Bartimaeus

Our last day of cruising for this season began once the overnight rain had stopped.  We only had about a mile to go to the top of the Hanbury Locks.  The volunteer lock keepers we had spoken to in the other direction had assured us we'd also get help today.  Sure enough, there were four of them who did the majority of the work for us - though Clare also did some gates and paddles.

We turned in to Droitwich Spa Marina and moored up on the slipway as arranged. There were a number of vital tasks to complete.  We emptied the waste tank, put a little water in the water tank and plugged in to give the batteries a charge.  The next important job was to get the tandem off the boat.  It is coming to Edinburgh with us and is much easier to unload when the deck is close to ground level.

Nick from the marina pointed out the trailer on the other side of the slipway.  That was where Bartimaeus, and us were to spend the night.

Before the action started, Caroline from Ortomarine came over for a short chat to confirm that we all know what the plan is for the upgrades on Bartimaeus.  There were no surprises!  Once she'd gone, the day's real action could begin.  We untied and Bartimaeus was pushed gently away from the edge as the trailer was pushed in to the water so that there was a wheel either side.

Once the trailer was far enough in, Nick hopped on to the rail of the trailer and later the wheel in order to make fine adjustments to the positioning.

The hydraulics then lifted the trailer up, and Bartimaeus was no longer floating.

The tractor was then driven out of the water bringing Bartimaeus on to land.  I was a little puzzled at the amount of water dribbling out of the back of the boat, but I eventually realised it will have been the water that lives inside the weed hatch locker.  The rain started at around this point.  This was viewed as good timing because the man who was pressure washing the hull was already going to be clad in waterproofs and there are a number of other jobs that can't be done in the rain. 

Once the pressure washing was done, the trailer was driven back to its previous location and a step ladder set up at the stern to allow us to get in.  We were warned that the boat can feel odd like this, because it doesn't rock and sway when we move about.

What feels more odd is that we spent the rest of the day packing for road travel.  Usually when we leave the boat we don't expect it to be moved very much in our absence.  This time it is going on a trip on the back of a lorry, so we need to ensure that our belongings are not strewn all over the cabin at the first roundabout.

It's taken us much of the day, but we'll only know if we did it right when we come back.