Updates
Yikes, I haven’t written anything since July.
Well, needless to say the damaged stainless steel bow roller fitting was removed and a new one was made up from scratch. It turned out to be quite a complicated thing to make and the lads at Hayeswood Technical Services in Poole did a grand job. I filled all the existing holes with epoxy and redrilled and refitted larger bolts. It all looks nice and new and the new part is made of thicker 5mm plate, so it’s stronger than ever.
Shortly after the Round the Island race we sailed as a family to the Hamble and joined some other Hanse yachts for the Hanse rally. We had a strong following wind across Poole and Christchuch bays so it was a bit rolly. Ben didn’t look too impressed, and stayed subdued until perking up when we reached the flat water of the Solent. James slept all the way. As we had the kids on board we didn’t bother racing the next day, but motored out to watch the other boats start and then motored across to Cowes for lunch. An enjoyable weekend, and pleased that we had managed it with the two littluns.
Not much to report since then. Just the odd day sail.
Have just arranged for Csardas to be lifted out of the water in Feb for a couple of months. And have organised a new mooring. Next season Csardas will be moored on a swinging mooring in the harbour just off Hamworthy. It’s much cheaper than the marina which I feel I am not getting value from, especially as the boat is taking a bit of a back seat for a while. But it’s also the right side of Poole bridge which can be a pain. The bridge requires too much planning when we have a 40 minute drive to start with, and we’ve missed it a few times, when coming in and in terms of getting out for the day at a sensible time. By the time we’ve packed up the kids and got them in the car we never seem to get to the boat for a good time. I think being on a mooring will be fun even if all we do is get the launch to the boat and don’t go anywhere. And it’s less work to get off and on a buoy. It probably also means I’m more likely to sail on my own, and if I should feel brave enough to take Ben out on my own next summer, on a fair day, I think it will make life easier. We’ll see!