Launched

Luxurious solo sleeping

So, the good news is, Kalessin is in the water, and she is floating. As per the surveyor’s report, the keel has been expensively re-bedded and the shroud and babystay chainplates also rebedded. There is a new VHF radio, with separate cockpit control, actually fitted last year, but never used in anger. There are two new flexible solar panels (although I don’t yet know how to connect them) and a new rigid solar panel in front of the spray hood. Hypothetically, the gas alarm is now working, and so is the electric bilge pump. Also, there is a new seacock under the sea toilet, and both seacock handles turn freely, although I haven’t yet quite seen the good news in that, see next section. The mast is up, but the boom is not. The wonderful team at OneSails have already replaced the damaged window in the cockpit tent. The life raft has gone off for service, as has the EPIRB, and all should be completed within three weeks. I am sleeping on board tonight and can stretch luxuriously.

On to the bad news. Or perhaps I should say less good news, because all of it is probably fixable very simply. The boom is not yet attached, and in fact I don’t know where it is, which is slightly worrying*. The sails have not yet been rigged, but that’s okay, because she only went into the water yesterday (and they really need the boom in place to rig the main sail!). More worryingly, the headlining is still down, and the electrician claims that’s nothing to do with him, although I can’t think who else would’ve taken it down. I really hope someone will put it up again! 

I arrived at the boat fairly late, almost 7pm, which may have been a mistake because I discovered that although Kalessin is connected to shorepower, it’s not actually working. Also, by the time I had had something to eat, and a couple of glasses of wine, I was completely unable to work out how to get the sea toilet to function. It looks absolutely disgusting. I will use a bucket for tonight, and hope that either I or Guy can get it working in the next few days, otherwise all bets are off. Also, although it’s lovely to stretch out, I’m not in a very good place mentally, and really wish that I was being squashed into a very small corner by my beloved Sam. The boat seems very empty without him. 

*the boom was on the side deck, hidden by the cockpit tent. Duh.