Trying to get the last few jobs finished before the weather is warm enough to sail, I headed for the boat on Saturday. The plan was to finish fitting the shelves into the (non) toilet compartment, swap the NASA depth sounder and log with the one's I'd bought to replace them and generally tidy the boat.
The club AGM was arranged for 10am on Sunday morning, so I'd be attending that for the first time!
I was expecting a quiet weekend, rain was forecast again, which I thought would keep most club members at home.
Pete was already there when I arrived, with the news that 5 boats had sailed up from Wainfleet and were waiting for the tide so they could come in. He left, saying he'd be back in an hour or so. 10 minutes later Billy, the Commodore, arrived. I gave him a hand to get the club RIB out of the container, he was going to head out and show our visitors the way in.
I eventually got to my boat!
I managed to finish fitting the shelves, and swapping the electronics was a few minutes work. Blowing on the paddle-wheel proved the log worked, at least until it's fitted and clogged with mud and barnacles!
I'd cocked up by forgetting to bring my phone charger, so to make the battery last for the weekend I had to ration it's use. That's my latest excuse for having no pictures again...
I gave a hand to the Wainfleet boats and, once they were all moored up (with one boat moved up to raft with 2 others rather than on the inaccessible berth he'd been put on to begin with), caught up with a couple of familiar faces and met a few more, including their Commodore who sails Bunty, a beautiful 1926 Hillyard yawl.
I thought it worth using the battery power for this!
I decided to have an early night and stayed onboard while the visitors headed to the pub for a meal and "refreshments". I'd had enough of reading by 10pm and dropped off to sleep.
I was woken at "chucking out" time, although I don't think anyone had been chucked out. There was a fair bit of activity as the "refreshed" visitors found it a bit more difficult to get onboard after the tide had gone out!
I soon dropped off again, only to be woken again just before 1am to the sound of rushing water. Now this is a sound I don't associate with Saltfleet, things tend to happen very gently this far upriver.
I stuck my head out of the hatch to see what looked like the river in full flood mode! I worked out that they must be pumping water out of the inland river while the tide was out, something which was repeated on Sunday afternoon. So much for the drought we're supposed to be having!
Another hour later I got back to sleep...
Up at around 6am, I had a stroll round as the visitors slowly came to life. Shortly after 7 they were on their way back to Wainfleet.
I spent a while tidying the boat, loading the car for going home and wishing I was sailing with them!
The Rutland wind charger has been fitted for a while now, but the batteries have been kept at home over winter. Today there was a bit of a breeze, just enough to spin it fast enough to produce some power. I connected my multimeter up to it and found an output of 0.1A in a breeze which was only just enough to keep it moving occasionally. Satisfied it was working, I put one of the batteries back onboard and connected it up.
That reminded me of another job, I've got a charge regulator to fit!
The AGM was well-attended and it was good to hear that the club is doing well, both in terms of increased membership and financially.
After the meeting we accosted a passing Coastguard vehicle and invited them in for tea and a chat. Nice to meet the men who had helped me last year when I returned from the Tyne engineless!
Fingers crossed that there will soon be a sailing post here...
