GALE IN THE BOAT YARD!

On the day Esper was due to go back in the water, gusts of 40kts and a weather warning to shipping meant Millie and Jamie felt safer below decks. 

Even there they felt her swaying and shuddering! Here on followtheboat we like to make life difficult for ourselves, so while Esper was swinging from the travel lift, her crew cowered below decks. Not the best day to drop in the water. The sheltered water of Krabi Boat Lagoon was high and flat, so it was a case of grinning and bearing it…and hoping it all went as quickly as possible. 

Once safely back in our old slip, Jamie had a few beers (of course!) before recommencing work on the dodger the next day, and dealing with all those niggling boat maintenance jobs.

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All those small jobs we had neglected over previous months now started in earnest. We began our boat maintenance by cleaning and servicing the bilge system, adding a new bilge valve and checking the float switch.

With the hard bimini now in place, it was time to see how our dodger boat project was looking in the water. It needed to be angled forward, a point we had neglected to think about before installing it. This is for two reasons: to reduce windage and to allow the rainwater to fall forward to the two hose intakes.

When will this prep ever end? We just want to go sailing! 😩

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But we know we are doing the right thing. To get to Alaska we need to do all the right jobs… right now… in the right place… Esper must be in tip-top shape before we start our epic voyage eastwards.

Peace and fair winds, friends!

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