Logbook 12 June 2019 – Mylor Lift Out
After 25 days in Pendennis, we now have a lift date at the local yacht harbour and boatyard in Mylor. Notable is that we have had no contact from the boatyard that originally installed the engine. Judge for yourself how professional this is. We paid the marina fees, an unexpected cost as we had planned to be in the Spanish Rias by now. We also agreed some finer details with the sailmaker so that when we go back in the water, we’ll have nothing stopping us. The trip to Mylor was uneventful with a grey sky, but calmer winds than the gales from yesterday. Mylor has a dredged channel into the marina but at half tide and rising, there was plenty of water below us. The marina is busy with moorings and a busy berth area. Eclipse is 4m across and so with a healthy safety margin to consider, the marina seems tight. We decided on a ‘port side to’ approach to the outside of ‘E’ pontoon. With the wind on the nose, it would be a simple and slow approach and we’d be blown on to the pontoon. I positioned us and ‘the admiral’ brought us alongside. We tied up with the stern out a little to allow for the positioning of the towboat. Then we went to check in and find times for the lift.High tide would be at 1400 and so we were being moved at about 1315 to maximise depth at the hoist point.
The team at Mylor are very experienced and the whole process went smoothly.A common hurdle with larger boats is the need to remove the backstay (the steel cable that holds the mast up and back. The rigger supported the mast with the main halyard tied to a cleat. He then unbuckled the backstay, giving clearance for the last few feet of the hoist.Once ashore, Eclipse was blocked and rested on the floor ready for her move to a transport and storage cradle.The yard team works around the tides and so 1400 brought a late lunch for all.
Replete, the yard team moved Eclipse to her new home, up the Mylor valley, at just after 1500.Once Eclipse was secure, it was water and power on. We bought 2 used foldable bikes earlier in the week. This was a good deal but both needed some servicing. both had spruce and clean and mechanical parts de-greased and de-rusted. The tyres are old but serviceable and both met a basic ‘first parade’ standard by dinner time. We needed to test ride both bikes, so a short, if somewhat hilly, cycle to Mylor Church was in order. We had earned a pint in the Lemon Arms and the local St Austell brew was sweet and refreshing. The local village is small but offers what we need. It has a newsagent, 2 hairdressers, a dentist (brilliantly named Gentle Dental) and a small but well-stocked store. So we’ll not starve (or have unkempt hair!)
Tomorrow the engineer will be down to assess the problems. His estimate will let us see how long we will be landlocked…I suspect we’ll be here for at least a couple of weeks.
This time out of the water will allow me to complete some work too. I’ll replace the zinc ( a request ignored by the previous yard) and do some internal woodworking and fitting out. Credits: Navionics
