Splice was lifted out of the water in Cleopatra Marina on 8th October. The lift was scheduled for 11.30 but because they were having problems with a large fishing boat this slipped back to nearer to 14.30 by the time the strops were tightened around her and 16.00 before we were settled on the hard.

We expected to use the bigger of the two travel lifts due to our beam but the 'lift master' said he could fit us in the smaller one and "it will be a better price for you". With a bit of trepidation we agreed and Splice was eased into a dock that is 6.8m wide. She is 6.7m wide so there was 5cm on each side of the boat!. The lift team were good and had strong polystyrene wedged each side so she didn't touch but there was a lot of 'squeaking' as Splice rubbed against the protected edges. She came out OK and once clear of the water it was fine but we used up a few more (bitten) nails than usual. They also told us that she was very dirty and it would take a double clean to clear the growth on her bottom. Oh well, we thought, less for the lift and more for cleaning, that will balance out.

Of course the next day in the office it wasn't so straightforward. The 'nice lady' explained that their charges were based on the size of the boat and not which lift was used.......but we still had to pay extra for the cleaning. They wouldn't listen so after some debate we had to settle for that and will insist that the larger (and more expensive for them) lift is used to put us back in!

Splice gets her dirty bottom washed off.

We spent two nights aboard on the hard which is not the most comfortable place to live on a boat as the fridges don't work out of the water (ours are cooled by plates on the outside of the hull under the water that the refrigerant flows through) and the toilets are out of action as well so you have to visit the facilities block. CYS came and finished the winterising of our engines and generator and we got a few quotes for other work that we may decide to do.

We had a rig inspection done, both for our own peace of mind and as we are sure the insurers will ask for one at this renewal. The rig passed without any visible problems but that's the issue as a rig gets older, even an expert cannot always see problems if they are inside terminals etc. We know that the renewal of the rigging wires etc is coming at us with a cost around £5-6k in the next year or so

We tidied up, got the external plastic shelter on around the cockpit and did all the 'close down' jobs necessary on our checklists.

There was one other bit of excitement. We had seen two youths in their mid twenties walking around the yard on the second day, they looked a bit suspicious but passed on by. That afternoon about 17.00 as Chris was walking away from Splice to visit the facilities he noticed a pair of feet disappearing up into the cockpit of the big motorboat next to us. As there was no ladder there and we had seen no one around before this was strange. He walked back and looked carefully and saw the two youths trying to prise open the main door to the boat. He quickly went up the yard to where the workers office was and found the 'lift master'. The guy didn't believe there was a problem as the yard does have a very good reputation for security but came back with him anyway. In the meantime Carolyn had seen activity on the boat behind as the youths examined the foredeck area. Chris and the 'Lift master' got there whilst they were still on board and ordered them off. The lift guy recognised them as crew from a boat lifted earlier and having determined they spoke no English but only French he then proceeded to shout at them in English! Chris had to translate the basic stuff. It appears their father was in the bar and they were escorted off by the Yard Manager but we don't know what the end of the story was, probably just a ticking off.


The evening view through the masts from Splice's place on the hard. This is only a section of the yachts stored here, its a big place!


Our flight back to the UK was tedious with a number of moderate delays but as we arrived back to a lovely sunny day here at least we didn't need the socks and long trousers we had brought with us!

The blog will take an intermission now until next season. We have booked flights back out to Preveza in late April 2019 with a general plan to head down through the Corinth Canal and explore the Peloponnese, the southern Agean and maybe north to the Sporades.

Thanks for reading, hope you will join us next year.

Main photo: Splice squeezed into the lifting dock.