The wind and rain had continued, the plan had been to move Elektra to her seasonal mooring on Monday the 8th of April but with the gales continuing I pushed it off to Wednesday 10th. I was down to St Anthony for 0630hrs to launch the dinghy, it was another wet day! The outboard started 2nd pull and I motored across to the narrows and into Carne creek, following the channel up to Elektra, it was a big spring tide with the water over the road, so there wasn’t any real hurry.
I attached the lines to each other as before, started her engine and switched on the depth sounder and chart plotter. When I was ready, I let go the fore lines and the starboard stern line and pulled Elektra out on her stern port line, dropping the line overboard as Elektra passed by the mooring buoy and on into the channel. I was watching the channel pole pass to starboard before I moved the control lever to forward to stop her, then a good blast forward then out of gear, to get Elektra over the stern lines of the other laid up yachts. Once I was happy we had passed any line I put her in slow ahead again and followed the channel towards the sea. This time there was plenty of depth with the least depth seen of 0.5m, back down Carne Creek and out into Gillan Harbour. I motored her out to her mooring and managed to hook it first time, I packed stuff away and got into the dinghy and was back ashore by 0800hrs, then home for breckfast.
A few hours later, went the tide had gone out, I went back to Carne to remove the winter mooring. I pulled on my wadders and jumped down onto the creek bed, mainly stoney near the road but the mud gets deep towards the channel. I coiled up the 3 bow lines and dropped them into the pool under the stream pipe outlet to help wash the mud off. Then I walked down the stream towards the channel to pull out the stern anchors, the port line was in the middle of the mud, I sunk into the mud a bit getting hold of it but managed. Once I had hold of it I walked out into the channel, it was about 0.6m. I then pulled the line backwards over the top of the anchor to pull it out but, with all the gales over the past winter the 15kg Bruce was completely out of sight under 1.2m of mud and it took a lot of pulling this way and the other to move it! In the end it came free and I pulled it into the channel to wash off, once clean I pick it up and carried it over to the stream bed, then pulled the chain and line out of the channel to the stream. Then it was the turn of the starboard anchor, chain and line but I am glad to say this anchor wasn’t dug in so far! Then I picked up each anchor in turn and carried it up to the stream out pipe, dragging the chain and line behind and washed off there.
Then I lifted the anchors chain and line up onto the road verge and propped the winter dinghy against and from there loaded in and onto the pick-up. Then I drove the 1/4 mile to were the road runs along past our seasonal gale proof mooring. Here I pulled out one of the anchors and chain, I then changed the mooring line for a mooring strop. Picked up some tools in a bucket and carried down over the bank to the wall, then back and do the same with the anchor, chain and strop. Once down on the rock below the 1.2m wall I lifted the bucket of tools and the anchor and chain down. From here I carried the tools to the mooring, across the channel and onto the level gravel/sand/mud bank and over to the mooring about 200 meters. Then back for the anchor and chain which managed with two stops to rest, I normally do this with the dinghy to avoid too much lifting and dragging but I needsd to get the winter mooring out first this time. There is a mooring block with chain, which I attach a mooring strop and pick-up buoy to, then pull it out streight and attach a line to the strop, chain and anchor, so as to make a safe trot mooring to use durring strong east wind in the season. Once done it was home and empty the pick-up and indoors for a rest, I was done in, who needs a gym I ask?
Love Sailing 