Lucky Launch

Lucky Launch Day?



It is the morning of the 13th of May and it might just possibly be the day we finally put our boat Kindred Spirit II back on the water after the winter season. The question in my mind is will the launch actually happen and will the boat float? Will it be a successful first step in our attempt to sail around the UK or do we have another few days of preparation still to do? For many people in the UK, the number 13 is considered to be a somewhat unlucky number. This is generally not the case in the Boyd family because our mum was born on the 13th and married on the 13th and has for many years worn a silver chain round her neck with a number 13 hanging off it. Now I must admit this may seem a pretty fragile way to persuade myself that the 13th of May is a good day to put the boat back on the water. However, as an additional family connection to the 13th my son George was born on the 13th and he is as fine a young man as walks the planet, even if he has spent the pandemic in Whistler BC skiing and mountain biking and making us all feel rather jealous.

So why should we be at all nervous about putting the boat back on the water? One reason is that a sailing boat like Kindred Spirit II has a few holes in the bottom. These holes are a potential cause of sinking. One of the many reasons why we are still working on the boat about ten days after we had planned to set sail is that we have had to replace one of the ‘sea cocks’ that stop the water flowing in through one of these holes. This sea cock is particularly glamorous because it is a valve through which the toilet flushes out to sea whatever we put in it… ugh. Apart from the sea cock we have been making several other adjustments, including new radio and navigation gizmos, new spare anchor, chain and rope, new water storage bags, and a solar panel to keep the batteries charged up although this is not yet fitted and will need to be set up on a rainy day when stuck in a harbour somewhere.

Today we hope to put the boat in the water and see if it is watertight. Then it is normal to have a shake-down cruise before setting off on a long trip with a boat that has had many new fittings. Perhaps our shakedown cruise will actually be day one of our attempt to circumnavigate the UK? If nothing goes wrong with the boat then perhaps we will just keep going – clockwise around the UK from our starting point at Blackwater Sailing Club, Essex?


Comments

  1. Alan Coday13 May 2021 at 11:56

    Fair winds guys. Misty Pearl is missing you already 😄

    ReplyDelete

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