunt. But we had done that and even with them all switched off the current drain remained. Bilge pump had been suggested but we couldn't hear it running.

I opened the space beneath the floor to stow the funnel and outboard oil and there it was - a continual whine.....one of the automatic bilge pumps. Ouch. Never good to hear especially when it tastes salty. Sea water. Where is it coming from? The water's not rising but it's not going down either. Soon I realise the pump is not sucking anything either. Let's try and stop it. I find my way into the battery bank and see a label, "Engine Bilge" on it. Not that one. But there is another thin red cable, maybe that's the one. [The reason the bilge pumps do not run through a breaker switch is because you always want them on, sensing for water]. I switch everything off including the main battery isolator and disconnect the red cable. The bilge pump stops. I switch the main switch back on.....and nothing is working at all. All the 12 volt appliances are dead! This is slightly disturbing especially as a phone call to Gill determines that Harry and Sandra have just arrived and will be coming back to the boat by water taxi any minute. A great way to welcome them. I then realise that although I've switched the main switch back on, the breakers are still off [idiot]. I turn them back on and bit by bit Mehalah comes back to life.

Now it's just a case of getting Harry and Sandra onto the boat together with yet another mountain of gear. Welcome aboard guys.

We've seen the ammeter show 0.1 previously so this is our goal. Disconnecting the bilge pump had bought the drain back down to 0.4 amp but we just can't find the other 0.3. It's not until the following evening as it's getting dark that Gilly shouts "there's a light on in the oven". That's it. Switch off the light and we're back down to 0.1 amp which is just all the warning and indicator lights dotted around the boat. Another small step forward.

There are any number of stories like this to relate at present. Launching the dinghy for the first time from its davits, fixing the seized windlass gypsy, working around the main sheet winch slipping issue, trying to understand how the boom brake works...and..and..and.

Meanwhile we've been exploring The Helford River here with H&S. Two famous gardens, a couple of pubs, the showers at the Boat Club. It's all new to Sandra but Harry spends time on a friend's boat in Majorca each year so he picks things up very quickly. Yesterday we sailed round to here at Falmouth. Two reefs and a small front sail were a good introduction for Sandra especially as we only had 10 knots or so of wind. Today it's up the Fal to Trelissick Gardens where we will all lunch with Dick and Mary. Things are good aboard Mehalah.

[Every morning Harry tells us the weather will be gloomy today. Today he's right. Boo.]

So, MEHALAH it is

Current Location: A Mooring Ball in The Helford River

Registering a boat in your name(s) can be quite a complex business. For us, as British citizens we were sure we wanted to register Mehalah on the UK registry. But which one?

When Jackie owned her she was registered 'Part 3'. This is simple, costs £25 for five years and you can call her what you like. This is how Petronella used to be registered. In practice it is just a nice little laminated A5 certificate that you show to marinas, coastguards etc anywhere in the world as evidence she is yours. The problem is that the MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) who issue the registration document are now requiring you to declare that you will not be out of the UK for more than six months in any year. Hopefully we will not meet that requirement in years to come.

So we have decided to register her 'Part 1' instead. This shows proof there is no outstanding mortgage on the vessel and there is no restriction on the time she can be out of the country. However it does require a special antiquated survey, evidence of previous owners by way of Bills of Sale, a UK residency declaration and the payment of £300. And lots of forms with associated processes. But the big thing is that there can only be one boat on the Part 1 registry with any particular name. And they won't tell you what names are already taken. Crazy or wot? What you have to do is submit up to four names in order of preference and they tell you which one you can have. No silly names [not sure how the Hull registered boat we met called "Wet Dreams' got through that check] and no names that could confuse the emergency bodies. 'Mayday' or 'Maedae' for example would not be permitted. We submitted three names. 'Mehalah' which we thought would probably be gone already, 'Mehalah of Bristol' as a port name near us that most authorities abroad might have heard of, and 'Jaluka', the name of a South African pop group, just because we liked the group and the African name.

Yesterday we heard that our first choice had been accepted. As a result she will still be known as 'Mehalah'. I feel the name is an appropriate one considering the skipper's character. Google tells me that "The unusual name of Mehalah, (is) an old Hebrew word meaning a powerful but tender and affectionate woman". How fitting!!

Mehalah it is then. And here's the proof.

Now we need to get a carving done to attach firmly inside the boat and a sticker saying 'Bristol' in an acceptable colour and font size for the stern and then we are done.

And people ask us how we fill our time on the boat!

Deganwy Marina, North Wales to The Helford River, Cornwall

Current Location: 8th August - The Bristol Channel, 75 miles from Lands End. At present we are travelling at 6.9 knots, course 180° in 11 knots of breeze on a beam reach. Full main, staysail and yankee. The sun is out as we cross the Bristol Channel with a few fluffy clouds. No other boats in sight. It almost feels Caribbean.

Dick and Mary duly arrived in their hire car from Plymouth on Sunday and Gill proceeded to pack 20 cubic metres of stuff into 1 cubic metre of Quasqai and four hours later we were unloading it all again. Mehalah dropped a further inch but she still looks great. Monday saw us busy with last minute jobs and negotiating with Jackie over the location of the promised spinnaker pole and trisail. The former we won, the latter we lost.

An early morning start on Tuesday saw us set off in rain(!) and quite thick mist. Tricky navigating out through the shallows but Gilly's passage plan was spot on and in a few hours we were on Mehalah's own mooring ball looking down at the Menai Bridge.

Mehalah's mooring ball near Bangor

Next morning, encouraged by the previous day's passage plan we set off from the idyllic mooring field through the notorious Swellies. More excellent planning and we were through nicely on slack water before transiting the remains 12 miles of the Menai Straits. At the bottom are the Bellen Narrows which even on a windless day were pretty bouncy and finally we burst out (reasonably) close to the fairway buoy that marks open water.

Early morning under the Menai Bridge

We beat along the Llyn Peninsula and round the top of Wales then set a course for St David's and the south of Wales. Not particularly pleasant but perfectly OK into the wind. Night watches of two hours each offset by an hour, so you shared with two people worked well.

Reefing before dark paid dividends as I completely ballsed up by dropping the main too far and getting a batten temporarily stuck. Then we found a wave had almost washed the liferaft overboard. Luckily it was just still in its cradle and a few random pieces of rope resecured it. All sorted before darkness descended.

Cardigan Bay was attracting us further and further westwards but as we approached the coast the tide and currents and wind all transpired to push us safely past St David's. A series of lighthouses gradually passed by and then were in the Bristol Channel as dawn broke.

I spilt a cup of tea all over the Irish Sea pilot, Gill broke a mug and Dick managed to drop a full cup 50cms into the fish bucket. Ah, the fish bucket. A sadly rather empty bucket. The new paravane caught one very small mackerel, one tiny one and one that 'got away'. The small one was filleted and is awaiting friends in the fridge.

Mary at ease in the cockpit

Meanwhile we've been playing 'what could we improve on M. Ideas range from more non slip mats to replacement hatch seals (oink) and where to position the second blue water trolling rod.

All very civilised at present. Gilly is chopping vegetables for tonight, Mary is reading her kindle in the sunshine in the cockpit with me and Dick is catching a few zzzs on the starboard pilot berth. All is good with the world.

The wind is due to pick up tonight but F6 W to SW should be fine as we round Lands End around midnight. ETA at Helford likely to be around 9am, ahead of more heavy weather. So, on we serenely glide on the soporific Bristol Channel.

Oh yes. lots of dolphins playing including a very large whale like, snub nosed one. Gannets, shearwaters, guillemots abounding but mostly just a beautiful sail on a beautiful boat on a beautiful warm day. Bring it on!

...........................................a few hours later............................

Current Location: 12th August - Blogged from a green mooring ball in The Helford River, South Cornwall.

How the British weather can change! Within an hour we began to spot darker clouds ahead and to our right. With the wind coming from the west they were due to pass across in front of us. Soon they looked like squall clouds some with rain coming from the bottom. We skirted one or two as the atmosphere gradually changed. Then we were through into crisper, fresher air with 18-20 knot westerlies. As evening and Lands End approached the sky to the west became more and more ominous. Mine was the casting vote as we decided to reef the Yankee (front sail) and take in a second reef in the main. We don't yet have the knack of furling the Yankee as we fought with it in ever increasing wind. Sheets were flapping and the sail slapping as bit by bit we wound it in. OK, now for the main. Dick and I clipped onto the safety lines that run along the side of the boat and made our way to the mast. Just as we got there a big squall hit. Now we have waves over the bow, pouring rain and very strong winds. Gill and Mary steering the boat into the wind as we took in the sail recorded 37 knots of wind. Eventually though it was done and we crawled back to the safety of the cockpit. Cold and wet we went below to put on our last set of dry clothes.

The wind was now a consistent 20 knots and Mehalah flew along at 7, 8, 9 knots with tide beneath her. The propeller which we would normally have put in reverse to stop it rotating wasn't playing for some reason so the rotating prop shaft as we passed through the water began to whine and vibrate quite alarmingly. Something's not right there. We'll have to investigate later

Next up, Lands End. None of us had been round before and by now it's pitch black, we're wet and tired with a second night ahead. Up comes Gill's third passage plan. Ahead of us a mass of lights, some flashing fast, some slow and some steady. Somewhere there's a way through. It's cold and tense as we start to line up the lights and work our way through. This time I'm in total control as I marry the lights to the plan. A couple of hours later we are round and we bear away downwind, still in 20 knots.

Passage Planning at its best. Well done Gilly.

The fun's not over though as we roll downwind there is now loads of other traffic to navigate in this busy area. Tankers, freighters, cruise liners and a few other yachts pass by from all directions but gradually we approach The Lizard. The watch system has gone to pot but everyone is working really well together as we storm along.

A bleak, cold dawn breaks as Gill and Mary are on watch. We head towards the entrance to the Helford River where our booked mooring ball awaits. It's gusting 20 knots and picking up the ball is a bit tricky. Finally we're sorted and we go to sleep. For a long, long time.

A great shakedown cruise. Lots of things to think about. But Mehalah is a lovely boat. We simply flew along hard on the wind with two reefs and a staysail as we approached The Helford.

More later.

The Deed is Done

Current Location: Ebley, Gloucestershire: tomorrow Deganwy, North Wales

On Monday 30th July two momentous events occured. Firstly we paid for Mehalah and secondly my PSA reading was found to be 0.1, or basically undetectable. For a prostate cancer sufferer such as myself this is GOOD NEWS. It means the cancer no longer has much of a foothold and just might be on its way out. A great day all round!

Anyway, the following day we arrived in Deganwy in the early afternoon to find Jackie waiting for us in the Club House of the marina. Bills of Sale were signed, the waiting life raft was loaded into a trolley and we made our way down the steep slipway (tides here remember!) and onto Mehalah. She is indeed a lovely boat. But....we couldn't get aboard. The key was nowhere to be seen. A quick call to Jackie revealed it was stored in the yellow rubber glove in the cockpit. Of course. Why didn't we look there?

Now we had to lug all the stuff from the car, down the slope and aboard. This took a while and in the end it was near impossible to step around inside the boat. "Where will it all go?" I asked. Never fear, Gilly's here; and the impossible task commenced. By the following morning everything was stowed and there was even spare space for more. That's a good job because more there, is due to arrive with us tomorrow and then with Harry & Sandra later in the month.

Jackie had taken a few things we had expected to be left but this was mostly not a problem. We did though ask her for the anchoring ball and motoring cone back...which duly arrived.

It's a pretty area up around Conwy and we found time for my daily three mile walks each evening. We heard very little Welsh but plenty of Scouse. The next day was spent identifying and double clipping the sea cock hoses as required by the insurance company and other interesting boatie tasks.

The next morning it was back to Ebley to drop off the car and to see my consultant. Unfortunately he is moving to the UAE so he wasn't there. A stand in lady told me what we already knew. It's good news and "all the treatment they have given me has paid off". That's all well and good but maybe the lifestyle changes have made a difference too. But talking about that usually gets us nowhere, so I didn't.

And now it's the evening before we return to Deganwy this time with Dick and Mary our friends from the Caribbean, now returned for summer in the UK in Plymouth. The hire car is booked [will it be big enough??] and we'll be off.

Departure from the marina is planned for early on the morning of 7th with a passage down to Cornwall over the next few days. The forecast has been great - north westeries and westerlies but tonight it is looking considerably less good with stronger south westerlies and even southerlies creeping in later in the week. We shall see. Maybe it'll end up with a big tack over to Ireland and then back to the south west.

A New Boat. A New Life.

Current Location: Ebley, Gloucestershire

Here we go again! After a pretty rotten year it looks as though we finally have a new boat!

She's called Mehalah [meh-hay-lah]. She's a Stevens 47 built in 1983 and currently berthed in Conwy, North Wales. The 47 refers to her length in feet - quite a big boat compared with Petronella at a mere 40 feet. She's an American boat, built in Taiwan and at 20 tons with the reputation of being an extremely seaworthy, seakindly yacht. This particular Stevens 47 already has two global circumnavigations under her belt.

If you want to see her full sales details with plenty of pictures click here.

Preparing for survey

We have paid the deposit and had the survey done. On Monday we pay the remainder of the purchase price and on Tuesday or Wednesday we and Jackie, the current owner, sign the Bill of Sale and she becomes ours.

That all sounds so straightforward. As with any deal like this there have been negotiations over the price we should pay, when we can take her over and what the insurance company requires before they will insure us.

Mehalah is currently run as a sail training boat out of Conwy so for insurance purposes she has had to be well maintained. That doesn't mean that the surveyor couldn't find anything to pick up on though. Oh no! Seacocks that wouldn't close, unsecured batteries, 240 volt system unprotected by an RCD etc etc. Y-Yachts, the first, and cheapest, insurance company we approached insisted on most of these being fixed before we left port! Problem, as we had already arranged a departure date with the marina and for friends to crew for us down to Cornwall. So it was back to Pantaenius who has insured Petronella for us. £300 more expensive but once we had explained that the seacocks do actually close, I would fit an RCD before we left and we would do the rest over the next few months they agreed to insure us. We may return to Y-Yachts next year for the passage south to the Canaries and onwards across the Atlantic.

The other thing to sort was a liferaft. Mehalah has a rented 10 person raft which will be returned to the suppliers when we purchase her. We tried to buy a new 6 person one but the one we want is out of stock. In the end we have hired one for the three months of sailing this year and will buy a new one next spring. This gives the advantage that our new one, which will require a service after three years, will have its service delayed by six months providing welcome relief for the sailing kitty.

Our small flat here in Ebley is becoming like an Amazon and Screwfix showroom. We have so much bedding that the bath is full and the spare bed is hidden beneath gas pipe, provisions, paperwork and machine screws. We realise now just how much key gear we left on Petronella when we sold her. On the other hand Jackie is taking most of her stuff with her as she will be looking to replace Mehalah with another boat. It does mean though that we start out with new gear.

The Bath at Ebley

The spare bedroom. Packing in progress!

Mehalah, despite being built in 1983, is seriously well equipped, at least for temperate climate sail training. She has new sails, standing rigging, mast and boom, generator and engine as Jackie was planning to sail her down to New Zealand with her father. As her father has got older though they have decided to abandon their plans so put her up for sale. The only things we will need to do are additions rather than replacements, like solar panels and probably wind steering.

We've not sailed much in the UK. Most of our experience is non tidal or current driven so negotiating the notorious Menai Straights on the first day of new ownership is going to be 'interesting'.

In other news daughter Jenny flies from Uruguay to Spain today to start a new life in Spain (go Jen, go) and daughter Emma returned yesterday from Uzbekistan where she has been working for Doctors without Borders (MSF). We have now finished our voluntary work for the Cotswold Canals Trust for the time being with dredger Patricia launched earlier in the week.

Patricia finally loaded ready for launch

See that beautiful new paintwork? Much of it down to us, especially Gilly.

OK. That's it for now. The next blog should be from on board Mehalah.