Afloat Again & Heading Northwards

Overwintering at Fox's Marina in Ipswich meant that the work carried out in 2018 could be fully checked over by the superb boatyard staff. After some tidying up of the windows and Coppercoat, the anodes and grounding plates were checked over and replaced, a mastic seal on the skeg replaced and Propspeed applied to the Maxprop and shaft. It's now mid May and Moana is back in the water tucked up alongside the majestic Havengore, a former hydrographic survey launch which is best known for carrying the body of Winston Churchill up the Thames as part of his state funeral in 1965.

With all the uncertainty bought about by the Covid pandemic we were extremely fortunate to have sailed Moana back to the UK last Summer. It was a wonderful trip up via the Algarve, the Portuguese West Coast, Galicia and across the Bay of Biscay. Now we are in good shape to enjoy spending time on her over the summer around the British Isles. The current plan is to spend the next few weeks preparing for the trip up the east coast to Scotland, through the Caledonian Canal & the Great Glen and out to the Western Isles. That means thorough checks of all her systems, refitting sails, servicing the Volvo and liferaft, checking the safety gear, updating charts and pilot books and a general clean up after nearly 6 months 'on the hard'.

By mid June we should be in a position to make the passage to Inverness. Once the School summer holiday starts in early July we'll be back up to join her and casting off for another family adventure, this time with wetsuits at the ready..... :-)