We have settled into a pattern, spending the mornings on our preparations to leave the boat for the winter and the afternoons taking some exercise and doing other admin. It is good that we have plenty of time available, so we do not have to rush to complete things. Saturday was overcast and windy, which rather prevented some of the jobs we might have done and curtailed our walk.
We have noticed that it is often still early in the morning as so it proved on Sunday, so we set to taking the main sail off before breakfast. This is a job that is best done when there is no wind. We must be getting better at it, because it seemed less difficult than it has sometimes in the past. The sail is too heavy for us to move very far without help, so we just left it in its bag on deck overnight.
All weekend the preparations for the boat show have gathered
pace around us. It seems that every time
you go round a corner, a new booth has sprung up. Almost every possible space has been taken,
and now the boats are arriving. Large numbers of the charter boats are being
shipped out to other marinas, with teams of guys driving them away. The spaces
are being taken by arriving boats that the exhibitors are going to feature. These
boats are then cleaned to within an inch of their life to present the most
attractive view possible. Some of the
exhibitors have been creating elaborate interiors for their booths and we have
heard sawing and drilling throughout the weekend. It’s all rather exciting!
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| The white booths and tents have appeared throughout the marina |
One of the manufacturers held a party on Sunday evening, presumably for favoured guests or people they think might buy. The champagne was flowing. I walked past several times on my way to the shower (I had forgotten my towel and only realised when I got there, so had to retrace my steps), but my hope that someone would offer me a drink or try to sell me a boat was dashed. Clearly I don’t look like the right sort of person.
I shall miss the “port theatre” when we leave, it has been
at its best recently. In addition to the boat movements associated with the show,
the marina has been operating normally, albeit with far fewer boats out for charter
than previously. Several of the charter companies are running academies,
teaching people to sail and most noticeably, boat handling. They have been
doing circuits and bumps, with all of the students being required to do the
different manoeuvres. The changed layout of the marina has made this a bit
trickier, as there are now some narrow gaps to go through. We watched one boat repeatedly
doing “stern to” mooring, up to one of the floating bridge sections. Almost all
of the students did it well, but one misjudged their speed and hit the pontoon
with a bang, loud enough to make everyone stop and look. There was a large scar in the back of the
boat and probably red faces for both the student and the instructor. Tricia and I remembered with fondness one of
our mentors, who spent many patient hours with us, doing a whole range of these
sorts of manoeuvres, and would not let us stop until we could do it right.
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| We have seen various ways of keeping boat covers on, but this does not seem like the most elegant |
Miles Today - 0
Miles 2022 – 1478
Steve (and Tricia)
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