Back in the water!
This post will be a short description of the period from July till today. After I had bought my boat Oleander, I decided that some work needed to be done on her with a local shipwright whom seemed quite capable to fix some dry rot. It was deemed best to put her in a shed where she would be protected from the elements ( a necessity in Scotland). The place was Creran Marine at Barcaldine. Because it was summer and decent accomodation was too expensive so I decided to stay at a camping site nearby that would allow me to walk back and forth. The friends from whom I bought the boat allowed me the use of a tent and the necessities for camping.
So, the time I stayed here was 6 weeks instead of 2 because we found a few more problems than anticipated due to some lack of maintenance. It has also been one of the wettest summers in Scotland on record so it was amazing that the tent stayed dry for all that time! The biggest problem I had was that the soil underneath the tent got so saturated that it felt as if I was floating.
Thanks to my friends Tony & Angela and Dave & Dorothy I was able to survive. The boat was in an awful state and I got pretty close to despair. I also lost a lot of weight and money in all the repairs and costs for the shed. Was it worth it? I guess. Look at the photos on this site to see the difference.
Today the boat got back in the water and she is floating. There were some problems with the seacocks but nothing major so she didn’t have to go back ashore. It is bloody wet though. Tomorrow with the help of Tony we set sail to Dunstaffnage Marina.
Oh yes, I also got my RYA Coastal Skipper certificate in this period, I had my qualifications from the American Sailing Ass., but I felt it would be good to do a refresher. And it was good! It also proved how beautiful the sailing can be if you actually get to do it in Scotland…
