Wild and Windy

The weather certainly kicked up a bit of a fuss over the weekend with high winds and squally heavy showers in abundance. On Saturday we braved a quick run out to Lincoln to do the shopping before quickly heading back for the safety of the marina. By now the wind was certainly blowing and we had a very undignified and heavy landing on our mooring, luckily the fenders were at the right height and no damage was done. So we roped up well and sat out the storm with the aid of a few beers. With the winds growing ever stronger we retreated for an early night. It might have been an early night but it certainly wasn’t a restful one with the wind and rain periodically waking us up throughout the night.

Sunday didn’t start off much better. The wind was still howling down the marina with waves bigger than we have seen on the sea noisily crashing into the boats hulls. Gradually as the day wore on the wind started to ease so we grabbed the chance whilst it was there to sort out the dinghy. The engine was pulled out, cleaned up and stashed in the car. Then it was time to start on the dinghy. So we pulled her out and set about the thankless task of scrubbing the hull, which was looking like a forest already with the rapid weed growth. After much scrubbing the hull and tubes were weed free but we need to get some proper dinghy cleaner to get rid of the lime staining at the waterline. Finally we deflated the dinghy and attempted to get the floor boarding out ready to take home to sand down and repaint. We tried for over an hour to get the boards out, before giving in, re-inflating the dinghy and hanging it on the davits. The current theory is that the boards have swollen with the recent rain water sitting on them. So it is now hung vertically off the back of Naughty-Cal in an attempt to dry them out and have another go, in a few weeks, at getting them out. Failing that then come spring and the warmer weather we will have to sand them down and repaint them insitu on the pontoons. The evening finished quite serenely, which was a pleasant change after the battering the boat had taken over the last couple of days. Under clear skies and breathless winds the temperature plummeted allowing a sharp frost for the first time this year, but, with the heating on we were warm and cosy in the cabin watching Still Game on DVD, with a hearty dinner of lemon and garlic peppered pork loin, mashed turnip, onion and parsnip, asparagus, carrots and cabbage cooking away on the stove. We even ate at the saloon table for the first time this year, preferring to be tucked up warm than outside on the cooler cockpit.

Winter is certainly on its way.