Had a few busy weeks Instructing in Menorca, lovely people good sailing, hot weather and Mahon getting busy at last.
Things are always breaking when cruising, the dinghy is the latest casualty. The inevitable compromise between a small light unit and a durable one we misjudged and the beach toy we bought in Brest has been literally falling to bits at the seams after two years. Since it is my daily transport when working and lifeline when at anchor it's very important!
In anticipation of its demise I had inherited a baby RIB (see above) which the school had spare. It required a bit work to keep water out and air in. A day away from its launch after repair I came on deck at 8am to go to go to work,10 mins across the harbour in the old dinghy....Looked over the stern and the outboard had disappeared, along with the transom which was dangling submerged underwater, just two tubes and a floor left on the painter!
John rescued me that day. I recovered the outboard which is fine after a thorough wash, carb stripped and two oil changes. Old dinghy in the bin! Now when I'm working I use a school Walker Bay RIB with a15HP- great little unit (middle dinghy in pic) it's the equivalent of a company car - Bit of a change from the BMW 5 series but hey it's a cabriolet!
The other one in the photo is Squidge, one of the school RIBs for teaching....it really shifts! ....on it later this week!