Thursday 8 Oct, HHN, boat winterizing day 8:
Oooph, been here 7 days already and feels like not a lot done. If only I could stop all this domestic stuff like cooking, washing up, showering myself, teeth cleaning etc – I’d have so much more time! … I can see why some single men on yachts sometimes end up looking like tramps! Luckily for me, I have Oana to keep me in check 😊

Today I prepare the boat for being shrink-wrapped tomorrow. Last year we had watched with amusement at 2 guys shrink wrapping a boat next to us. Their continuous banter was very entertaining, and I thought they didn’t sound very professional. But the finished result was quite a work of art. So these are the guys I’ve chosen to shrink wrap Cloudy Bay tomorrow.

Several jobs for me to prepare, but the only highlights were moving the outboard from the rail mount to the dinghy, for which my back is now suffering (stupid move … should have got help). Then standing on the davits to remove the Inmarsat antenna from the top of the radar pole, which is way above my head. I’m used to servicing things up the radar pole while standing on the davits, but somehow the hard ground 20ft below me now it’s a bit more intimidating than a potential fall into clear blue water. One advantage though, when I drop tools over the side I simply go down and pick them up. No need for dive gear 😊.

So why am I removing the Inmarsat antenna? Well, for 4 years we have never once used this system. And I believe the previous owner only used it on the initial delivery trip from Sweden to Lanzarote. The airtime is just tooooo expensive. The minimum package is $400/month for 40Meg of data. A PC will gobble that up in seconds, leading to frightening bills. If you want an airtime package similar to even a basic mobile phone package – for instance 5GB data a month – that will set you back $5,000! See what I mean? When you see all these satellite domes on super yachts, you can only imagine their airtime bill. So, I’ll put our system for sale on Ebay over the coming year and see who bites.
The only downside of removing it, as Oana pointed out, is that we will be left with holes in the nav station panel where the handset is mounted. …. So maybe we will keep the handset, just to hide the holes … and show off that we (might) have an Inmarsat on board!

On the ground, I set about sealing up from the weather all the sensitive electrical and hydraulic fittings. To do this I simply place heat shrink over the connections, and on the open end place a piece of dowel …. a wine cork would do just as well. I also start bag and label all the dozens of fittings that were removed with the rigging. Otherwise for sure I won’t know where they all go when we put the mast back up next year.

And that’s it. Somehow the day has gone without me knowing it!

Evening is dedicated to all that domestic stuff I mentioned at the beginning. And while doing that I notice yet again the power goes off mid evening. There is clearly a rather conscientious security guy out there unplugging any boat he finds plugged in. Officially, boats cannot be left on power while unattended and, also officially, you are not allowed to liveaboard while the boat is in the yard. Hence I cannot complain. Tomorrow I’ll try to catch him out and unplug myself before he does …. Then plug back in just before bedtime. Let the power games begin!

Tomorrow is a big day. And not just for the activities planned on Cloudy Bay. You’ll have to wait and see why.