Monday 27th April – in the Marina Guadiana boatyard, Portugal

Soundtrack: The sound of waves washing against the beach below Makarma’s perch high on the hard. From the cockpit there’s a fantastic view to the north up the Guadiana, and in the other direction – to the open sea.
High Point: Hot water! Four years after getting a calorifier at the Beaulieu boat jumble, the two engineers onboard have got it wired and plumbed in. Despite dire warnings about running out of water, we’re enjoying the luxury of it.
Low Point: Getting a black eye by banging my head on the gearbox – I think it was the gearbox anyway – while working in the black hole of the engine compartment. This is in the process of replacing the anode bolts which go through the hull. They are buried deep behind the engine out of reach of any normal human. Black sikaflex to seal the holes is smeared everywhere before a nut has to graunch down on each bolt. Leighton manages to tighten the first nut but seeing the effort it cost him, it’s obvious that the smallest person onboard is going to have to do the other one. Black eye, hands covered in sikaflex, and shoulders screaming with pain. Are we having fun yet?

We have a day’s delay getting lifted out of the water as the boatyard is overbooked. And they insist on getting us back in on the 27th, when we’d booked to stay until 6th May. We’re going to have to cram more work in the four days than we would normally do in ten. The minute the boat’s been parked and pressure washed, we get cracking with the antifouling. Another pair of hands is absolutely invaluable, and work progresses quickly. The trouble is, it is like having the builders in, except there’s nowhere to escape the disruption – floorboards up; tools everywhere; electrics off; wet paint on deck. Absolutely ghastly for as long as it lasts, and we’re forced to eat out one night as cooking is impossible. One night someone nicked our ladder, leaving us stranded onboard. For someone used to dropping out of helicopters, it’s no problem to shin down a rope to the ground and get it back, but it’s a nasty moment.