Donna went home on Monday the 4th, leaving me in the atrocious weather, which better reflected a British winter than a Spanish spring. The boat was scheduled to be lifted out today but I thought it was unlikely to happen, so I popped around to the yard to see what was happening. Dennis told me that the 1200 hours customer hadn't turned up so if I wanted to come around now they would get me out earlier. It was a tricky exit from my berth due to the exceptionally strong sidewind but all went well and I made it into the moon pool for the travel hoist. I fixed lines ashore and awaited my lift. After half an hour there was no movement from the boys in the yard. I don't think the Spanish were enjoying coming out in the bad weather. After a while I was told there would be no lift today.
The problem was that I had no access to electricity in the moon pool. That night I went to bed wearing long-johns, socks, tee shirt and a woolly hat, inside a sleeping bag, with a quilt over me and boy was I cold; not what you expect in Spain. It had been the worst March weather for 72 years and had not relented for a month. The next day was no different, with torrential rain all day. I was having my survey today and was not expecting the surveyor to turn up but at 0900 hours he was there. Henry Topham, a lovely chap, carried out his survey on everything he could but would have to come back once the boat was lifted to survey the hull and keel. Everything went well, with only 3 things flagged; the gas alarm wasn't working, the gas pipe was out of date as it only last 5 years and Henry suggested that the 6mm shackle on the main sheet could do with being upgraded to an 8mm one. All sounded to be going to plan and once lifted I would be able to change the sacrificial anodes, grease the prop and be back in the water the following night or the morning after, ready to leave for Sardinia, 440 miles east. Tuesday evening, Jerry, my crew, arrived and we were not allowed to stay on board, so I had to book an apartment in the complex beside the marina. Wednesday morning, Muirgen was lifted and power washed and problems were identified. The coppercoat antifoul was flaking off and there was some rust on the steel keel, which was blowing the epoxy and coppercoat off. The result was that the boat would need to be out of the water for around 17 days for the work to be completed, with a bill of €5000 estimated. My days in the Shenghen area were being eaten into and I didn't want to fork out for accommodation for a fortnight, so the obvious course of action was to find a flight home whilst the work, which they commenced immediately, was completed. I managed to book a flight for Friday morning and landed at Doncaster at 1347. Jerry made a quick return to Cardiff. Boating can be an expensive hobby, especially when unforeseen problems arise but its still a great adventure and these things keep it interesting. You just never know what's going to happen. Also, whilst I'm away they will be servicing the life raft, replacing the flares and changing a sea cock, so there might not be much change from €7000. Hopefully that's it for unexpected costs this year.