and then it all went rather wrong

Having sorted out a few bits of pre-departure maintenance, taken the bikes for a few excursions and generally stocked up on food we had to park the car for the summer (assuming that we get one for a change of course). So, we drove back to Hythe, dropped the car into store in the New Forest and then took the "interesting" train trip back to Penarth. Well, if you want to be pedantic, Cogan station, as that is the closest.

Walking back to the boat we popped into the local Tesco store where we had a call from Mr Toddler to say that Mrs Toddler was not well. This ended up with an ambulance and trip to Southampton General. If you read our last post, you will see that there is a theme building here. Not a particularly good one though. So, the following day the crew did that train journey in reverse to help out. This meant that Mr Toddler didn't need to live on cereals and boiled egg once the stuff in the fridge that had already been prepared had run out. 

The captain stayed on board, doing a few odd jobs and getting plenty of exercise on the bike / walking / dragging stuff back from the supermarket. He was waiting to see if it would help if he also went to Hythe or if he was more (not much in reality) use staying on the boat.

There was an awesome weather window for the trip around Land's End to Falmouth over the upcoming weekend which you could only dream of - sunny and incredibly calm:

 

Yes, blue is good and that image shows the forecast wave heights. Less than a meter at the time we would be heading around - amazing. 

Mrs Toddler was collected from the hospital by the crew, she returned armed with antibiotics. The crew had a train back booked for the Saturday so things were looking good, we could use the amazing weather window. Then Mrs T reacted to the antibiotics in quite a dramatic and unpleasant way and rapidly had to go back into hospital again, fortunately just overnight, but it meant everything got delayed.

The captain had company locally - Alun and Julie our boat neighbours took pity on him, abandoned and alone, as did other folks we know in the area. He fed himself, remembered to clean up afterwards and do a bit of washing too. Wild wild time. The perfect weather window went by with a gentle "see you never again" noise.

Of course, when the crew finally returned by train she hit the magical line closure to shore up an embankment which diverted the Portsmouth to Cardiff train around Southampton. No direct service for her:

Then it got even better, as well as the extra change needed there had been a broken down train on the line near Trowbridge which meant lots of trains were cancelled or horribly late. Luckily, hers was the one that ran and was on time - before and after were a sea of cancellations. Wonderful journey after a seriously stressful week. 

We had a chilled night back afloat but as the weather had gone to rats and we were back into windy / wet days, we got up early before the rain started and took the boat for the traditional run around the bay to make sure that all was working well after the captain had been tinkering with valve clearances etc. The usual strange track ensued:

The good news was that it worked OK - bar the remote control for the thrusters which needed a new battery. Our built in navigation PC sounds like an elderly hamster wheel when it boots up now - death cannot be far away. The 24v Vasari PC devices have proven to be rather less reliable than their price tag would suggest. The following day, we washed off the grey gritty stuff that prior rain showers had deposited all over the boat but there was no sensible weather window to head off:

Compare this image to the earlier one and yes, red is very bad, purple is grim too for a 27 hour voyage. So, being feeble, we stayed put. 5 metre waves around Land's End were not tempting us out from our cosy berth.

That allowed more exercise / shopping by bike (still very impressed with them), a nice lunch with Simon and Nikki and meant we could go to the Marina's bacon roll and hot cross bun thingy on Good Friday. The catering and organisation by the new restaurant operation in the marina (now known as "Goose on the Loose") left a lot to be desired. We fear that this new incarnation of the building and restaurant will fail too. Sad, we hope to be proved wrong.

It looked like there was a little (very little) weather window over the Easter weekend for our planned trip so we kept a close eye on the forecasts, trying to ignore the fact that it would be pouring with rain if we locked out on Easter Saturday morning. So tempting.

Maintenance news:

The forecabin headlining replacement had one job left - getting a couple of trim rings made to fix around the circular portholes. Two were cut from stainless steel for us and fitted. The steering system had a bit more pressure put into it and we went big and treated the thruster remote to the new battery that it craved.

Sort of getting ready to depart

The poor captain was abandoned for a day, left alone to do some chores whilst the crew headed into Bristol on the train to meet up with some proper renegades. Actually, old friends from university. You might recognise the lovely Julia as she came and stayed with us relatively recently. You might also recognise the lovely Debbie, from when we stayed with her in Germany. You will not recognise the lovely Alison. The crew hadn't seen her in 33 years but luckily she looked just the same to make meeting up easier:

The crew returned following a nice lunch and lots of catch up chat and rather oddly, we both then took the coach to Bristol the following day. We were planning to meet up with Debbie and Hajo but their family event timing meant that didn't work out. Instead we had a very good Sunday lunch in a waterfront pub and a chilled night in a local hotel. The following day was another National Express coach, this time to Heathrow T4. Why the coach? Well it is about 1/4 the price of an advance train ticket  (and a rounding error compared to a full fare) plus, you actually get a seat. Revolutionary we know but rather handy. Why Terminal 4? Well, we were not flying off anywhere, we had booked a night in a Premier Inn there so we could travel into London for the night and meet up with the crew's goddaughter Emily and her husband who were over from Australia. We had to take the opportunity.

London was a one evening visit though, we had to get the coach back the next day as the crew had an appointment for cataract surgery. Yup, one eye was growing a nice cataract and the difference to the 20/20 vision good eye was tricky. This guy:

a locally well know professor, gave her the required treatment and she returned with a  nice eye shield and a bag full of drops. The following day, way better vision too. Excellent result if a little costly. However, as she reminds the captain regularly, she is worth it.

After a few fun days, reality had to strike. We'd arranged to go to Hythe on the Sunday, ready for the new Brompton bikes to have their free first check-over on Monday, then we were to take Mrs Toddler to her hospital appointment for eye tests and the regular injection. Yes, eye issues seemed to be rather prominent. We also had a routine dentist appointment that day, something to "look forward" to indeed..

Setting the navigation system in the car to "home" gave us the first surprise - the trip was shown as 40 miles more than normal. Er? Double checking on the phone confirmed things - the M4 was closed around Bristol. We know from prior bad experiences that there are no good diversions. Our trip proved the point in spades.

After a really good day at Brilliant Bikes and meeting the owners of the Puerto Banus apartment we'd borrowed for a catch-up, life went south fast. Mr Toddler collapsed at the dinner table and after a Paramedics visit, a wait in the ambulance and then the usual corridor care thing, was admitted to Southampton hospital for checks. Oh boy, did he get checked too! The good news was that we could collect and bring him home a couple of days later. 

We returned to the boat, rather wrung out and in need of something. Something turned into a maintenance catch up and prep for the cruising season ahead. 

Maintenance News:

Wayne, the great local trimmer guy had finished fitting the new ceiling panels with the new vinyl / foam adornment and it was looking good.:

We replaced the old halogen downlighters with new LED units just as we did in our cabin. We wanted a few spare halogen units for the areas of the boat that have dimmer switches fitted, Three of the four ware good, only one of the casings had split upon removal and was effectively trashed.

To add to the general fun, the genset and wing engine had an oil and filter change and the wing had a new raw water impeller, Then, the spanners, sockets and torque wrench came out, the main engine valve clearances were checked and adjusted. More topless Deere porn for you:

Then the genset had the same treatment whish is actually harder although you are working on a much smaller engine with 2 fewer cylinders. Why? Well, as it lacks the timing pin setup of the big Deere that tells you it is top dead centre on a cylinder. 

What else - the RIB outboard had been running on old fuel, bad news. Although we drained the carburettor after each run, it decided to conk out and not restart as the captain headed back to the stern of the boat following yet more hull polishing.  The filter was removed and cleaned, the carb too and the engine was way happier afterwards.

Finally, we obtained some more diesel fuel additive (Stanadyne Performance formula) to dose the tanks when we next top up. That is a stabiliser as we keep diesel for many many months in the main tanks and it helps avoid the tar like stuff from settling out. It also improves the lubrication the fuel offers to the injection system and helps keep the injectors cleaner.  In case you don't believe that fuel can go bad, here is information from BP themselves:

Diesel is not a volatile fuel therefore it does not suffer from starting issues or from issues of evaporation that petrol does. The main issue with diesel fuel in storage is the formation of gums and sediments that can block filters. This is associated with darkening in the colour of the fuel. When stored under cover in sealed containers it will usually last for one year but it can last longer.

The main problem with diesel fuel in opened containers is that moisture from condensation will create a favorable environment for fungus and bacteria that degrade the fuel. The simple solution is regular treatment with a biocide every six months when storing for lengthy periods.

The only real trouble with the additive is the price of the stuff.....