Buggeration

I had planned to put Sprite 2 on the beach today and have a full day of fettling. Well the weather put paid to that.

Planned it all... needed to get up at 4am so went to bed early last night after picking daughter up from work. Got up on time, drove down to boat, got there about 5am  and found the weather had changed in the half hour I drove down there. .

It was a force 5 from the North/North East  which is about the worst direction for the pond at Eastney, as the wind has the full length of Langstone harbour to whip up a swell. Had a look out to the boat in the dark and could see it bouncing around on the mooring. (Good job I bolted the bow roller plate down earlier this week!)

I'm only 7 miles away from the boat at the head of Langstone harbour but here we didn't have a breath of wind. But I guess we're sheltered from the north by the Downs and 7 miles further South allows a Northerly wind to drop back down and mess up my plans! But it's noted for the future. It's all experience.

So there was no way I was rowing out in the pitch black in the dinghy in that weather! Light was another hour or so away by which time the tide would have ebbed too far. High tide was around 4:30 this morning and at 4.0 metres, not a particularly high one in the pond. Certainly I'd be a way down the beach by then and on the soft mud, not the harder sand, so after assessing the situation for 5 mins or so I turned tail and went home.

I'll go down later today and get a couple of hours aboard. There's a fair bit of fettling to do. I got the sealant for the stanchions from Toolstation yesterday (Trade marine Sealant) but was horrified to find the Flag antifouling is no longer stocked by them! I need to find an alternative cheap supplier! I'll try and get the stanchions sealed while Sprite 2 is on the water, but the wind will have to abate for that to happen. I've got some more wiring to do anyway so I can get that accomplished and I'm going to refit the winches after sealing the base despite the rusty bolts. I reckon the bolts are a lot more solid than they look after the attempts with the Dremel this week.That way I can sail again.

Anyway, it's lunchtime, time for some lunch because I've been awake ages!