Thursday 11 April 2019

All action day 2

The riggers were back with the sails to be fitted and the rig to tune, plus a few other miscellaneous jobs. They also brought the boat cover that we had previously only seen in pictures. They adjusted some of the standing rigging and then brought the sails on board. All the time we have been in the water the boat has been parked bows in, to facilitate the forestay removal yesterday.  This has meant that we have had to climb up and over the front of the boat, or make a precarious leap when going ashore.  This has not been ideal even when getting the shopping on board, but the transfer of the large, awkward and heavy sails was achieved easily enough.  We had to refit the battens (stiffening rods that go in the sails) and it was a great relief to have these removed from the saloon, where we have been in continual danger of standing on or falling over them.  These were duly fitted and the mainsail raised and lowered with minimal fuss.  The same procedure then for the jib, except that this sail does not have battens, so everything was easier. 

Jose the rigger then went back to tuning the standing rigging, leaving his mate on deck with us.  While doing the support tasks that were needed, and although he did not speak a lot of English, the chat turned to sailing racing, and he asked about what we had done, so we gave a quick run-down of our experiences. I noticed that he was wearing a shirt featuring the world championships for a particular type of dinghy. I asked if he had been and he said yes, Had he competed? Again yes. “How did you do I asked”, “I won” he said. It turns out he has been a world champion twice and was 8^th once. The riggers and some of their friend are now racing 2 other boats to a very high standard.  The line that he (beautifully) spliced for us is now to be known as the World Champion Line.

All of this was done and finished by 1:00, so anxious to actually get going, we went round our various contacts saying goodbye, and then set off.  This felt really strange. This was the first time that we had embarked on the maiden sail of the year with just the 2 of us, and also, it wasn’t cold.

Our friend Jessica from the marina office

We have only done a short distance today, as a shakedown and to check that everything is working correctly. We headed round Cape de Gata and then a few miles up the coast to where we have anchored in a (hopefully) sheltered bay. The weather was glorious, the sun shone and the wind came from the right direction. Everything worked.  Exactly what we came for.   

Maybe we should get some pot plants to have on deck?

Distance covered today	25	nautical miles
Trip distance covered	25	nautical miles
Distance covered 2019	25	nautical miles
Steve (and Tricia)