Last jobs, and splashed..

...and not so much with a bang but a triumphant shout..  we're in..  but not before a whole of other nonsense was/had to be done first..

On the Thursday of last week we had been aiming to go for a little jaunt on "Hanoly" - Smithy's GP14 - but when we got down there, one the wind was non-existent, and two, the boys had started to lift boats in early - they're nothing if not a little claustrophobic after a long winter, so I subpoenaed Smithy into giving me a hand on a task I had been wanting to complete for an age..  last year (it may have been the year before) I did a GPS survey of the club mooring buoys on my side of the bridge, and was then approached by one of the committee guys to confirm it was very useful and would I do the same for the Langstone side of the bridge..  so a couple of hours, and 2.5 miles, later it was done...

😂😂😂

Back on land it was then time to start thinking about getting ready for my lift in which was a mere few days away..  first order of the day was getting the top tackle on to the mooring ready to tie up to. The next day we borrowed the workboat and Jolly Boy Dave, mate Simon, and I killed multiple birds with a single stone by doing five moorings in one go..

...this turned out to be not as simple as we had envisaged, as the mooring team had been round the buoys over the winter putting new shackles on, and removing anything extraneous, which included Simon's swivel...  then Dave noticed he was missing additional shackles, so we had to hot foot it back to the pontoon to go rooting around the maintenance shed for replacements - all eventually done, and it was good to be out on the water..

...and so it was finally the day before lift - I decided to bite the bullet this year, and rather than get up at oh crack sparrow fart on launch day to put the engine on before it got busy, I would do it the evening before. Since the last but one got nicked I've been a bit wary of taking any risk, but with the outboard lock, and taking the cowl home, I figured it was as safe in the yard as it was on the mooring - probably safer, as a number of the guys are sleeping down there in their camper vans at the moment getting the last bits done on their boats..

Engine on it was then time to put the cockpit hatches back on - pleased to say the temporary one's did a good job, then re-attached the wind vane, and finally give her a damn good wash to get rid of a winters worth of green slime and dirt..  she looks a million dollars OK.. 😏

So nice and early next day (clocks changed to, so it was even earlier..  really...😬) it was time for the traditional final job of the lay over..

...before making my presence known to the moorings team to let them know I and the boat were ready for lift in when they were...

Usually the boats going round the island (Hayling Bridge sits between our two mooring area's) get priority and so it was today, but they'd made such good progress over the previous couple of days there were only nine boats to go in today, so I got a quick lift, and they dropped me so far down the slipway that even four hours before the HT was due I was already seeing water round the keels

So many expectations at the start of .. etcetcetc.😏

Time then to get on board sharp'ish... enjoy the view..

...and wait for the tide to do the job.. first the boat started rocking, time to get the engine going.. fuel was already attached, choke on, gear in neutral check, pulled her over and she started first time..  left her in tick over and put her in reverse..

...and bugger me if less than five mutes later we weren't off and moving (according to the club webcam at about 10:26)

10 minutes later I was on the mooring having transited under the bridge..

Super easy, non-stressful launch - my thanks as usual to the guys in the club who sorted this for me and the others as they do every year..  was also a glorious day..

Next jobs - get the tender ready, then arrange a mast raising party..