Yarr, me hearties! Arrrr! Ahoy there! It do have been a good long while since I did last be afloat! But this last yon weekend recently I did truly reinstate me sea legs! Yo ho ho and a bottle of whatever I can be laying me hands on!

Our old neighbours from the apartment (Darryl and Eletta) have a friend Richard (Eletta’s boss’s husband), with a BOAT. This makes him a very valuable person to know. He’s always working on it, and going out for half-day sailng trips, so when he requested another pair of hands, I jumped at the chance and went along for the day.

The boat is kept in a dry storage at the Channel Islands Harbour in Oxnard, a good two hours’ drive north and west from here, so Darryl and I had an early start, to drive up and meet Richard, and make the most of the day.

The boatyard chap pulls the boat (the Alice Maye) forward out of her space, so we can access her and do a couple of jobs before getting afloat. There’s no-one else around in the boatyard, despite it being a beautiful day. Lots of under-used boats – there are plenty for sale, too, at only $3000-4000… hmmm… tempting…

A quick trip to the chandlery (sweet shop / candy store) to scratch the retail-therapy itch, oh yeah and to buy some essentials like new rope too!

Mast down, to fit new ropes, replace some very knackered blocks (pulleys), and give a general health check:

Lovely shiny new ropes in place!

One other boat in the yard was not so lucky – her jib furling mechanism had come loose in a 40mph wind, and with the sail on the flap, the mast didn’t stand a chance.

A textural close-up of the Alice Maye’s mounting plate for the outboard engine. Crispy! Boats provide excellent subjects for experimental fun photography… if I did this more often, I might invest in some more appropriate equipment…

One other job was to repaint the boat’s name on the side of the hull.

A steady hand required!

She gets a quick clean down, to remove muddy footprints before setting sail.

Marina chap gets back on his little tractor to tow her to the lift.

Strapped up, she is airborne!

Carefully maneouvred into the water:

We are afloat! Starting the outboard involves taking it apart and filling it with starting fluid, but eventually it idles smoothly, and we are ready to go.

Out on the water, sails set, we can turn off the engine and let the wind do the work! This is when the magic of sailing is finally felt, as there is nothing but you and the wind, the boat and the waves.

There’s a perfect healthy breeze, so our progress is swift but not hair-raising.

Lunch is a rather large burger:

Darryl takes the helm, as skipper Richard relaxes. Not another boat in sight! Stark contrast to the south coast of Britain, where you can’t go half a mile without encountering ferries, yuppies or lost pedalos.

We didn’t go far from land. Just far enough to know that you could go further if you wanted. (And if you had the next day off work.)