Splice is now tucked up for the winter and we have returned to the UK. The last few days were relatively relaxed as we had got well ahead on the jobs list.

The local stainless steel man did come back eventually and we agreed a modification to the outboard davit which uses the current base and he will weld a new extension on to make it useful for its intended purpose (we hope).

We had our rig survey done at the very last minute - 08.15 on the morning we had to leave at 10.00 for the plane. Thankfully there were no issues and Splice's rig gets a clean bill of health (phew! - can be costly to fix problems) Mind you, they charged us E300 and were only on board for 30 minutes, the report when it came was two simple paragraphs, one in English and one in Italian, saying no more than its was inspected and its OK. That's a good hourly rate if you can get it. We had to have it done for the insurance renewal but sometime as cruisers you feel you have to smile while people rip you off.

We had time to spend an evening on board with 'Flirty' eating 'Boat Pizza' and we also all walked into town on the Saturday evening and found an interesting 'wine bar' that did platters of fried fish, meat and cheeses (and wine).

The trip home, courtesy of BA, this time went well and we are getting used to living on land again!
We plan to be back on board in late April 2017 so we can set sail in early May. The blog will take a rest until then, have a good (warm) winter!

Photo: Splice in Cala Macaralleta on Menorca, a shot to remind us of warmer days!