Brindabella

We returned back to the yacht on Friday having had a good trip on the Pont Aven ferry from Portsmouth to Santander. We drove down through Spain stopping for 2 nights on the way.

Once back at the boat it took us a few days to clean down and get it ready for sea again. It’s amazing just how dirty the outside of a boat can get in just 2 months!

One of the main objectives of the visit was to install a passerelle or gangplank to the back of the boat. We needed something substantial for Bella to walk across. Once we enter the Mediterranean, all of the marinas have what is called ‘med mooring’. This is were you back up to the quay, making fast on the quay and picking up a bow line from the water to hold the boat away from the quay. Some quays can be high and in some ports, you need to be a good distance from the quay to stop damage to the boat.

We purchased the passerelle in Poole and brought it with us. We had all of the tools to do the job but needed some bolts which we got from the excellent Sheppards chandlery in Gibraltar. The picture above shows the passerelle fitted and ready for use.

We are now keen to head off into the med for a few weeks to try it out and explore some of the ports in this area. We don’t plan to go far as we need to be back in Gibraltar later this month.