On board the ship the Master organised the securing of Malua. The cradle was welded to the ship and eight straps used to tie down the yacht to the ship. I re-connected the back stay, removed the genoa halyard and used the main halyard as a backstay. The anchor was placed in the locker, the fenders put away and the lockers masked up to keep the water out. I then closed all the through-hulls, turned off the power and closed the companionway for the last time. The loading and securing was complete. I could relax.

We waited around to watch the other yachts being loaded. There was a 40 ft racing machine, a Swan 45 and finally a 83ft Oyster called Darling. While being long it was also heavy at 65 tonnes. The ship required two cranes to lift it on to the deck. As it was raised out of the water the ship listed to starboard under the weight. Slowly the yacht was lowered onto the deck and secured.

The Erasmusgracht will complete the loading on Friday and leave on Saturday for Tauranga in New Zealand then on through the Panama to Palma de Mallorca in Spain arriving some time towards the end of March.
Thanks to Lachlan for photo.