This was certainly a whirlwind visit! We got the shuttle at 6.20 on Thursday evening and were home again by 6.45 on Friday evening, but it was nevertheless a most enjoyable and productive 24 hours.
The boat was booked in for her lift out at 9 am Dutch time (8 am to us!) so there wasn't much time for the niceties of breakfast (though we still had our cup of tea in bed!). I popped into the village for some rolls to have later, then it was a case of motoring round to the other part of the marina.
Fortunately the wind conditions were excellent, albeit with the wind from the opposite direction to usual, and it proved to be a piece of cake to manoeuvre the boat into the right position for the lift. Watching our "baby" being manhandled was a bit nerve-racking, but as the morning progressed it became obvious that the marina people do this operation a dozen or more times every day, so it was very mundane for them.
Then it was time for her to have her bottom washed!
Inspection after jet washing showed virtually no damage to the bottom of the main hull from barnacles etc., though the keel, rudder and propeller were more badly affected, as was the anode mounted on the sail drive. All in all it was agreed that the marina will do the necessary anti-fouling and put the boat back in her berth within 2 weeks.
We then settled back to a few hours of life in a cradle 10 feet above the car park. Very strange at first, but ok once you got used to it. We were also blessed with a glorious day and I was able to sit up in the cockpit sewing, cup of tea beside me, keeping out of Kim's way below. Kim managed to shave the bit off the floor panel to make it sit flat and fit the catches to hold the forward cabin and heads doors open.
We then drove to Vrouwenpolder and bought lunch from the Lekkerbek cafe, which we took up onto the dam to eat in the sunshine, without a coat or fleece in sight! According to Metowallie, the maximum temperature in Vrouwenpolder today was 16 degrees, so no wonder it felt so lovely. Let's just hope that we are as lucky when we next go over in a couple of weeks so that we can actually sail.
