A brief but worthwhile visit

Back at the boat the following day, our trusty engineer, Colin, replaced the defunct radiator, released the seized valve on another, flushed the the whole system, and filled it with the required antifreeze/water mix and turned on the Webasto. The result was impressive. The rooms heated very quickly, and the hot water, too. The Bubble stove still posed problems, so Colin's seeking advice, but the stove's far from essential, so we're not in a great hurry.

    We topped up our card for our land-line electricity supply at the mooring. Unsurprisingly, the price per kilowatt/hour has gone up alarmingly, as has the cost of diesel and gas We only use gas for cooking, and each 13 kilo bottle lasts for months. Diesel is for the engine, of course, but also for the Webasto heating system, and the Bubble, which won't be used a great deal, anyway.

    We wanted to fill the diesel tank before the winter really sets in. Cold weather can cause water in the air in the tank to condense into the fuel, and that increases the chances of diesel bug growing and infecting it. In time, it can block jets and filters in the engine, and the Webasto heater jets. Filling the fuel tank to the very top gives little space for condensation. There was, however, no way we were going to be able to get across to the services platform in the very strong wind. Well, we'd get across okay, but not back!

   Taking Kantara across to the service platform for diesel is usually very simple. Reverse out of our berth, engage forward gear, point the bow at the platform, pull up alongside and moor. Yesterday, however, the very strong wind made that impossible. Getting over to the fuel pump would have been easy. The wind would probably have aided our travel, but pulling away again would have been out of the question. Many are the times we've seen boats pinned there, sometimes for hours, because of an adverse wind. It's happened to us a couple of times.

    The wind put the kibosh on doing any of the other jobs we had in mind, too. I was nearly blown off the gunnel while I was brushing the top of the cratch cover. A thorough wash of the roof at least was much needed, but the wind stopped us. All we could do was the fire safety checks; testing fire and carbon monoxide alarms, and the pressure in the extinguishers. A good shake up every month stops the powder inside from caking.

    On Thursday, we winterised Kantara, and returned home to the noise and dust of bathroom installers. It would have been lovely to stay and do some cruising, but the wind hadn't abated, and the number of closures and restrictions reported every day suggests that travelling any distance from the marina might well be slow.

    Fingers crossed for next year, eh?

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