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| Waiting for Sequel to go back in the water - boat next to us being moved |
Thursday 10 May Arrived back in Malta 25 minutes early and a fanfare from RyanAir. Hot and sunny 26 degrees. Managed to find the boatyard this time without driving round Valetta at least twice and also found a very dirty boat covered in sand from Libya apparently. Set to almost straight away to get the worst off for an 8 a.m. return to the water on Friday. Spent the night in a '4 star' hotel on the waterfront with terrific views and from where we could also see Sequel but cant think of another single redeeming feature - although the Captain thought the foyer was good.
Friday 11 Up bright and early and back to the boatyard exactly at 8 a.m. At 11 a.m. Sequel was put back in the water. Apart from waiting sometime there were one or two hiccups - they had to move the boat next to us first to get us out and then when finally in the water the hoist strap got stuck around the starboard stabilizer. So much so that the hoist driver borrowed Heather's goggles, stripped off and got in the water to untangle it. I quite enjoyed that bit. And then of course he needed a towel!
We left the yard and went to the marina just across from the yard but around the headland where they found us a berth for the night and I set to again cleaning the inside which was as dirty as the outside and the Captain was also busy......
Not surprisingly - it no longer is - the forecast for Sunday and Monday is for very strong winds, possibly force 7, so we determined to leave Malta on Saturday and head back to Marina di Ragusa in Sicily to sit out the wind there. Spent another night in the lovely hotel.
Saturday 12 Left Malta at approximately 9.45 a.m. and had a lovely trip back to Sicily. Beautiful day, light winds and the Captain thoroughly enjoyed negotiating some very large tankers. I just sat in the sun for seven hours - very happy - and now a bit pink. Arrived in Marina di Ragusa at about 5 p.m. - very welcoming and a lovely big space just for us. But as always there is a problem - this time the passarelle (i.e. the gangplank that gets us off the boat) doesnt work. The Captain has done a lot of head scratching. Lots of Brits here - not sure whether that is good or bad - although one of them did find a long plank of wood so we have been able to get off the boat - its too far to jump and as my family know, I dont do jumping.
Sunday 13
Its windy. And the Captain is still scratching his head having checked every fuse on the boat etc etc. We are thinking of sawing the plank of wood in two and taking it with us when we leave. Next stop Siracusa - possibly on Tuesday. Its even windier now.
Hi All that cleaning etc to get everything ready for the sea. Did the hoist driver have a good body? at least it was a bit of excitement for a few minutes. Glad you had a good trip back to Sicily I would be scared negotiating tankers. The hotel sounds very good. Hope your pasarell has now been sorted out but at least you now have the plank!! Hope the wind has now settled down and you are on your way to Greece.
ReplyDeleteTake care. Love K & V